Meet Dr. A.
Dr. Tina M. Atkinson is a strategic team-builder, organized arts mastermind, paradigm-shifting thought-instigator, and creative chaos coordinator who has shared her love of visual arts education at Percy Priest Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee, and with all ages across the nation for three decades.
As an innovative educator, researcher, artist, and arts leader, she has earned recognition from local, state, and national organizations for her unwavering dedication to empowering learners through the visual arts and her passion for giving all learners access to high-quality visual arts education, especially in the elementary setting. As a researcher, she explores how research and data live in the pre-K-12 visual art classroom and how to leverage art educators' comprehensive knowledge to break through educational silos for the benefit of all learners. She knows firsthand the power art education has to transform the lives of the underserved, as it has transformed her own life from poverty to empowerment.
As a creative artist and entrepreneur, Dr. A. has transformed her arts leadership abilities and art teacher magic into a successful business model that positions her to facilitate arts opportunities for students, teachers, administrators, business leaders, and all individuals who value the arts as an essential part of life, learning, and societal well-being.
The FireLight Effect
What began as a passion has evolved into something more. After decades of customizing art experiences in the classroom, I'm excited to offer them to a wider range of groups and individuals. What sets Firelight apart isn’t just our process—it’s the intention behind it. We take time to understand, explore, and create with purpose at every turn. We focus on your outcomes, engagement, and creative journey. Art grounds us, connects us to the world, and can reveal things about us we never knew, connecting us to others and strengthening human bonds in the process.
Simple ideas
At every step, we stay true to our values and make space for thoughtful, lasting work based on our clients' needs.
Lasting impact
We listen to what is needed, build with clarity, act with integrity, and always stay curious.
Corporate events, team-building, collaborative making, private event making, large-scale making, make-and-take events, retreats, and social/fellowship events. Each engagement is customized to the client's interests, theme, location, and budget, and is hosted and facilitated by a FireLight Host-Educator.