Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Precious Burger of Fairfax

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Precious Burger. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Precious , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to step onto stages and speak to hundreds—sharing my story and the importance of embracing the messy middle in both work and life. For years, I stood confidently in front of classrooms, colleagues, even politicians, as an educator and advocate. But this is different. This is me, stepping beyond the safety of professional roles to speak from the tender, unfiltered space of lived experience.

After my health challenges, it felt as though everything I had built came crashing down. What I didn’t realize then was that this breaking open was also a becoming. It was the invitation I didn’t know I needed—to rebuild my life with purpose, to create from a place of truth, and to remind others that beauty and growth often happen right in the middle of the mess.

Now, I’m answering that call—to share not just the art I create, but the journey that shaped it.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello there! I’m Precious Burger—an intuitive abstract artist, speaker, and writer based in the Washington, D.C. area. My work lives at the intersection of art and healing, where color, texture, and story become tools for transformation. I create vibrant, layered paintings that explore identity, resilience, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace life’s imperfect moments.

After years as an art educator, my journey through chronic illness became a turning point. What once felt like loss revealed itself as a new beginning—a chance to rebuild with intention and create a life rooted in joy, authenticity, and connection.

Through my art and speaking, I encourage others to celebrate what I call the messy middle—that honest, in-between space where growth and grace meet. My upcoming series, Illuminate the World, debuts in the new year and celebrates how we can each radiate light, love, wonder, joy, and connection into our world. My work has been featured nationally and internationally, receiving recognition from organizations such as the Circle Foundation for the Arts.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a bright-eyed child—curious, free, and endlessly in awe of color and possibility. I saw magic everywhere. But life has a way of reshaping us. Through trauma and expectation, I slowly retreated inward, trading wonder for perfectionism. It became my armor—helping me achieve, excel, and prove my worth—but at a cost. Over time, that armor grew heavy. It protected me, yes, but it also confined me.

Now, I’m learning to lay it down. To release the part of me that believed I had to earn love or prove value through doing. I’m returning to that child—alive with curiosity and unafraid of the mess. As an artist, I’ve learned that every layer, even the imperfect ones, belongs to the masterpiece. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s the evidence of growth, and that’s something worth celebrating.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
For most of my life, I hid my pain behind perfection. It was easier to keep things polished than to let the cracks show. I thought achievement could quiet the ache — that if I just worked harder, accomplished more, and smiled through the struggle, I could outrun what hurt. But pain has a way of waiting for you to stop running.

When my health collapsed, so did the illusion. Suddenly, I couldn’t hide behind productivity or performance anymore. It forced me to face what I’d buried — fear, exhaustion, and the belief that I had to earn my worth. That breaking point became my breakthrough.

I stopped using perfection as protection and started using vulnerability as power. Through painting and speaking, I learned that strength doesn’t come from holding it all together — it comes from being brave enough to fall apart and create something beautiful from the pieces.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
For a long time, the public version of me was the “perfect” version. The teacher who always had it together. The artist who smiled through the chaos. The woman who achieved, performed, and rarely let the cracks show. It wasn’t that she was fake—it’s just that she was afraid. Afraid that if people saw the mess, the doubt, or the exhaustion, they’d see someone less worthy.

But when life unraveled—through illness, loss, and the slow unlearning of who I thought I had to be—I realized that authenticity isn’t polished. It’s raw, layered, and wonderfully human.

Now, the version of me you see is real. Not because I’ve figured it all out, but because I’ve stopped pretending I have to. I paint, speak, and write from that honest middle ground—where beauty and brokenness coexist—and that’s where I feel most alive.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I’m finally doing what I was born to do—create, connect, and help others rediscover their own light through art. For years, I followed the path I thought I should—the stable career, the neat boxes that promised safety—but my body and my spirit eventually called me back to what was real. I wasn’t meant to simply teach art; I was meant to live it—to use color, story, and vulnerability as tools for healing and transformation.

What I understand deeply is that the messy middle is not a flaw in the process—it is the process. Whether on a canvas or in a life, growth happens in the tension between chaos and clarity. Art mirrors that truth perfectly: each layer, each misstep, each re-imagined mark becomes essential to the final piece. As artists, and as humans, our task is not to rush through the mess but to trust it—to stay long enough for something beautiful and whole to emerge. That’s where healing happens.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Todd Burger
Precious Burger

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