Our
Programs
Common Root Collective (CRC) develops accessible, research-informed creative programs that support caregivers, youth, artists, and underrepresented creatives across the Pikes Peak region.
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Our initiatives integrate art, environmental education, community engagement, and lived-experience research to strengthen creative access and creative economies.
Bloom Bags
Care and Creativity Kits
Bloom Bags are care and creativity kits designed to expand access to creative materials, self-care resources, and restorative tools across the Pikes Peak region. They support caregivers, community workers, creatives, and individuals who lack consistent access to basic art and craft supplies due to financial, health, or systemic barriers.
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At their core, Bloom Bags address a simple but often overlooked reality: creative engagement requires materials. When individuals do not have access to supplies, tools, or structured prompts, participation becomes limited. Bloom Bags remove that barrier by placing tangible resources directly into people’s hands.
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Each bag is intentionally curated around a specific focus area. Some prioritize art and craft supplies such as sketchbooks, fibers, reclaimed materials, and guided creative prompts. Others center self-care and regulation tools, including journals, sensory supports, and reflective exercises. Many combine both.
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By expanding access to materials and structured creative engagement, Bloom Bags promote emotional regulation, stress reduction, and a renewed sense of agency. Creative practice supports wellbeing not only through expression, but through rhythm, focus, and tactile engagement — all of which strengthen connection to self and community.
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Bloom Bags also foster belonging. Whether distributed through partnerships, events, or referrals, each bag represents a tangible investment in creative access and shared care within the community.
Rooted Expression
Community Art Support
Rooted Expression is a barrier-free community art initiative serving the Front Range region. It invites artists, makers, and creatives to explore connection, resilience, and lived experience through expressive work.
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The initiative provides accessible exhibition and event spaces where creatives can share work, collaborate across experience levels, and engage directly with audiences. Lived experience, experimentation, and diverse artistic approaches are respected and supported.
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Rooted Expression bridges creative practice and public presence, strengthening visibility, peer learning, and intergenerational connection within the regional arts community.
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Events are structured to keep participation affordable while expanding access to shared resources and practical supports that help artists continue building their practice beyond a single exhibition.
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Through intentional design and community-centered planning, Rooted Expression promotes authentic connection and sustainable creative participation across the Pikes Peak and Front Range regions.
The Lab
Research, Innovation, & Advocacy
The Lab is CRC’s research, innovation, and advocacy space. It examines how creativity, accessibility, and technology intersect to shape more equitable and effective creative systems.
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Our work explores neuroplasticity and creative recovery — how intentional art practice supports emotional regulation, cognitive adaptation, and resilience following trauma, brain injury, and neurological disruption. We pair lived experience with applied research to better understand how creative engagement strengthens wellbeing across diverse cognitive and recovery pathways.
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A core component of The Lab is the development of Lived Experience White Papers — research-informed publications that center the voices of individuals navigating trauma, brain injury, neurodivergence, and systemic barriers to creative access. These white papers translate personal and collective experience into structured insight that can inform educators, cultural institutions, healthcare providers, and policymakers.
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The Lab also examines the evolving relationship between technology and creativity, with a focus on ethical AI, digital accessibility, and responsible tool use in artistic spaces.
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Insights from this work support advocacy efforts and practical models that advance inclusive design, equitable access, and sustainable creative infrastructure across educational and community systems.
Creative Mentorship
Guided Pathways for Sustainable Research
Creative Mentorship is a structured development program that connects emerging creatives with established artists and makers for individualized guidance and practical skill-building.
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The program supports both creative growth and professional sustainability. Participants receive mentorship in areas such as technique refinement, creative process development, portfolio preparation, event participation, pricing strategy, and navigating creative industries.
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Beyond individual mentorship, the program connects participants with organizations, institutions, and creative partners to expand professional access. Mentees receive guidance in identifying and pursuing open calls, exhibitions, vendor opportunities, residencies, and collaborative projects that increase visibility and real-world experience.
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Mentorship may include one-on-one guidance, cohort-based learning, or hybrid models depending on participant needs and capacity. Each cycle includes defined goals, practical application, and measurable progress toward artistic and professional milestones.
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Designed to reduce barriers within traditional arts training environments, Creative Mentorship prioritizes individuals who have faced financial, health-related, systemic, or visibility challenges. The program emphasizes accessibility, realistic pacing, and support structures aligned with individual capacity.
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Through intentional pairing and applied experience, Creative Mentorship strengthens confidence, expands opportunity pathways, and supports long-term creative sustainability
Makers in Bloom & Makers in Nature
Creative Pathways from First Exploration to Independent Practice
Makers in Bloom
Maker Skills Program | Puddle Jumpers – 12th Grade
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Makers in Bloom is a structured maker skills program serving youth from early childhood through high school. The program builds practical creative skill through hands-on artisan practice and upcycling.
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Participants develop technical ability, creative confidence, and problem-solving capacity while learning principles of repair culture, sustainability, and responsible material use. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and mindfulness practices are intentionally integrated throughout instruction, strengthening focus, emotional regulation, collaboration, and resilience through engaged making.
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Programming is scaffolded by age group to align with developmental stages — from exploratory, sensory-based learning for younger participants to more advanced technical and entrepreneurial skill-building for older youth.
By connecting material-based creative practice with reflection and real-world application, Makers in Bloom supports long-term creative development and equips youth with transferable skills that extend beyond the studio.
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Makers in Nature
Nature Immersion Program | Puddle Jumpers – 5th Grade
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Makers in Nature is a nature immersion and environmental literacy program serving youth from early childhood through fifth grade. The program combines guided outdoor exploration with creative practice and art literacy, helping young participants build connection to place through observation, reflection, and making.
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Through age-appropriate environmental literacy lessons, participants learn about ecosystems, pollinators, water systems, material cycles, and responsible stewardship. Creative response is integrated into each experience, allowing youth to translate environmental understanding into artistic expression and cultural literacy. Many of our activities revolve around upcycling creative practices.
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A core principle of the program is Kindfulness — the practice of being intentionally kind and mindful toward the natural world. By learning to care for the environment and incorporate that care into creative work, participants develop empathy, responsibility, and relational awareness.
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We believe that when young people learn to be kind to the world around them, they strengthen their capacity to be kind to one another. Makers in Nature connects environmental stewardship, creative expression, and human connection in ways that support both ecological and social wellbeing.