Do you call yourself creative?
I took a small break to collect myself. That’s only part of the story. The other part of the story is that I went through a pretty stressful week before that and for some reason I continued trying to keep up on my self-imposed writing frequency. Anyway I figured I should regroup myself. Well I’m regrouped.
I ask that question (The one in the subject line) because I work around people who say that all the time “I’m not creative so can you come up with something.” I don’t think that’s their fault. Here is what I think, creatives have long ridiculed the so called non-creative so much that they feel that their opinion doesn’t matter. I am here to apologize to anyone who’s been told “you’re not a designer or you’re not creative” You can be the ultimate creative in the business world and the only place your stuff will show up is in communication arts magazine and be the most uncreative (hope that’s a word) person and have a product line like the snuggie and have it take off. You never know where inspiration will take you. We also do create for the non-creative world. If they can’t understand it what good is it? I could be wrong on this part. As I wrote that I questioned myself.
Here are three things
1. Inspiration can come from anyone or anything
2. Being creative shouldn’t have rules
3. Design is in everything.
Have a good Monday.
Creative Trust
I’ve been really thinking about this a lot. Especially with the new responsibilities I have. I think it is one thing to trust your own judgement, his is something that I’m still working on, but to trust another person’s creativity is a whole different story. It may be the toughest thing that any leadership has with a creative. How much trust do you put in the creative brain trust of your company. Here’s a quote for you ” The freedom to make mistakes provides the best environment for creativity”- anonymous I don’t have a video on this but just some questions.
1. How trusting are you if you lead a team?
2. Do feel that if you don’t do it, it can’t be done or done right?
3. Do you always have to add something to someone else’s work regardless of if it makes a difference?
4. Do you try to make something work rather than asking someone to start over?
5. Do you really trust your staff?
Design Exclusiveness-Paola Antonelli
Design Exclusiveness. I wonder if this exist. Do creatives sometimes want to create a world in which they feel that everyone else is an outsider. Have they been thought of as an outsider for so long they have taken over the role. Who is to say something is good or bad or right or wrong when it comes to design? I don’t really know. I don’t have answers to any of these questions. For a long time I realized that I lived in two worlds. One that is very much administrative and one where I have to make something out of nothing. I’ve tried to live by a mantra when it comes to creation. There is nothing new under the sun. There may be new ways of doing a task but the end product is not really new. You may change the color but its still not new. I could be way off though. Right? Because there are smarter people than me out there. I get a newsletter from Creativity and this was one of the articles this past week. Love your designers. They make your world work.
WATCH ME HERE
When you get done watching that check her out at TED. If you liked last Saturday’s TED you will really like this.
(from TED)
Since she stepped back from practicing architecture in order to focus on writing about design, teaching and curating gallery exhibitions, Italian native Paola Antonelli has become a force to be reckoned with in the design world. Working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1994, she now heads up the gallery’s Architecture and Design department and has worked on shows such as “Humble Masterpieces,” which celebrated traditionally unheralded design icons such as the paperclip; “Safe,” considering issues of protection, and “Workspheres,” a look at contemporary workplace design.
Ever mindful that the majority of visitors to MOMA are attracted by artists such as Picasso and Matisse, Antonelli works to ensure that if they do stumble across a design-related show, they’ll be both entertained and enlightened. Her latest book is Exit to Tomorrow: World’s Fair Architecture, Design, Fashion 1933-2005.
Creativity in and of Education
This has been on my mind lately. One because I’m nearing the end of gradschool and second I’ve been trying to find what I’m really good at. I’ve started to write about pop-culture and entertainment more because that’s kinda what I know. Not the obscure world of entertainment but what we all kinda watch. People have asked me who my favorite musicians are and I always say who ever is on the top 40. I’m still trying to expand that so we’ll see how that goes.
When I was in school I wasn’t good at math (I still can’t make change), english (grammar) was sub par and I never felt in the right place. I wish I had believed that you could make a living creating stuff. Just making stuff up. I have a lot a friends that I would say are in the same boat and some that are the best of both worlds. My friends know who I’m talking about. But are our talents worth anything in this society. I’m glad I work at a place where its pretty high on the priority list. That brings me to what you will see on this nice Sunday morning. TED is a pretty cool conference or at least has some visionary speakers that make it worth poking around their site. Meet Ken Robinson. He is talking to me. I hope that I can see what are in my children before the world tells them its a hobby.
