Brett Poza returned to MassArt to pursue an MFA at 60—bringing with her decades of experience as an art therapist and a lifelong commitment to storytelling.
One Tree. Courtesy of Brett S. Poza.
Written by Brett S. Poza MA, ATR, MFA ‘19
“Find out what it is you want to do, as crazy as it may be, and the rest will come because you will do it with all you can offer, and it will produce magic, and people will want the magic.” – Jack Lenor Larsen
In 2019 at the age of 60, I graduated from MassArt with a Master’s in Fine Arts. By the time I arrived at MassArt, I already had an advanced degree which had allowed me to practice as a registered art therapist for 25 years. Out of all the educational institutions I’ve attended, MassArt is by far my favorite.
Despite my formal education and work history it took a long time for me to realize that it is stories that have always gotten me through life. As an only child who grew up in a household full of contradictions, making up stories was a way of distracting and entertaining myself. In high school, after discovering a letterpress machine in a locked basement room, I initiated a poetry magazine to give more students a voice. In college, my degree project was based on stories – I made a series of quilts depicting abstractions of nightmares. And yet, coming from a family of teachers with a commitment to social justice, I knew I wanted to combine my training with being in service to others.
A decade later, at 35, I found myself working with people whose life stories had run away from them. What started by answering a crazy ad for a bookkeeper at a psychosocial rehabilitation program, ended up propelling me into my first master’s program, and subsequent professional supervision, so I could become a registered art therapist.
From there, I spent over two decades working with adults with complex mental health histories who had been committed to locked state facilities. They were there to recover and we assisted them in creating healthier, more sustainable futures.
When I finally retired from that line of work, I was looking to rebuild the creative life I had minimized in service to others. Finally, pursuing an MFA in art felt like the next step. Yet, even while I was a student at MassArt, I volunteered coaching and supporting undergraduate students for whom academics were a challenge, many of whom were the first in their families to attend college.
Like many other alumni, what I found at MassArt is community – a support system made up of wild thinking individuals just like me, who engage with the world around them with diverse insight, compassion, and imagination. I also discovered my ability to develop a singular vision using the often-maligned medium of pyrography, moving it beyond typical expectations.
Before I graduated, I was creating large, free-flowing, burned drawings on sheets of plywood – drawings that began with taking pictures of the trees that were decaying from neglect on the once manicured grounds of the state hospital where I had worked the longest, or which reinterpreted diagnostic imaging belonging to people close to me.
The Owls, courtesy of Brett S. Poza.
Behind those images there was a poetics of emotion, making the finished works visual metaphors of resilience and fortitude. Before leaving MassArt, I sold my first piece to a collector who saw my work at Alpha Gallery in SoWA. The owner had come to MassArt specifically to scout out new talent. From there I shipped work across the country, seeing it hang next to more traditional media – prints, paintings, photography – and hold its own.
Another great gift from MassArt was the opportunity to work closely with Sharon Dunn, Chuck Stigliano, Alex Gerasev, and Jane Buchbinder, among others. I am still in touch with several of these people, who continue to provide me with support and feedback. As an older student, I sought out professors who were most likely to understand my background, and I was richly rewarded with the depth of their consideration.
Things took a turn in July 2023 after teaching a weekend workshop on pyrography at MassArt (one of several workshops, lectures, and mentoring opportunities I stayed involved with). Having suddenly been affected by a still undiagnosed neurological disorder that affects my grip, energy levels, and ability to focus, by the end of that week I could no longer walk. My whole world changed when I was abruptly unable to safely use power tools or burn drawings for any length of time.
Doing nothing creatively is not who I am and despite this setback, I can still use a keyboard. The unexpected gift of this still mysterious disorder has been the ability to pivot back toward writing, as art and writing have been running a relay race in my creative life for as long as I can remember.
I continue to lean on what I learned during my time at MassArt about intentionality, clarity of conception, and building a portfolio. It turns out there were many clues along my artistic journey that pointed to what really makes my heart sing – fusing service and the power of stories together.
Today, I continue to work in the medium of storytelling through writing, with the support and guidance of my former professor, Jane Buchbinder. The function of this is not just to keep me happy, but to approach difficult subjects using a Kafka-esque sense of distortion with the intention of making people pause and consider things they might take for granted.
Many graduates of MassArt have, of course, become prominent in design and fine arts, but they have also become chefs, doctors, teachers, performers, athletes, and police officers. Aside from our alma mater – we all share a passion for making the world a better place. And in part it’s that “MassArt Made Me Fearless” attitude that keeps me going to this day.
What I found at MassArt is community – a support system made up of wild thinking individuals just like me, who engage with the world around them with diverse insight, compassion, and imagination.Brett S. Poza MFA, MA, ATR
Brett Poza returned to MassArt to pursue an MFA at 60—bringing with her decades of experience as an art therapist and a lifelong commitment to storytelling.
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