The aRtof Learning
Play Full Ground's
Curiosity, Collaboration, and Shared Inquiry—Learning as Art.
Play Full Ground is a Creative Microschool and Learning Lab for youth in Monterey, CA where curiosity guides, attention matters, and learning unfolds through shared experience.
Children at Play Full Ground engage in an ongoing, hands-on practice where art is a way of thinking together—exploring questions, noticing connections, and experimenting without predetermined outcomes. Every session is an invitation to wonder, reflect, and participate in a living, evolving work of art.
They participate in experiences that encourage curiosity, collaboration, and reflection, exploring ideas through conversation, movement, hands-on projects, and creative experimentation. Making is part of the process when it serves the inquiry, but the focus is on noticing, questioning, and thinking together rather than producing finished objects. Each moment is a chance to engage deeply, explore uncertainty, and contribute to the shared artwork that grows with students, families, and mentors.
Guided by curiosity, exploration, and shared reflection, students encounter questions and experiences rather than fixed lessons. Inspired by project-based learning and socially engaged art, the studio creates opportunities to investigate, experiment, and reflect together. The studio itself is not a traditional school but a participatory art practice—every interaction, project, and reflection becomes part of the work, allowing learning to unfold as a shared, evolving experience.
I'm Mai Ryuno
Artist | Educator | Founder
“Education itself can be an art form—and every student an artist of their own life.”
My mother once called me a dreamer and encouraged me to follow my vision—moving from Japan to the United States to meet people, make connections, and become an artist. She didn’t give me instructions, but she gave me something more powerful: her trust. That trust became my compass, guiding me to explore, create, and discover my own path.
Through years of process-based, socially engaged art, I came to see that the creative process itself is a way of life—one in which ideas, visions, and dreams unfold naturally through curiosity, exploration, and reflection, revealing not only what can be created but who we truly are. Art taught me not just how to make things, but how to make meaning, build community, and engage in shared experience.
Over time, I realized that art is not about talent or technique—it is about connection, discovery, and perseverance. My practice doesn’t center on drawing or painting; instead, I became an artist of learning, exploring how education itself can be a creative act.
Play Full Ground grew out of this journey. It is the living expression of what I’ve learned: that when people are trusted, supported, and encouraged to explore, they can create in ways that surprise and delight. Here, I offer students what my mother once offered me—a place of trust, possibility, and belonging, where each person can experiment, take risks, reflect, and grow as the artist of their own life.
Discover
Learn・Create・Connect
Morning: Independent Study & Learning Studio
Students explore academics and creative interests on their own terms, guided by curiosity and personal inquiry. They connect study to projects, questions, and real-world exploration.
Afternoon: Creativ Classes (M-Th)
Hands-on, project-based classes across 2D, 3D, lens-based, and AI-enhanced media. Students experiment, reflect, and collaborate while following the Think → Do → Share framework.
Friday Community presentation/Open Critique
A weekly gathering where students share work, reflect, and discuss ideas with peers—contributing to the ongoing studio-as-artwork.
Afterschool: Collaborative Art Youth Initiative Studio
Students work together on community-focused projects, learning to plan, experiment, and reflect while collaborating and contributing to shared creative work.
Students' Voices
"I like the approach-not giving too many specific instructions, but instead allowing students to experiment and find their own style. Mai is also very encouraging to all students. She fosters a good atmosphere of sharing and learning from each other."
"She works well with all the different stages individuals may be in with their work. Has insights and ideas to share, but lets the student find his or her own way at the same time."
"Mai uses thought provoking discussions in order to become a catalyst for a student’s awareness of art as a formal expression."
"Mai is a wonderful person. She gives great feedback and critiques your artwork in a way that makes you understand what you can do better on. Very inspirational as well and encourages you to challenge yourself as well as, in a sense, open a door to your creativity if you let it happen."
"Mai has great ideas to challenge one’s routine way of going about work. She’s truly non judgmental about students' different approaches."
Play Full Ground
550 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite E
Monterey, CA 93940
hello@playfullground.com
Want to Dream Together?
We’re more than a school - a community of dreamers.
Let's come together to celebrate curiosity, share ideas, and build meaningful connections.
Play Full Ground is thankful for the support!
