Rivers: The Yale Corner Mural Project
This is what we did in July! – conceptualized and led the painting of this community-based Public Art project – a 6000 square foot mural with 200+ community collaborators, who each created their own design within the banks of the Rivers!
Go for a stroll on the banks of the Rivers & see for yourself, corner of Yale Street & Springfield Avenue in Maplewood!
Read about the process in the Village Green!
Project Sponsored by The Springfield Avenue Partnership through the Neighborhood Preservation Program.
All Fire in the Belly workshops are grounded in process-based art making, referencing artists and art history with an emphasis on self-expression through the exploration of different materials and creative problem-solving.
Workshops are for anyone with the desire to spend time celebrating the act of creating, ages child through adult. Afterall, we’ve all got some kind of fire in our bellies.
“Making art is about making change, one voice at a time.”
-Barbara M. Bickart
*Since all workshops are process-based, taking a workshop more than one time will always be a new learning experience focused on deepening individual exploration of content and material. No two workshops are alike!
What People Are Saying
“Barbara's Fire in the Belly art classes emphasize process over product, and this is what sets her classes apart. After every class, my kids are full of energy and excitement. Barbara is teaching them how to think and see like creative beings and how to express themselves with confidence. This is so much more than just making pretty things!”
— Katey, Maplewood
“Barbara brings college-level freedom, respect, and creativity to our community’s young artists. She sparks the conversation, but lets the kids drive the process. Their art is an expression of their hearts and minds—layered, unpredictable, insightful.”
-Amy Hughes, mother of Vivienne Schuppe, 12
“My daughter loves Barbara's outdoor art classes! Barbara's teaching method gives her tons of inspiration and just the right amount of instruction for her creativity to flow. The art she brings home often tells a story and is absolutely beautiful and unique.”
— Mary Clair S., Maplewood
“Children are treated as the creative thinkers they truly are. Real art concepts and practices are explored in an exciting way and the results are truly astonishing. I can’t say enough good things about this gem of imaginative ingenuity.”
– Catherine E., Maplewood
“Thank YOU, Barbara, for this incredible class. B comes home every week and I can feel the expansiveness of his artist’s mind and heart.”
— Caitlyn, Maplewood
“My daughter has attended several sessions of the Fire in the Belly weekly art classes, and it has been a breath of fun and freedom in an otherwise challenging year. Barbara creates a unique space for creative thought and exploration where kids can be themselves and express themselves without fear of judgment. I can’t recommend her highly enough— run don’t walk to send your kids to her backyard studio!”
– Christina Taber-Kewene, Maplewood
“I attended the Fire in the Belly printmaking workshop for adults in February and loved it! After a year of nothing but caring for my virtual-schooled kids, it was great to immerse myself in an art-making process that was just for fun. Not an artist myself, I appreciated Barbara’s patience in teaching us the process and then the freedom to just explore the techniques through the night.”
— Christina Taber-Kewene, Maplewood
“As a parent, you get to see how Barbara's teaching style allows her students to gain confidence in their own ideas and create some beautiful art in the process!”
– Catherine R., Maplewood
“Finding Barbara and her art workshops has been a pandemic silver lining. She's enabled my son Isaac, a first grader, to explore a number of different types of art making, and she has provided him support and guidance to help him grow. She's captured his imagination and given him more confidence in himself and his art. I can tell that she develops a relationship with the children on an individual level. I also love that each class ends with an art show during which the students have a chance to talk to a crowd of adults about their work. It's very impressive. I'm looking forward to more classes with her, including ones for the grownups!”
- Hanna Ingber, South Orange
“My daughter has blossomed in Barbara's art classes. She comes home excited about what she's made and the new worlds that art opens up. Barbara's style of guiding the kids through introductory exposure to particular schools of art to their own engagement with the world around them is masterful. Kids find their voice here and a new set of eyes!”
-Hannah Wells, Maplewood
“I was blown away with how cool this class was. My daughter was so proud and excited about the miniature tree house she built with Barbara’s help and instructions. She learned how to work with tools and built the house on her own. When the week was over, she and the other workshop participants proudly discussed their work and their favorite parts of the treehouses they built.”
- Aubrey, South Orange
“My 10-year old thoroughly enjoyed the Fire in the Belly Miniature Treehouse workshop! What I found most impressive was the way that Barbara nurtured each child’s individuality to bring their creativity and personality together into the final products - including artist talks by each child describing their wondrous creations.”
-Mom, Maplewood
“I love how you can turn just a piece of wood into a magical beam of lightning.”
- Luna, age 7