Kindling Community Arts essentials:

Our values: We value fun, inclusion, sustainability, and curiosity. 

• Fun: we learn best when we’re having fun, plain and simple. We keep it light, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. In addition to making art, we listen to music, we laugh, we read stories, we encourage each other.

• Inclusion: all are welcome and loved here, please bring your full, beautiful, evolving selves. 

  • 🖤🤎🩵🤍🩷❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

• Sustainability: we foster a love of our earth by incorporating seasonality into our class experiences, prioritizing creative reuse and non-toxic materials.

• Curiosity: this studio is an experiment in community building that requires us to have open minds and hearts. We are alway learning and adjusting as we go.

Our approach: Kindling aims to create a studio culture with a playful approach to art making. When we focus on enjoying the process and let go of worrying about the outcome, some kind of magic happens. This means we try to create a “yes space”, where kids (and the kids inside us all) can experiment in ways they might not always get a chance to. For parents/grown-ups who are participating with their kiddo, please remember that there is no right way with this approach. Sometimes our best intended guidance can backfire. When you join for an art session, lean into the (sometimes absurd) mess, the unconventional ways your child will experiment with a material, and the lack of a physical outcome that resembles anything specific. Encourage your kiddo with phrases like, “what if?”, “I wonder…”, “let’s try”.

Safety and materials: we use a wide variety of materials in the studio including paint, glue, chalk, clay, wax, fibers, glue guns, sewing needles, scissors, and more. Kindling works to create a safe environment by having only developmentally appropriate supplies within reach of each user group. Children under 5 will be accompanied by an adult, who will ensure a safe experience for their kiddo. If your child tends to put things in their mouth, please be extra cautious as we do have a sensory table with small parts.

Drop-offs: for some art classes for children over 5, you are encouraged to drop your child off to participate. I understand this can be a big deal for kids and am happy to meet you ahead of class to get comfy. Please let me know what you need to help your child succeed.

Class preparation: please wear clothes to get messy in. Bring a water bottle and any snacks you might need. 

Photos and media: Kindling uses social media to promote offerings and is committed to a primarily face-free internet presence. Studio users may be photographed in action, though only photos without faces will be used as media content. You give full release and permission for photos to be used this way and will inform Kindling if not. If ever there is a photo taken which includes your child’s happy smile and that I would like to use for materials, I will directly request permission before using.

Email collection: by signing up for a class, you agree to be added to our email list. 

Liability release: participation is undertaken at your own risk. As a studio user, or as the legal guardian of a studio user under 18, you release and hold harmless Kindling Community Arts, Eastmorland Community Center, Carrie Breunig and all operators from all liability related to any accidental harm caused while participating in our programs.

Our affiliations: Kindling Community Arts and The Eastmorland Community Center are not religiously affiliated organizations. You’ll notice that The Eastmorland Community Center looks a lot like a church. The building is also home to Common Grace Church, whose leadership made the community center a reality by opening their doors to mission aligned organizations. The mission of the Eastmorland Community Center is to create space for the collaborative life of the neighborhood centering arts, education, and social justice. Learn more about our home at the ECC here.