Our Story
Do you remember making art before you knew to question it?
Picking up that stick to draw in the dirt? Or maybe stumbling down the hall dragging a crayon across the wall as child to make the largest smiley face you had ever seen? Or coloring a dog blue to show it was sad and your grandma yellow because she reminded you of the sun?
Before you worried whether it was good, useful, or worth anything… creativity came naturally. We drew on our hands, colored outside the lines, made up dances, built strange little worlds, and expressed ourselves without shame. Art was instinctive. It was play, imagination, expression, and meaning all at once.
For some of us, it was even more than that. It was a language.
That was true for me. Creativity was one of the first ways I learned to express what I felt. It helped me communicate, process, and connect with something deeper inside myself. It had became this beautiful flame inside of me, driving me to do more and be more. But like so many people, somewhere along the way that part of me grew quieter.
Little by little, many of us are taught to suppress our flame which once came naturally. Be realistic. Tone it down. Focus on what matters. For me, each message felt like a gust of wind against that flame. Over time, those outside voices became inner ones. What was once a strong fire became a flickering ember.
I stopped believing in myself in the ways I used to. I stopped turning to art as a way to process what I was feeling. My imagination became smaller, quieter, more tame.
But the spark never fully disappeared.
Rise Again Collective was born from the belief that creativity is not extraneous. It is not childish, frivolous, or separate from real life. It is part of how we process, reconnect, heal, and begin again. This work exists to help people return to that creative part of themselves — the part that still feels, still imagines, still longs to express, and still knows how to rise. We want to help fuel that flickering ember into the big beautiful roaring fire it once was.
How It Began
Rise Again Collective grew from both personal experience and a deep belief in the power of creative expression to support healing and transformation.
Over time, I came to understand that art is not just something we make. It can be a way of listening inward. A way of moving emotion. A way of making space for what is hard to say. A way of reconnecting with ourselves when life has made us feel distant, doubtful, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
This understanding was shaped not only by my own life, but also by years of working with others in creative, recovery-centered, and community-based spaces. I saw again and again that art could become more than a pastime or project. It could become a way for people to process emotion, build confidence, reflect honestly, feel less alone, and reconnect with themselves in a real and lasting way.
Those experiences helped form the heart of Rise Again Collective: a space where creativity is honored not as performance, but as practice. Not as perfection, but as process. A space that is open to the possibilities within us.
About the Founder, Kendall Otis
Hi, my name is Kendall Otis we are based out of Kingston, NY. In addition to being deeply personal to me, Rise Again Collective is also grounded in lived experience, training, and community work.
I have been certified in Recovery Coaching and certified in Life Coaching. My approach has also been informed by my study in psychology, trauma counseling, and addiction counseling. I know what it is like to seek healing, to rebuild trust in yourself, and to search for ways of expressing what does not always fit neatly into words.
Before creating Rise Again Collective, I worked as the first art teacher hired by Colorado Artists in Recovery. In that role, I helped shape workshop curriculum and contributed to the development of practices that reflected the organization’s core values. Over two years, I developed, curated, and facilitated dozens of workshops and helped bring arts-based recovery work into community spaces, including unhoused communities and local partner organizations. I also helped train new teachers in trauma-informed curriculum and lesson planning rooted in both creativity and emotional growth.
That work gave me firsthand experience supporting people of many ages, backgrounds, and life stories. I saw how creativity could help people slow down, feel, reflect, and reconnect. I have watched how a supportive creative space could help someone feel capable again. I witnessed how people making something with their hands could open the door to honesty, hope, and connection.
As a woman in recovery since 2019, I know personally that healing is not always linear, neat, or easy. I also know that creativity can be a powerful companion in that process. It can help us make meaning from what we have lived through. It can help us turn pain, growth, memory, and resilience into something honest and alive.
As someone who has also lived with learning differences and struggled in traditional educational settings, I care deeply about creating spaces where people feel seen, capable, and free to express themselves in ways that are natural to them. I know not everyone feels at home in conventional environments. Part of my work is creating something different — something more human, more welcoming, and more grounded in real experience.
This spirit is at the center of Rise Again Collective.
What We Believe
At Rise Again Collective, we believe creativity belongs to everyone.
We believe art is part of being human.
We believe the creative process can help us reconnect with ourselves in ways that words alone sometimes cannot.
We believe people do not need more pressure to perform. They need space to slow down, be honest, and create from a place that feels real.
We believe healing can be supported through expression, reflection, connection, and the courage to explore what lives within us.
We believe there is something powerful about being witnessed in a creative space — by yourself, by others, and by the work itself.
And we believe that when people are given room to express, reflect, and create with care, something meaningful can begin to shift.
I’ll leave you with this
At its heart, Rise Again Collective is about returning to something essential.
The part of you that still feels.
The part of you that still imagines.
The part of you that still wants to create, connect, and become.
That part is still there. And sometimes, creativity is how we find our way back.