Brush Fire Painting Workshops has been chosen as the 2010 recipient of holiday donations at Peet’s Coffee West Portal!  All the tips gathered at the store from December 17th through the 25th will be donated to Brush Fire’s innovative expressive arts programs for underserved youth. On the 25th, drinks are free and extra donations are encouraged! Hope to see you there!

As we come to the close of the year, we at Brush Fire are reflecting on our work and are more convinced than ever that creativity is more than just a diversion, an extra, a way to pass the time. We are especially grateful to all the painters we worked with in juvenile hall. We applaud them for working through some shocking personal history in their paintings and we are humbled by their courage.

Would you like to know more about what some of our painters have been through? Please click here to listen to a powerful piece about girls being exploited in Oakland. It’s hard to listen to at times, but only when we know where they have come from can we appreciate our girls’ resiliency.

The piece was produced by  Youth Radio. This report is the result of a six month investigation in child sex trafficking.

Around 3,000 students, teachers, and volunteers in New Delhi created the "Climate Elephant." Daniel Dancer designed this aerial art to ask world leaders not to ignore the elephant in the room.

As climate negotiators meet in Cancun this week to discuss how to respond to the threat of global climate change, activists are using a new tool to remind them just how big the problems – and the possibilities – are.

In a mobilization sponsored by 350.org, citizens from all corners of the globe gathered together in a series of giant aerial art projects.

Many of them were photographed from orbiting satellites.
Go to http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/350-earth to see more of the amazing work!