Creativity Chronicles, the Materials Lab, my art practice, and my dream of an art community nonprofit are growing through curiosity, experimentation, and the generosity of people who recognize possibility in materials that might otherwise be overlooked or discarded.
Local businesses, manufacturers, art-supply companies, and individual representatives have contributed art materials, product samples, purchasing support, discontinued displays, scraps, offcuts, and other useful resources. Together, these contributions make continued experimentation possible while demonstrating a growing community investment in accessible creativity, art education, and creative reuse.
This page recognizes the people and businesses helping that work take shape.
Why Material Support Matters
The cost of supplies can prevent artists, educators, families, disabled creators, and people experiencing financial hardship from participating fully in creative life.
At the same time, businesses frequently have scraps, samples, discontinued products, excess inventory, packaging, and other materials that no longer serve their original purpose but still have creative potential.
The Materials Lab helps connect those two realities.
Through experimentation and creative reuse, contributed materials may become:
- Original artwork and handmade objects
- Materials Lab tests and demonstrations
- Educational articles and resource guides
- Examples of affordable or unconventional creative processes
- Inspiration for artists, educators, and community members
- Future community art activities, kits, or programming as the project grows
Every contribution helps answer the question at the center of the Materials Lab: what else could this become?
Community Support, Partnerships & Professional Development
Norton’s Fine Art & Framing
Norton’s Fine Art & Framing has provided framing scraps and offcuts, matboard remnants, and old frames for artistic experimentation and creative reuse.
These materials offer possibilities for collage, mixed media, handmade surfaces, dimensional work, presentation, and projects that examine what can happen when professional framing remnants are viewed as creative resources.
Blick Art Materials
Blick Art Materials supported this developing work with a $100 gift certificate for art supplies.
This contribution provided flexible support for purchasing materials based on the project’s evolving needs. Unlike a contribution limited to one particular product or material, the gift certificate made it possible to fill supply gaps, obtain essential tools, and support continued artistic experimentation.
Blick’s support also represents an important early vote of confidence in the larger vision: making creative materials and meaningful art experiences more accessible through the Materials Lab and the developing Everyone Creates Project.
Sculpey
Sculpey provided a collection of polymer-clay materials and tools, including:
- A 24-piece Premo™ and Soufflé™ polymer-clay multipack
- Liquid Sculpey® in Basics and Metallics
- A five-in-one clay tool
- An oven-safe work mat
- An acrylic clay roller
- Irregular oval cutters
This support makes it possible to explore polymer clay through the Materials Lab, experiment with different formulations and processes, and share discoveries with other creators.
Michael’s Flooring Outlet
Michael’s Flooring Outlet has contributed grout-color sample sticks, sample tiles, and flooring samples.
Removed from their conventional context, these materials become unusual palettes, modular components, mosaic elements, substrates, and starting points for mixed-media experimentation.
PanPastel
PanPastel provided a sample kit containing pastels and applicators, creating an opportunity to explore the qualities, applications, and creative possibilities of its materials.
MuniMo Woodworking and Design
MuniMo Woodworking and Design has provided hardwood offcuts from its woodworking practice.
These remnants offer opportunities for small sculptural work, jewelry, assemblage, surface experimentation, and other projects that honor the qualities and histories of the wood.
Spectrum Ecycle
Spectrum Ecycle contributed a box of electrical wire for creative reuse.
The wire can be investigated as a drawing line, structural material, jewelry component, sculptural element, and example of how materials associated with technology can enter a new creative life.
Universal Yarn
Universal Yarn provided a bundle of yarn for fiber experimentation and creative reuse.
The materials support exploration of texture, color, construction, knitting, crochet, wrapping, weaving, mixed media, and other fiber-based possibilities.
Virginia Tile
Virginia Tile contributed discontinued showroom tile samples.
Although these samples no longer serve their original showroom purpose, they retain potential as mosaic components, painting surfaces, assemblage materials, and foundations for material experiments.
Absolute StoneCraft
Absolute StoneCraft has made stone offcuts and remnants available for creative reuse.
These pieces invite experimentation with natural and fabricated stone as sculptural material, display elements, jewelry components, mosaic pieces, and surfaces for art.
Clampitt Paper
Clampitt Paper provided a paper sample swatch box and designer box.
The variety of paper colors, textures, weights, and finishes creates opportunities for collage, bookmaking, paper construction, printmaking, drawing, jewelry, and experimentation with paper beyond its most familiar uses.
Marvy Uchida
Marvy Uchida provided a marker set for artistic experimentation.
These materials support investigations into color, mark-making, illustration, layering, drawing surfaces, and the different ways markers behave alone and alongside other media.