(excerpt from TED bio)
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.
Why you should listen to him:
Why don’t we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it’s because we’ve been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies — far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity — are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says. It’s a message with deep resonance. Robinson’s TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. The most popular words framing blog posts on his talk? “Everyone should watch this.”
A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government’s 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.
“Ken’s vision and expertise is sought by public and commercial organizations throughout the world.”
Where to start
It has been a busy month. The most major is that I went to the funeral of my Grandmother. There is something about burying your grandparents. I think we will always say I wish we had spent more time. This first post is going to be a little different instead of me writing on some topic that I mostly don’t know anything about I’m going to let my cousin tell you about her. First my last living grand parent Joseph Allen then the eulogy to my grandmother.
EULOGY – MRS GLORIA JANE ALLEN
Rev. Thomas, Dr. Prendergast, Pastor Burnett, Aunt Preshous, Uncle Vaughn, My Mother Thelma, Family and Friends, please indulge me to offer this eulogy for our beloved, Mrs. Allen, Mama, Mother, Miss Gloria, Sister Allen, Grandma, Grandmother, Aunt Gloria, Mother G – a remarkable and Godly woman, whose life/death we celebrate today.
Grandma was a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Aunt, neighbor, friend the one who brought a smile in the face of hardship, encouragement in the face of life battles, soft, tender, forgiving, kindhearted, a Peacemaker and passionate about living a life pleasing to God her Savior and always conscious and careful to note that this life on earth is not the end but we look forward to a heavenly home, a greater resurrection, imperfections, yes, but she carried the hope and faith daily that she enters heaven not on what she has done but the work of Christ on the cross.
Grandma was born December 1915, to Ophelia Graham and Uriah Graham. She is the youngest of five children- Louise, Gertrude, Clifford, Hilda all now deceased. Mass Urie as great Grandfather was affectionately called, loved to farm and Great Grandmother, Miss Phelie was a stay at home Mother tending to the garden and taking care of her 5 children. Miss Phelie and Mass Urie were strong Baptists and sang in the Choir at the Brown’s Baptist Church for several years and instilled Christian principles in her children.
Grandma was fortunate to attend school as few in her time did. She excelled at school but had a bit of a problem with Math – “sums” as she referred to it but that did not deter her from excellent financial management during her life. Grandma knew the art of stretching a dollar to two. Grandma however had a very creative mind and later in life enjoyed that. We often told her that she could have become a famous artist or musician (you may recall the impromptu song she rendered in this church called “Jesus is excellent”)
Grandma loved to live and was full of ambition so as a young woman she left home to “seek her fortune” (as seeking a career was called back in the day) in Kingston to locate employment…something that was not common in the day for young women. The independent spirit that Grandma had surfaced….she learned dressmaking and many a garment was made by her hands for her children and without a sewing machine..too poor to buy one. Sometimes it was remake from her own clothes when she could not afford to buy new cloth. Her dressmaking skill explains why she was so well dressed, coordinated and everything matching. Aunt Preshous recalls coming home from “Infant” school to find a beautiful rag doll that Grandma had made for her and how it delighted her so much she has never forgotten, only wished she had kept it, that was the skill and tender kindness of heart she had.
On one of Grandma’s home visits from Kingston, Grandma was walking along in Brown’s Town, going about her business when “a tall brown man” started to approach her. She brushed him off as of course she was now a “Kingston Girl” and had no interest in a country boy and a very poor country boy at that! However, Grandpa Joseph Allen pursued her relentlessly and even before she could say “yes” to any forthcoming proposal, Grandpa purchased a wedding band and was ready for a marriage and the next thing you would know on March 26, 1946 they were married here by Dr. DeCateret, much to the chagrin of Mass Urie but blessed somewhat by Miss Phelie as when grandpa visited the home he would take with him the biggest bible and so Miss Phelie thought “tall good looking brown man with a bible..poor but not bad as the large bible indicated a large man of God! The young couple briefly lived in Retirement as Grandma decided that was not for her and moved back to Wilberforce hotly pursued by Grandpa. She never left Wilberforce to the day she died except for a stay in the United States.
