As Sussex Academy middle schoolers doodled on the tables with pastel crayons and markers, local artist John Donato stood at the front of the room wearing a pair of paint-splattered overalls and an equally splattered hat.

“I’m not here to create artists,” Donato said. “I’m here to create brave, enthusiastic leaders that will use creativity to manage their anxiety and stress, to problem solve and to work through things in all parts of their lives.”

From March 11 to 13, during visits organized by the Freeman Arts Pavilion, Donato helped the school’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders tap into their creative sides. He led the students through his signature Doodley Brain creative experience, which intertwines art, creativity and brain science.

“We get into a real deep dive into how the brain works, what you feel emotionally, and how you can manage that with art, with creativity,” he said.

The program centers around neurographic art, which aids in reducing stress and boosting mindfulness.

Donato came up with the framework for the program after exploring research on the benefits of artwork and creativity for depression, anxiety and PTSD.

He dug into what actually happens in someone’s brain when they make art, and he used that information to create a tool that enables people to unlock their creativity at any time, even when experiencing stress or mental challenges.

“The last thing people can do when they’re stressed is think,” Donato said. “I’m not asking them to do that. I’m asking them to use the artistic process to guide them along.”

Donato, who’s been a full-time artist and creative educator for the past 20 years, is known for his particularly bold and colorful artwork. 

What most people don’t know is that he’s red-green colorblind. Thus, he has trouble differentiating between colors on the color wheel.

Instead, he looks at the warm and cool color families and often pairs opposite colors together to really make his art pop.

Although Donato has always been creative and earned a degree in graphic design, he wound up starting out in a corporate career post-college. It wasn’t until years later, around 2006, that he decided to take a risk and leave his job to become a painter. 

“It was a very exciting time, but it was scary, and it was stressful,” he reflected. “Sometimes, I was a raging maniac. I was like, ‘I’ve taken on too much, and I don’t know what to do next,’ and then I would just do something creative – rearrange the furniture, clean the studio, doodle – and it would calm me.”

“I remember very well what it was like to be this age,” Donato continued. “I really tried to build a tool here that [the students] could walk away with and use long after I’m gone.”

His philosophy is that creativity doesn’t just belong to artists; it belongs to everyone.

“Creativity isn’t about perfection,” Donato said. “It’s about possibility. Once people give themselves permission to play, amazing things happen.”