Jewels PiXie Mermaid Johnson founded Fledgling back in 2011 . We are a completely Volunteer-run nonprofit Collective who encourage using the arts and creativity as catharsis. Fledgling is an online community with around 15,000 members and ever growing! I founded Fledgling in 2011. I have had mental health struggles since I was 5 that developed further in my 20's. I became a total recluse and didn't leave the house at all for 10 years. During that time I worked on my art and my poetry and exhibited internationally and nationally and used the internet as my means of contact and community. Fast forward a few years later and I started to get very frustrated with the mental health services deteriorating, and the elitism that I saw in the art world and also the lack of accessibility for people with mental health struggles and/or physical disabilities. I thought about how creativity had given me so much catharsis and a way of expressing myself that I couldn't find in any other way . And also about the warmth the internet had given me. And so I decided to bring it all together to build a little Utopia! And so Fledgling hatched! Members of our buzzing hub of online creativity post their work and get unique and insightful positive and encouraging feedback from our amazing Volunteers! Come & join us to see what we do! You can find clickable links to our Wings (Groups) at www.fledglingartscollectivecentral.com any small profit made is fed straight back into Fledgling projects to help our community. *More about Fledgling* It may sound a little Utopian that our Fledgling community only spreads love (and a little bit hippyish) But we think that it can have a real ripple effect on our mental health and how this then effects us on a daily basis. We don't believe that being harsh to each other makes us more equipped in the world at large to defend ourselves. We are a really big and fast growing online community, currently with around 19,000 members.