From that union, three children were born – Gloria (so named because at the birth registration, Great Grandma Albertha Allen forgot the name given “Angela” and just figure that Gloria was just as good as any. As she was the firstborn she was called Precious. Son Vaughn was next and Thelma (called Curly because her hair was so very curly at birth)
Grandma was always fired by ambition and she worked hard to instill that in her three children. As she would often say “I can’t stand someone without ambition….might as well ‘dem dead” and she lived what she preached. With three children and very poor she was burned with ambition to make sure that they attended school and become “somebody”. She worked diligently and hard at it. She kept cows until one pulled her down and she decided that she would not lose her life from a cow and that was the end of the cow. We eat beef for months! She kept pigs, chickens, rabbits, and planted vegetables for the dinner table. Poor but there was not a day that food was not on the table..many times by a miracle. She made sure that we had food so that we would learn at school. Oh that hot cornmeal porridge made with the fresh cow’s milk that Grandpa had just milked and hardough bread for breakfast. Walking 2 miles or so to school was not a problem, all the children were fed.
She made sure that all the children had clothes. Well, new ones for Church and when those were short and tight they became “yard clothes”. She did not have the patience for sloppiness and clothes had to be starched ironed and shoes shining clean. No matter that it was only one set of church clothes, one set of uniform, one pair of church shoes and one school shoes. She made sure everyone, Grandpa, and all the children were always well “put together” as she would say before they leave the house. And as you know she was a good dresser herself….even to this day.
As I mentioned before education was very important to her and school was a given, Preshous went on to York Castle High, Durham College of Commerce, Thelma to Business school in Kingston becoming one of the fastest Stenographers on graduation, and Vaughn to mechanic training.
Not only was education important but a Christian upbringing was paramount for her. She attended the Catholic Church briefly as a young woman and when she had children and they were ready for church around 2 years old she started them out at the Catholic Church. That did not work after 2 visits because Grandpa had been saved under the fiery preaching of Dr. Johnson and would have none of it. So they were sent off to the Brown’s Town Tabernacle and under the ministry of Dr. Kennedy, Grandma accepted Christ and never looked back. As she said on the day of her baptism, there is no turning back. All three children also accepted Christ under Dr. Kennedy’s ministry. There was no compromise. It was to Church every Sunday.rain or shine sustaining what God had begun. Night services were not included as “night have no governor” so no one was allowed to go out of the house at night.
Grandma was a business woman at heart also. She could not sit still and when things were not looking to her “suit” she began to travel to Kingston and purchase bales of cloth at Princess Street and hire a seamstress to make all kinds of clothing and she would sell at the market for a profit. However, frequently, she would always take out the best cloth to make dresses for the two girls and shirt and pants for the boy. She did this business for a long time and she did it well.
Then in her mid 50’s Grandma decided she would travel overseas.. always wanted the experience. The earlier England migration was not appealing to her as she loved her children so much she would not leave them. They were grown now and so off she went to the United States. A tremendous risk but she is a brave woman at heart and fearlessly she worked there for 15 years and returned home and lived a great life. Don’t be fooled, her life was one of humility. Grandma disliked intensely a haughty and “show off” lifestyle. She was very kind, always giving to someone in need and offering a helping hand but quietly without a word…”because yu no haffe mek people know wha yu a do”. She never hesitated to share some food or clothes with the ones in need. She considered it a sin to have 2 shoes when someone had none. She was so kindhearted; she did not like to have too much for herself. She did not like to have too much for herself so she was always giving away clothes, shoes, food to those who did not have. We recall a lady who was sick and everyday Grandma would take her some soup for a long time and there are many who received her kindness but she did not talk ..you had to only observe it.
She was totally devoted to her husband and children were the apple of her eyes and would wisely let us know that she does not love one more than the other so there was not the rivalry that happens sometimes with siblings. As she would often say, when the hair on the head of one of her children hurt, she hurts. She was a lot of fun and when the children were small there are fond memories they recall of them all playing in her big bed while waiting for Papa to come home from work. When one of her Daughters became ill as a result of untreated Post Partum complications, she did not hesitate to standby by her 110%. She taught us during that time to the day she died how to love unconditionally. As she would often say, there is nothing like the love of a Mother for her child. She was quick to forgive, never held a grudge or a spirit of un-forgiveness. She was always a peacemaker and hated to hear bickering, quarrels and discord. She wept openly when such a thing happened and prayed the more for anyone involved. She was always conscious of not doing anything wrong to upset Jesus. And was constantly praying and asking Jesus to forgive her if she has done anything wrong that she is not aware of. As she always says, “we have to forgive as Jesus did for us”
She lived an authentic life not seeking to impress or to be pretentious. Her life was the truth. She was adamant about the truth…when the children would be naughty or stepped out of line she would cup the face in her hand and say as sternly as she can “Tell me the Truth because I can’t stand a dam liar”. Once she had the truth she would work on fixing the trouble of course with a reprimand.
