It was 4 p.m. the Wednesday before Christmas, and children of all ages were piling into Resin Gallery in Hermosa Beach. They began sitting in a semicircle with notebooks and pencils in hand. Class was about to begin.
Rafael McMaster walked into the expansive room with artwork hanging on the walls—ready to do what he loves most. However, before he could speak, everyone in the room began singing “Happy Birthday,” including his family members who were in town.
The Creative Wisdom Tools Program through Indivisible Arts—a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating creativity, consciousness and connection—is designed for students ages 7 to 15 and takes place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The 30-minute lesson includes group shares, visualizations and meditation. The wisdom tools taught include awareness, acceptance, intention, gratitude, compassion, forgiveness and connection.
It became obvious rather quickly on that Wednesday that the youngest students were the most engaged. They continually raised their hands to answer questions or give examples.
“Resin is a magical place. You go in there, and you are sitting with these 30 Gen Z youth and 95% are conscious,” shares Rafael. “To be aware of your thoughts has an energy all in itself. A new person comes in and they join that energy.”
During the last 60 minutes, students let their creative juices flow. The attendees that day had options of exploring illustration/digital art, painting, music, mixed media, sculpture and clay, and 3D design with an instructor (ranging from high school artists to professional artists).
“We try to have every medium imaginable. Anything a kid could do, we want to have so they are able to explore with curiosity. And then they find that thing, and they are in it like a dog with a bone,” says Rafael. “Then their parents come to pick them up, and they can barely drag them away. We see it all the time, and it is erupting this passion. What more could you want that is more important and powerful?”
On this particular Wednesday, a young girl named Ellie came to Resin for the first time, without a friend. She was a little nervous, so one of the instructors stayed with her the entire time as she began playing with boxes of air-dry clay. By the end of the hour, she’d made a Christmas tree that she gifted to her instructor.
“He [Rafael] created the entire arts community culture in the South Bay and keeps it going in ways seen and unseen,” says Anastasia Brien, Indivisible Arts director. “He empowers people of all ages and helps them find their superpowers.”
“We try to have every medium imaginable. Anything a kid could do, we want to have so they are able to explore with curiosity.”
Anastasia has seen this firsthand. Her daughter was transformed by her experience with Indivisible Arts at age 17, when she had just moved to the South Bay. By volunteering at Resin, her daughter found her people and learned about service in ways that changed her forever.
“She [Delilah] is now 22 and says her most important educational foundation came directly from Rafael. They remain close friends, and he’s her biggest ally,” says Anastasia.
When Rafael decided to form Indivisible Arts eight years ago, much of it came about organically. “My daughter was in second grade at the time. I thought that if I continued this for 10 years, she would be in high school,” he remembers. “I just kept thinking how much I wanted this generation to have an idea of consciousness and depth and principle.”
The Indivisible Arts organization and movement began as the Hermosa Beach Artist Collective in 2016. At that time Hermosa Beach had no galleries and no art teachers in the elementary schools. Recognizing that gap, a core group of artists and photographers expanded their mission to serve all of the South Bay, growing into the South Bay Artist Collective.
In the fall of 2021, they changed the nonprofit name a final time under the Indivisible Arts banner. The group of talented and selfless artists continues to grow and thrive.
One of these artists is Victoria White. She met Rafael in 2022 after hearing about what he does at Resin Gallery. She is actively involved in the program and occasionally leads the class on days Rafael cannot be there.
Resin was also the first place that she had a solo show, in February 2023, called I Came to Live Out Loud. That was the jumping-off point for Victoria, who has done multiple shows since in the South Bay and other parts of Southern California.
“My career would not be where it is today if it hadn’t been for Rafael,” says Victoria. “He believed in me like so many others. He is dedicated to service more than anyone I have ever met. What he has built is really cutting edge and is the future of mental health. What he is building is special and something that will have a lasting legacy.”
All of this was put to the test in 2020 when Resin was on the verge of closing due to a lack of funds because of the pandemic. Knowing the impact Indivisible Arts was having on the community, Anastasia decided to put her career in advertising and fundraising to good use.
Together with Rafael, she created a handwritten giving campaign delivered to former students’ families. They found out just how many people had been touched by Indivisible Arts. So many donations were made that within two months, enough money was raised to pay rent for the gallery and everything else that has made Indivisible Arts so unique.
Those same external factors still exist in 2025, making Indivisible Arts always grateful for donations from the community.
What also makes Indivisible Arts so personal for Rafael is that it is intertwined with his sobriety journey. In recovery for eight years, he’s fully aware of and deeply committed to understanding the mental health crisis in this country, knowing that it is invisible and many times people do not have the words to express it.
“Going through that has become my superpower where I can empathize and understand people who are at rock bottom,” he says. “There is someone down there with you who has been through it, knows the way out and is willing to walk that path with you.”
He’s heard from parents and teens about how he has changed the way they view life. Cards and thank-you notes are pinned against the wall closest to his desk to remind him of his impact and to keep going.
“I’m on a mission in my lifetime for 1 million conscious youth. That’s my goal. What kind of impact could that have on the future? I don’t know if it will take three years, 30 years or the rest of my life … so be it. That’s the path I am walking,” he says. “Me saying these words out loud is a beacon to anyone interested in leaving that kind of impact. This is the path. It’s starting in the South Bay, and it’s starting right now. Here we go!”
To learn more about Indivisible Arts, visit indivisiblearts.org.
