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Seeds of Creativity

February 3, 2009 – 11:17 am

“We are compelled to create—to make, write, act, and give birth. How do we manifest this deep desire? How do our creations—novels, babies, and atom bombs—affect our lives, our culture, and our planet?”

Artist Tiffany Lee Brown has embarked on the Easter Island Project to explore what it means to be biologically childless. At first Brown wanted to reach a better understanding of her struggle with not giving birth, then realized it was about the larger issue of why we create. She’s asking people to contribute a seed to take on her trip to Easter Island in August. The place is ironic since early inhabitants didn’t survive and much of what we know about them is from the monumental statues they created. People have interpreted “seed” to be anything from a poem, to pieces of an eagle’s egg to small pottery. She incorporates these offerings into traveling performances. Brown is also creating a book out of her seed project.

The premise of her project is founded on big questions – I’m interested in the “answers” she’ll find through her own journey and from those who have offered seeds of creativity. You can support her project (and have fun) through her Tarot card readings which she describes as heartfelt and not “overly woo-woo.”

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Faulkner’s Universal Truths

February 1, 2009 – 10:01 am

The writer “must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed–love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice.”

That is an excerpt from William Faulkner’s acceptance speech for his 1950 Nobel Prize. For writers, the whole speech is worth re-reading to reach full understanding. It is both inspiring and daunting.

Faulkner’s point is that in writing about these universal truths, the writer helps the reader endure. He went on to say that without these truths, “He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.”

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Purpose & Passion

January 27, 2009 – 11:00 am

“The greatest force on earth is the human soul on fire.”

I’ve been noticing this quote around – it’s used by business consultants to motivate employees and in reference to our new president. It was said by Ferdinand Foch who served as a general in the French Army in WWI. I agree – a passionate person pursuing their true calling can accomplish the unimaginable.

But what if you are too busy running through life to notice what lights your soul? There are numerous inspirational books. One is Will the REAL You Please Stand Up? by Fran Harris. She is (amazingly!) an ordained minister, WNBA Champion, business consultant, author and speaker. Her most requested speech is Are you Feasting at Life’s Buffet.. or Settling for the Crumbs? Harris tells her audience that if they don’t like what is on their plate, then send it back. A simple but useful way to look at it – we are probably more likely to send back a plate of overcooked food than reject parts of our life that aren’t working. So Bon Appetit !

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The Just-Right Desk

January 22, 2009 – 8:20 am

“The ideal recession desk would be one that makes you feel successful and abundant when you sit at it, without costing so much that you feel foolish for having spent the money.”

That’s the well-spoken advice of Reiko Gomez, a feng shui–oriented interior designer who has refocused her practice on recession-proofing the home, in a New York Times article titled In Search of the Just-Right Desk. The article points out that the American desk is more important than ever – needing to function as a command center for job searches, freelance work and plain old surfing.

I think your space expresses your approach to work. It sets the mood for creativity. Mine includes red coral, red file folders, a giant diamond-shaped paper weight – hopefully all sparking my energy to finish two books this year!

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Inaugural Words

January 21, 2009 – 10:32 am

The New York Times found an interesting way to look at the language of inaugural addresses through history. In Inaugural Words: 1789 to Present, you can click on a president and see which words he chose to use the most – the frequency of the words matches their importance at the time. Click through the years to see that George Washington spoke often of government, John F. Kennedy repeated pledge and ask, and Bill Clinton chose to use America and promise a lot. What stands out to me in President Obama’s speech yesterday are the words work, crisis and hard. The happy dancing of last night is over and the president begins the immense job of putting those words into action today. Obama also repeated endure more than most presidents – and I think he can.

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President Obama’s Inaugural Speech

January 20, 2009 – 10:45 am

“Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.”

Many sentences from President Barack Obama’s speech today will ring throughout history. I especially liked his string of traits in this passage. They aren’t the common ones. Yes, patriotism was there but so was curiosity. Curiosity speaks to America’s spirit of innovation – something we need to revive to meet environmental and other challenges. That desire to know more is one trait which will pull our nation up from its burdens.

There are few times when I felt at that moment I witnessed history – when my parents woke me up to see the first man on the moon, when the space shuttle exploded – this was another. Truly a new era has begun…

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Wyeth & Winter

January 16, 2009 – 11:15 am

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape — the loneliness of it — the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.

Artist Andrew Wyeth died today at the age of 91 in his native Pennsylvania. A New York Times article called him one of the most popular and most lambasted American artists. Some called him an illustrator rather than a true interpreter or artist. His painting Christina’s World, of a disabled neighbor seen from the back looking toward her farm home, became iconic. It is in MoMA’s collection.

Wyeth chose to spend a lot of time alone, walking and painting. People often saw melancholy in his paintings but he preferred to see them as contemplative. He once asked have we “lost the art of being alone?”

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Inagural Inspiration

January 10, 2009 – 8:16 am

“The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.” John Kennedy’s inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1961.

Writing any presidential speech must be a daunting task. Even since Barack Obama was elected, new economic and political crises seem to erupt each day. No president-elect has ever been more prepared before taking office or has needed to be. So what is Obama preparing to tell us on January 20th? How will he assure us with the appropriate balance of optimism and realism? And what will Obama tell us he can actually do to fix our mind-boggling problems? The world watches and waits…

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Time Stops for No Mouse

January 8, 2009 – 9:39 am

“The last few weeks in particular I’ve given a lot of thought to the idea of beauty. I’ve never really taken the time to do that before.”

That’s one lovely theme in Michael Hoeye’s first book in his Hermux Tanamoq series. The first title, Time Stops for No Mouse, introduces us to the watchmaking mouse, Hermux Tantamoq, and his pet ladybug, Terfle. Hermux is a sweet mouse with a zest for life. Each night, he writes charming “thank you” notes to the world. The book is hard to classify, it’s usually recommended for Young Adult readers. But it has thoughtful themes – such as stopping to notice beauty – and holds the attention of adults too. I found it delightful and fresh.

Michael Hoeye began by self-publishing his book… and then he was discovered. You’ll get hooked too and want to move on to the next book in this adventure series, The Sands of Time.

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Maps Unfolded

January 4, 2009 – 2:40 pm

“As powerful works of imagination, maps straddle the lines between art and science, and capture a sense of precision and romance.”

That’s exhibit co-curator Gloria Gerace speaking about the current exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library titled L.A. Unfolded. This sentence points out that maps are not necessarily straightforward and factual. I hadn’t thought of maps as having “remarkable stories to tell” as the curators describe. This exhibit features a 1791 Spanish Explorers California Coast map, and a variety of types of maps from real estate maps to tourist guides.

The other co-curator Glen Creason adds, “Maps are not always accurate, are not without prejudice, and are rarely perfect, but they teach us about our place in the world.”

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