About Me
Amy is founder of Sacred Paintbrush Arts and is a Master Facilitator of intuitive painting, a creative healer, and whimsy chaser. Shortly after graduating from Mills College with a B.A in Ethnic Studies, she spent six months in Ghana and Kenya working with infants and children, planting her feet in the earth, and soaking up the energy of the Motherland as part of her own healing journey. Amy combines her 18 years of experience in addiction recovery and mentorship, and her 8 years of intuitive painting practice to create deeply loving and radically non-judgmental healing circles for women and
women of color to reconnect with themselves and find deep healing and transformation through creative expression. She also has an online shop where she sells unique and hand-made items to adorn ones body and life.
Amy created Sacred Paintbrush Arts to help diversify creative healing spaces and proudly seeks to offer intuitive painting classes and art based-meditations to beautifully diverse groups, including those often left out of wellness spaces.
My Story
My name is Amy, and I have been practicing intuitive painting for the past eight years.
I was first introduced to intuitive painting when my mom was told about a class in Oakland and she asked if I wanted to go. Mind you, this was NOT typically the type of thing I would have said yes to, because it would have been way too anxiety-producing, plus, I am NOT an artist.
But I happened to get the invitation at a time when I was in a hugely transformative and life-changing time; as I was planning a trip to west and east Africa for an undetermined amount of time (also mind-blowingly outside of my comfort zone, and not the type of thing I ever imagined myself doing).
I was being called to explore and expand and connect, and I was finally listening despite all the fears and unknowns.
So, when I was asked if I wanted to go to an intuitive paining workshop, it seemed like a hilarious invitation from the universe to which I had to say yes, since I was already in the land of doing things that sounded terrifyingly interesting.
I need to tell you that my entire life I told myself and others that I was not an artist.
That I could do collaging, or photography, because those are ways of creating from already existing things. But I can’t just make a thing from nothing. I appreciate people who can, and I am not one of those people.
I also need to tell you that I am still not someone who can paint or draw a horse and have it look exactly exactly like a horse. But what I have come to know and believe, is that hyper-realistic art is just one type of art. It is one that requires a lot of time and effort and training, and it’s beautiful and to be appreciated, but it is still only one of many styles of creating.
In all areas of our lives we have become completely obsessed with what things look like, with this idea of perfection, and we have come to value only things that look a specific way.
But I have come to understand, with all of my being, that every single person is creative. And that being creative is our most natural state. We ourselves are creations. Every single moment, every breath, is a new creation.
When we block ourselves off from creative expression, for whatever reasons we have, we are blocking ourselves off from the divine, and from our truest selves.
And that disconnect negatively affects every area of our lives.
It has always been very important to me to use my privilege and access to various communities to share the gifts that I have been given, and to help encourage self-love and healing in others since I have found so much healing for myself.
I am a caretaker by nature. I feel most connected to myself and my world when I feel connected to the people and nature and beauty around me, and when I'm actively showing love and care. With the state of the world right now, I knew that I needed to be doing something more actively to help heal and love and support both myself personally, and anyone else that I could. So, I left my job and made the commitment to follow this path with all that I have.
I thank you and I honor you for being open to the world and yourself in a new way.
You were born to create! Thank you for joining me.