Principles & Methods

1. Everyone has a powerful story to tell. You can not experience life without insights about your experience, which are valuable to a larger audience. Most people's perception of living a quiet, mundane, uninteresting, unmemorable life masks a vivid, complex, and rich source of stories to share.

2. Listening is hard. Stories unveil themselves when the teller perceives that the audience is with them as they work out the framework and details of their story. But most people are either too distracted, or too impatient, to be really good listeners. This is why western cultures have so many people who get paid essentially to listen: therapists, researchers, social workers, and counselors. Anyone can be reminded to listen deeply, and when they do, they allow the teller to journey into the heart of the matter at hand.

3. We all see, hear, and perceive the world in different ways. This means the forms and approaches we take to telling stories are very different. There is no formula for making a great story, no prescription, or template. Providing a map, illuminating the possibilities, outlining a framework, are better metaphors for how one can assist someone in finding a voice.

4. Creative activity is human activity. From birth, we all draw, sing, make music, and tell stories. As we get older, in our family, school, and community, art and creativity are increasingly treated as another form of vocational specialization. One either has a predilection, gift, tendency, innate skill, or they should pursue other interests. Most people give up and never return to creative practice, even as play or recreation. We recognize that confronting this sense of inadequacy, even among artists, is a critical part of our process. We believe in peoples' creative efforts and encourage them to reach the highest level of their interest in the technique in expressing themselves.

5. The computer is a poorly designed, but massively powerful, instrument for creativity. Specific to the world of computer-based arts practice is a principle that recognizes that computing tools are still in their early stages of development. Many people blame themselves for their lack of technological savvy, when the machines themselves are actually the problems. Conversely, we recognize the virtually inexhaustible potential of the computing instrument for creative endeavor. Keeping both of these ideas in balance is a constant process for those leading and supporting our workshops.