Kimberly Tupper

I love art. I’ve loved art before I realized I loved art and my mom forced me to sign up for art. But, with maturity, I realize I actually love creativity more. Sorry art, it’s me, not you. I have always felt like an idea machine, but this means that I just have a vast imagination. That is both a wonderful and a bad thing. Sometimes this means our minds can run amuck.

But, I have also learned that having an imagination, is something we all share, whether you think you’re imaginative or not. It’s indisputable that as a child, we all had great imaginations. Creativity, on the other hand, is the process of creating original ideas that have value. Creativity is the act of doing. It’s taking the imagination and now making it into something. This is the reason why so many adults feel as though they are not “creative”. Everyone starts life with full imaginations but life can lead us away from materializing our ideas. 

It all began as a passion to just make art, be creative, paint and make things. I studied art in university, mostly keeping it as a hobby until I started Tupperberry. Now as a mother of 3, a mom that teaches kids, something in me changed. I’m slightly disappointed with our school system. I’m frustrated that art is almost exclusively seen in the realm of visual arts. I’m disappointed that the education system has pushed the arts to the side and has created a system built on testing, with little wiggle room for learning outside of the conventional box. My heart breaks for so many kids that have “diversified learning” capabilities (ADHA, ADD, Autism), or just the kid that can’t sit still and needs to move in order to learn. You know, a common description of many kids.

The increased science on the study of the brain and the understanding of the effects that creativity and the arts have on the brain, is irrefutable that it creates as many synopsis as that as in academics. In short, creativity is like exercising your brain. So, if the effects of being creative on the brain is neurologically proven to strengthen your brain's capacity, then why doesn’t the majority of people and the education system value the arts? Even medicine to some degree has acknowledged the healing power of the arts on the body. So, now I’m not JUST concerned about painting pretty pictures. Although, don’t get me wrong, there’s science behind the pretty pictures too! (aka. The importance of color, layout for psychological functions, for mental well being, etc.). 

I’m just a mom, teaching people art, but please don’t mistake my light source lessons, watercolors, and acrylic painting as an activity for developing solely for the pursuit of becoming a visual artist. I’m passionate about my pursuit for changing how people define and value the importance of the ARTS, and specifically for me, art.  We don’t do art to grow up to just become visual artists, we do art to learn how to change our thought patterns, and in turn create new ideas of great importance!