FASTSIGNS
FASTSIGNS has contributed signage offcuts, retired catalogs, and related materials for creative reuse.
These resources offer possibilities for collage, mixed media, sculpture, durable surfaces, bookmaking, stencils, and experiments with materials rarely encountered in conventional art-supply stores.
Scholarships and Access Support
Financial accessibility has been an essential part of my ability to continue developing as an artist, experiment with materials, build community relationships, and move these projects forward. I am grateful to the organizations that have reduced financial barriers by providing scholarships or helping me obtain them.
Artist INC St. Louis
In 2026, I was selected as a member of the Artist INC St. Louis cohort and received partial scholarship assistance toward the program fee. Artist INC has provided professional development in areas including artistic practice, goal-setting, communications, finances, career development, and building a sustainable creative life.
Artists First and the Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis
Artists First helped connect me with scholarship support totaling $700 through the Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis . This assistance provided access to inclusive studio time, art materials, creative community, and opportunities to develop and exhibit my work.
Perennial
Perennial provided scholarship support of a Thrifter Membership that made it possible for me to participate in creative-reuse education and explore processes that align closely with the Materials Lab’s emphasis on accessibility, experimentation, environmental responsibility, and finding new possibilities in overlooked materials.
Professional Guidance and Capacity-Building
Creative projects require more than materials. They also require knowledge, planning, legal and financial guidance, professional development, and people willing to help make unfamiliar systems more understandable. The following organizations have provided learning opportunities or specialized guidance that has helped me develop the Materials Lab, Creativity Chronicles, my artistic practice, and the vision for Everyone Creates.
Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts
Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts met with me to discuss the early development of Everyone Creates and considerations involved in starting a nonprofit. This guidance helped me begin identifying the legal, organizational, and practical questions that will need to be addressed as the vision develops.
St. Louis County Library
The St. Louis County Library provided free access to its three-day Small Business and Nonprofit Conference, where local professionals shared information about nonprofit development, grants, funding, business planning, community support, and other aspects of building a sustainable organization.
Artist INC St. Louis
Artist INC also represents a significant source of professional development and connection within the St. Louis arts community.
From Contribution to Creative Possibility
Material support does more than help supply an individual studio. It contributes to a growing cycle of experimentation, documentation, education, and resource-sharing:
- A business or manufacturer identifies usable materials.
- The materials are redirected from storage or the waste stream.
- I investigate their properties and artistic possibilities.
- Experiments, discoveries, and finished work are documented.
- What I learn can help other artists and educators see new possibilities.
- The relationship becomes part of a broader network connecting creativity, accessibility, community, and responsible reuse.
[View Jessica’s Artistic Practice]
[Visit the Creative and Community Resource Library]
Become a Material Partner
I welcome conversations with businesses, manufacturers, artists, educators, and organizations interested in supporting creative experimentation and material accessibility.
Potential forms of support may include:
- Art supplies, tools, or product samples
- Gift cards, supply credits, or purchasing support
- Manufacturing scraps and clean offcuts
- Discontinued showroom or design samples
- Excess, cosmetically imperfect, or open-box materials
- Tools or equipment in safe working condition
- Professional expertise, services, or workspace
- Financial sponsorship for Materials Lab experimentation, documentation, storage, transportation, or future community programming
- Collaborative educational, artistic, or creative-reuse opportunities
Support can take many forms. Material donations, product samples, purchasing assistance, scholarships, professional guidance, educational opportunities, collaborative relationships, and funding can each remove a different barrier and help the work move forward. These forms of support are recognized according to their distinct roles; participation in a public program does not necessarily imply a formal partnership or organizational endorsement.
Not every material will be safe, practical, or appropriate for the project. Please contact me before delivering anything so that we can discuss the material, quantity, condition, transportation requirements, and possible uses.
Written communication works best for me.
[Contact Jessica About a Material Contribution or Partnership]
A Note of Gratitude
Thank you to every person and business that has taken the time to listen, respond, gather materials, open a box, save an offcut, offer encouragement, or imagine what something overlooked might become.
These contributions represent more than supplies. They demonstrate that accessible creativity, environmental responsibility, artistic experimentation, and community connection can support one another.
This network is still growing, and I am deeply grateful to everyone helping make it possible.
Creativity belongs to everyone—and possibility can begin with what we choose not to throw away.
About These Acknowledgments
This page recognizes different forms of assistance that have contributed to my artistic, educational, and community-building work. Some organizations provided materials or financial assistance directly; others provided scholarships, individualized guidance, educational programming, or access to creative resources. Recognition on this page describes the specific support received and does not necessarily indicate a formal partnership, sponsorship, or endorsement.
Jessica Carey