Mother did her own thinking and did not leave it up to others, whether it is politics or church to do the thinking for her. She spent long period of times talking with God and insights would come to mind as to how god would lead her. She worked out her own salvation. So Godly! She was way ahead in her understanding of God and we think that is because she spent so much time praying to God and cultivating a daily relationship with.
Then the time came, sad time for all, about 5 -8 years ago, her memory started to fade. She had difficulty remembering and was confused. We all thought it was just the usual aging process but she knew something was wrong and she let everyone who would listen know, mostly trying to see if she could fix it. Some people would just dismiss or just rudely turn away, but she knew in her heart that something was not right. You see that was the beginning of altsztimer. A severe form of dementia for which there is no cure. Grandma had the best medical care that is available but thru it all, her one desire was to go home to Jesus. For a long time Grandma just wanted to go home to Jesus. Sometimes she would express her disappointment waking up on earth on not haven. She is the most prepared person we know who with such deep longing and confidence just wanted to be with Jesus.
Jesus answered this remarkable woman of faith wish, desire and prayer on September 6, 2009.
Why I suck
So today driving home I had these thoughts. For the past couple weeks Ive been talking about the car that I was going to buy and how much I was going to pay for it. Ive also been struggling with this the phrase praying about it. Can I truly rely on God to show me what kind of car I should buy and how much I should pay for it. My good friend ben drives an old crown Victoria. I remember getting in that car and saying wow look at this car. Maybe I should drive. That is why I suck. here is a guy doing it. he works for an organization that does what it says it will do. maybe I should start that maybe I should go without a car for a while to truly appreciate the ability to buy any car I want. Pray about it. I don’t think I’ve ever used this phase. One I dont want to lie if I don’t and two do I really believe that a prayer will be answered. So now i’m in a dilemma. What to do.
slow motion
You ever feel like your life is in slow motion. You know like everything is just kinda floating around. I think I’m moving in slow motion. Really weird. Something profound. So two friends of mine told me a story of them apologizing to someone for how they treated them. I’m not talking about teenage boys these are grown men. That got me thinking about apologies. It really takes a lot to do that. Really. Not just the sorry. I’m talking about you walking up to someone who doesn’t even know how you felt about them and apologize. That my friend is huge. I think it wasn’t until after college that I truly was able to do that. I think during college I gave an excuse not an apology. Where is this going? I dont really have an apology to end this post it just came to mind.
So slow motion. I’ve been gone so long I dont really know what’s going on at the office. Kinda feel in the way. I’m going to try something at work. For one year I will not write anything. Yup you heard right. I will not write a thing for work. Well I mean a story. I need to take a break you know. I haven’t written anything good for a while. So there you go.
I found this dont know them. Please educate me.
Car update
Well let me tell you where I am. So car is sold and right now i’m being a given a car for the next couple of days. Ive thought of holding out until my vacation but i’m sure people will get tired of me doing that. My search started with I want a cheap truck. It has now morphed into I want a cheap truck that has some character. I’m talking this type of character.
Ive found a couple of these. I’m also looking for something that I can work on with my own hands. I used to help a buddy with his car and I want to get back in that. I figure why not now. I don’t know a ton about cars but I wouldn’t mind learning. So that is the type of vehicle i’m looking for.
When I went to cancel my extended warranty they were ready to set me up in a new car. I’m starting to realize that I just don’t care. I dont care about having a nice car. So that has brought me to this search. I may do a search now so I know what I’m looking for and then buy when I come back from my vacation. Yes I’m taking a vacation. Should be a good time.
Oh Ive got a story about one of the ladies that lives in this neighborhood. But Ive got to clean the place so it will have to wait. Let me know if you see anything.
