“I live alone. I love eating with friends, but you wouldn’t know it. My dining room table is just barely visible beneath piles of old newspapers, stacks of unpaid bills, a broken printer and a bunch of clean laundry. You get the idea. I would sit at the table and elbow away a small space for my bowl, a napkin and a spoon. Not exactly an invitation for guests. Davia came over, sat me down and asked me what I wanted from this dining room. I said friends, coming over, sitting at the table, eating home cooked food, laughing, drinking great wine till late in the night. We spent the entire day. Clearing, cleaning, moving, arranging, rearranging. It looked beautiful. We literally made space and the friends showed up!” Dana C.

“I love to paint, watercolor mostly. But there was no place to do it in my overstuffed three story house. Weekly assignments from Davia’s class lit a fire under my butt. I cleared out an entire room, and began to paint. A note came in the mail – a small gallery wanted to exhibit work from local artists. There it was – my first show!” Pat T.

“I’m a composer. I could never keep track of possible jobs. A post it here, a scrap of paper there. Davia gave me some suggestions about how to organize my desk and my files. Digging through the piles I came across a submission I had made a year ago from my old address. I called to update my address. Funny thing, their filing system was as inefficient as mine. When they dug through their piles to find my piece of music, they took a look at it, and got really excited. It ended up being performed for hundreds of people to a standing ovation.” Chris A.

“The only way to my desk was through a narrow path flanked by knee high file folders. How I ever got anything done I don’t know. As legislative director of a small non profit, my clear thinking was central to organizational success. With lots of support, I went through every single paper in that room…keep, toss, keep, toss. After innumerable hours I stepped back and gasped. There was my desk with a clear surface! My ability to think clearly and creatively took a quantum leap. I can’t say there’s a direct causal relationship, but I find it curious that we were awarded a several million dollar grant the following year.” Jess M.