marie in awe, smiling, in a pink top
✦
Hi, Quirkies.

I'm Marie in Awe.

Fluent in cringe, courage & creativity.

Keeping creativity alive in teens & young adults.

Cringe. Courage. Creativity. A Teen's Playbook for Humaning

Cringe.
Courage.
Creativity.

A Teen's Playbook for Humaning

For the weird, brilliant ones trying to become themselves in a world that keeps trying to tell them who to be.

Meet the book →
Meet Marie in Awe

A human
in progress.

Collage of marie in awe smiling over her shoulder, w an origami butterfly, a flying crane, and colorful shapes

I've spent the better part of my life being fascinated by what makes humans come alive: awe, curiosity, courage, creativity, possibility, and play.

I used to do that work mostly w grown-ups. Now I get to do it w the next gen of audacious creators.

Before Cringe. Courage. Creativity., I spent 15+ years turning big ideas into playful, interactive experiences for museums, festivals, classrooms, and curious humans of all ages.

  • Asian Art MuseumFounder & creative director of the Village Artist Corner artist-in-residence program
  • Art installationsDozens created, including Floating Garden of Emotions: we hoped for 100 people and 4,000 showed up. On Super Bowl Sunday! And 3 For Life, helping adults get back to their creative selves, toured for 8 months after the SF Prototyping Festival: YBCA, Exploratorium & Maker Faire
  • Teens, IRLTEDx Calle Aldama teen workshop on creativity & resilienceWorkshops in Mexico, Spain & onlineAAM's ArtSpeak internsSF Public Library's teen club, The MixAcademy of Art University studentsMock interviews for Dripping Springs HS seniors
  • CoachingSocial coaching, plus life coaching for high achievers
  • Heroism studiesInvited by Dr. Scott Allison to contribute to The Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies (Springer, 2024), and by Philip Zimbardo to speak at the Hero Round Table
  • NeuroscienceCollaborations w David Eagleman, Jim Doty & Paul Ekman
  • As featured inSan Francisco Chronicle · SFGate · Shareable

Born in the Philippines, raised across cultures, and now worldschooling my tween and teen, I don't speak at teens, I move w them.

Author. Artist. Creative troublemaker. Humaning enthusiast.

Come find me ↗
Manifesto

I believe in…

✦ Be weird. Be brave. Make shit up.

The Marie in Awe world

Enter the Quirkieverse.