Ten Zen Seconds by Eric Maisel

April 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I am pleased to announce that Eric Maisel will be stopping by as part of his blogtour to promote his latest book Ten Zen Seconds: Twelve Incantations for Purpose, Power and Calm.

Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is the author of more than thirty books and is widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach. He has presented nationally and internationally on subjects like personal creativity, creativity coaching, Zen and creativity, and mindfulness practices for the creative person.

Dr. Maisel holds undergraduate degrees in philosophy and psychology, master’s degrees in creative writing and counseling, and a doctorate in counseling psychology. He is a California licensed marriage and family therapist, a creativity coach and trainer of creativity coaches, a columnist for Art Calendar Magazine, provides regular segments for Art of the Song Creativity Radio, and teaches Ten Zen Second techniques through lectures, workshops, and teleseminars.

  • Stay tuned next week for more information.
Filed Under: Books, Ten Zen Seconds

Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash

April 18, 2007 by Leave a Comment

As pioneers of the British punk movement in the late 70s, the Clash are the ultimate creative artists. Their musical influences range from jazz to hip hop and reggae. Combining these influences they were able to evolve as artists and transform themselves from angry punk rockers all in black to funky ska artists and finally the militant performers of combat rock.

Recently, I had the opportunity to learn more about these versatile performers at an exhibition that covered their ambitious career. Featuring performance clips, handwritten lyrics, stage costumes and guitars displaying their creativity.

Filed Under: Museums, Music

Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting

April 12, 2007 by 2 Comments

In the last several years, traditional arts have made a resurgence. I’ve been pleased that knitting and crocheting have been at the forefront of this movement.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time till artists started incorporating these materials and techniques into works that are innovative and thought provoking.

It allows us to look at these art forms with new eyes and question our old assumptions.

Filed Under: Exhibitions, Imagination, Museums

More Mail Art

April 5, 2007 by Leave a Comment

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking a mail art class through a local arts organization. The first assignment was to create a self-portrait. Here is the collage I created of myself that I sent to the other participants.

After we received everyone else’s self-portraits, we were then instructed to combine them all, somehow, to create a group portrait of everyone in the class.

  • Try creating your self-portrait.
Filed Under: Collage, Imagination, MailArt

Art Inspires Volunteerism

April 2, 2007 by Leave a Comment

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, if you patronize the arts, no matter what your education level or income is, you are more likely to do volunteer work and give back to your community.

  • Look for volunteer ideas here.
Filed Under: Creative Economy, Volunteering

Cans Get Creative For a Cause

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

In another life, I used to work and teach simultaneously in 2 architecture museums in Washington, DC. Although, I don’t have a degree in architecture, like many people assumed at the time, I do however have a passion for the built environment.

Another organization with a similar passion, Canstruction enlists competing teams of architects and engineers to create sculptures out of canned food, which are later donated to local food banks for distribution to those in need.

Filed Under: Architecture, Imagination, Innovation

Write it Down

March 14, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Do you have a notebook for catching great ideas? If not, why not? Inspiration strikes all the time, especially if you are incubating an idea. If you don’t catch it right away it may be gone for good.

  • Find more ways to record your ideas here.
Filed Under: Ideas, Writing

Why the Arts Rule

March 3, 2007 by Leave a Comment

As an advocate of art education, not only for children, but for adults too. I think we can all learn something new from the arts. The National Art Education Association agrees with me.

Here is their take on the benefits of studying the arts: Ten Lessons the Arts Teach By Elliot Eisner.

The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.

The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.

The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.

The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.

The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor number exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.

The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects.

The arts traffic in subtleties.

The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.

The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.

The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.

The arts’ position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

SOURCE: Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications

  • Find art education resources here.
Filed Under: Art Education, Imagination, Problem Solving

My New Obsession: Mail Art

February 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment

To wake up my creativity during this long winter, I signed up for a mail art class at a local arts organization. The process is simple. The teacher sends out assignments and you respond by creating something and (snail) mailing it to the others in the class.

The catch is that you don’t meet the other class members until the final exhibition of projects.

  • Join a mail art project here.
Filed Under: MailArt

Are You Using Your Whole Brain?

February 18, 2007 by 2 Comments

whole new mindI attended a library sponsored book discussion on Dan Pink’s latest book A Whole New Mind thinking it would motivate me to read the book. Well, I certainly didn’t need the motivation. Pink’s book reads in a breezy style and is full of thought provoking ideas.

The book is based on 3 questions that organizations and individuals need to ask themselves in the new economy:

1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance?

These questions lead into his main arguments based on Asia, Automation, and Abundance, claiming that in order to flourish in an age of abundance, we must enhance our creative thinking skills that can’t be outsourced overseas or done by a computer.

The skills are as follows:

Not just for function but also DESIGN. It’s no longer sufficient to create a product, a service, an experience, or a lifestyle that’s merely functional. Today it’s economically crucial and personally rewarding to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.

Not just for argument but also STORY. When our lives are brimming with information and data, it’s not enough to marshal an effective argument. Someone somewhere will inevitably track down a counterpoint to rebut your point. The essence of persuasion, communication, and self-understanding has become the ability to fashion a compelling narrative.

Not just focus but also SYMPHONY. Much of the Industrial and Informational ages required focus and specialization. But as white-collar work gets routed to Asia and reduced to software, there’s a new premium on the opposite aptitude: putting the pieces together, or what I call Symphony. What’s in greatest demand today isn’t analysis but synthesis – seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries, and being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole.

Not just logic but also EMPATHY. The capacity for logical thought is one of the things that makes us human. But in a world of ubiquitous information and advanced analytic tools, logic alone won’t do. What will distinguish those who thrive will be their ability to understand what makes their fellow woman or man tick, to forge relationships, and to care for others.

Not just seriousness but also PLAY. Ample evidence points to the enormous health and professional benefits of laughter, lightheartedness, games, and humor. There is a time to be serious, of course. But too much sobriety can be bad for your career and worse your well-being. In the Conceptual Age, in work and in life, we all need to play .

Not just accumulation but also MEANING. We live in a world of breathtaking material plenty. That has freed hundreds of millions of people from day-to-day struggles and liberated us to pursue more significant desires: purpose, transcendence, and spiritual fulfillment.

  • Which one of these can you add to your work?
Filed Under: Books, Business Creativity, Creative Economy
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