The Creative Life, Written: Artists on Process and Collective Memory
in partnership with Making Her Mark Foundation
Ruut DeMeo, Lisa Brown, Sarah Magida with moderator Amy Bernstein
This session also serves as an open invitation for artists—especially women and femme creators—to join an ongoing writing journey focused on publishing and sharing creative lives in written form.
Constellation Energy Classroom, 3rd Floor
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, April 11, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
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“If artists don’t write their stories, entire ways of being creative disappear.”What happens when artists write about their process—not just their finished work, but the doubt, persistence, experimentation, and growth that shape their creative lives? This panel and interactive session explores the role of writing in expanding who gets to exist in the literary and cultural record. Featuring interdisciplinary artists who engage in both creative practice and writing, the conversation will examine how documenting the creative process becomes an act of visibility, resistance, and connection. Together, we’ll consider: What artists learn about themselves through writing? Why process is as valuable as product? How writing helps navigate vulnerability and public creative life? Whether artists have a responsibility to document their journeys? Participants will be invited to engage directly through guided writing prompts, reflecting on their own creative experiences and imagining how their stories might contribute to a larger collective narrative. This session is especially for artists with interdisciplinary practices, those drawn to memoir and writing about creativity, and anyone interested in sustaining a creative life through reflection and storytelling. Ruut DeMeo is a Baltimore-based Finnish writer and songwriter and the founder of Making Her Mark Foundation, which supports Women Creators with grants, workshops, and mentorship. Lisa Brown is a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller whose work spans analog photography, sculpture, and community-based practice rooted in African and Mexican heritage. Through projects that amplify overlooked voices—from women in Baltimore’s prisons to children in northern Ghana—she has developed a deeply reflective, process-driven approach to artmaking. With an MFA in Community Arts from MICA, Lisa speaks on the creative process as a practice of healing, cultural preservation, and sustained engagement. Sarah Magida is a Baltimore-based fiber artist, reiki practitioner, and artist coach working across embroidery, natural dye, tufting, and painting. Her process-driven practice translates inner experience into vivid, patterned landscapes, often using dyes grown in her urban garden. With a BFA from MICA and an MA from the University of Baltimore, she speaks on creativity as an intuitive, embodied practice rooted in transformation and self-discovery. Amy Bernstein is a Baltimore-based writer, speaker, and creative mentor whose work spans journalism, essays, and fiction. Through her writing and teaching, she explores creativity as a practice of risk-taking, self-discovery, and persistence. Known for her candid approach to the challenges of making art, she helps writers move through doubt and embrace the creative process at any stage of life. Making Her Mark Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports Women Creators with grants, workshops, and mentorship.
Ruut DeMeo is a Baltimore-based Finnish writer and songwriter, and the founder of the Making Her Mark Foundation. This Maryland nonprofit supports women creators through grants, workshops, and mentorship. She holds an MFA from Antioch University and is currently working on a reimagining of the Finnish epic The Kalevala. Ruut writes and teaches about sustained creative practice, which she believes is essential to lasting cultural change.
ruutartist.com
X: @ruutartist
Instagram: @ruutartist
Lisa Brown is a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller whose practice spans analog photography, sculpture, and community engagement, shaped by her African and Mexican heritage. Her work explores healing, cultural preservation, and self-discovery, often centering voices that are overlooked—from women in Baltimore’s prisons to children in northern Ghana. Through immersive, community-rooted projects, she has developed a deeply intentional creative process grounded in listening, reflection, and care. Lisa holds an MFA in Community Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she combined academic study with fieldwork and mentorship. Her work has been recognized by institutions such as the Pittsburgh Art Society and Dayton Art Institute, and supported by fellowships, including mentorship with Titus Brooks Heagins. She speaks about creativity as a sustained, transformative practice.
healherphotography.com
Instagram: @healherphotography
Sarah Magida (b. 1979, Baltimore, MD) is a fiber artist, reiki practitioner, and coach for artists whose work blends embroidery, natural dye, tufting, and painting into vivid, patterned landscapes. Rooted in intuitive process and material exploration, her practice draws on life force energy, personal transformation, and a deep connection to the natural world—often incorporating dyes grown in her Baltimore garden. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at the American Craft Council, The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn, and the Virginia Quilt Museum. With a BFA from MICA and an MA from the University of Baltimore, Sarah brings both artistic and holistic perspectives to her work. As a coach and healer, she speaks on the creative process as a deeply embodied, intuitive practice that connects inner growth with artistic expression.
sarahmagidaart.com
Instagram: @sarah_magida_art
Amy Bernstein is a Baltimore-based writer, speaker, and creative guide whose work spans journalism, speechwriting, essays, and fiction. A lifelong writer, she explores creativity as a tool for understanding the world, navigating uncertainty, and taking meaningful risks. Through her Substack Doubt Monster, podcast appearances, and teaching, Amy helps writers and creatives move through fear and embrace the discomfort that often accompanies the creative process. Her career includes award-winning work across multiple writing disciplines, as well as years of experience helping others develop their voice and craft. Known for her candid, insightful approach, Amy speaks on creativity, risk-taking, and midlife reinvention, encouraging others to pursue bold, imaginative work at any stage of life.
amywrites.live
X: @amylbernstein
Instagram: @amylbernstein
Making Her Mark is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports Women Creators with grants, workshops, and mentorship. Women’s creative work is cultural infrastructure that strengthens families, communities, and the economy. When a woman commits to her artistry, she sparks a ripple effect that transforms lives and inspires the next generation to step boldly into their own power.
https://makinghermark.org
Instagram: @makinghermarkfoundation
Facebook: Making Her Mark Foundation
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CityLit Project in partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture present Bearing Witness: Literature as a Revolutionary Act. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 11, 2026. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.
Download the CityLit Festival: Bearing Witness flyer with the schedule.
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