Mentoring Youth
Clare helps people expand their creative connection to themselves, nature, and their spatial awareness. This happens through writing exercises, site-specific exercises, creative play, music, and peer-to-peer learning. Youth can form bonds that will help them take bold-and-true steps forever in their own creative lives. Taking risks with our imaginations in a safe shared space can be an invaluable learning tool that enhances a person’s self-confidence in the world and their creative courage.
She inspires a space where participants are invited and challenged to learn new ways to listen, hear, define self-discipline in their areas of passion, and explore their imaginations without self-judgment.
In their own words:
I have gotten much better at writing and getting my ideas down on paper. This isn’t just true for creative writing but for writing in general. Before we started this I saw writing as an enemy but now I actually, surprisingly, enjoy it! I realize I can also write more in a short period of time. This means I’ve finished class assignments on time and I’ve started writing for fun. This is a big change for me. I felt really supported in my connection to the things I care about in Nature – I’m definitely connecting to it more often now. The creative ‘looseness’ changed my association with writing. Sienna, age: 11.
I’m more attentive to what I hear. It’s not that I’m listening more, but now I pay attention to what I hear in the sounds. This has made me more open to saying things that don’t necessarily make sense straight away – I’m less uptight about writing. For me, it’s also about the book we read (‘The Other Way To Listen’) about listening to what Nature has to tell us – I am listening. Chloe, age: 12.
I feel more enlightened. I have gotten better at writing. I feel I have something to live for. I’ve gotten better at interpreting people and learned more about Clare and my friends. I’ve realized you don’t truly realize how important something is until it’s gone. I’ve learned about a lot of creative people and seen a different side of my friends than I see at school. I feel like I see the world in a new way. I will miss all of this. Tati, age: 12.
