LOVE ANGELES

Bring on the Learning Revolution!

Source: TED - 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." - BBC Radio 4

One Man’s Trash…

Source: EcoFabulous - Reusing old items (like furniture) tops the eco-list of planet conscious peeps everywhere, no question. But as much as we’d love to add a little pre-loved flavor to our home, the challenge often lies in picturing that discarded dresser or crumbling credenza living in your place when it’s just so… trashed. After a trip to Brooklyn based home décor company, Nightwood, it makes the visioning process a breeze: they gather, recover, and repurpose unwanted pieces and offer beautiful, one-of-a-kind goods.

Founded in 2008 by Nadia Yaron and Myriah Scruggs, Nightwood was born out of a necessity for furnishing their own apartment without busting the bank. The ladies soon discovered a knack for artful deconstruction and reconstruction of vintage furniture, using salvaged wood scraps, low-VOC paints, water-based finishes, and organic, natural fabrics. Today, Nightwood offers the best of what repurposing furniture should be: low-impact, natural, and downright gorgeous!

Check out their gallery to browse past projects; if you see something you like, contact them and they’ll customize a piece that’s perfect for you!

The Art of Creativity

Source: Forth Magazine - The Art of Creativity is Jim Wooden’s new video series devoted to exploring and revealing the workings of the inner artist. These profiles are a fascinating look at the artisan’s world and are a powerful way to connect the audience to the art.

Those already documented by Mr. Wooden include painter Yvette Gillis, 2009 Edward Albee Playwright Award Winner Neil Wechsler, and established collector Dallas Price-Van Breda. Check back weekly for updated installments of Mr. Wooden’s work.

JK Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech

Source: TED - A single mother who battled poverty and depression as she struggled to launch her writing career, Joanne "JK" Rowling was to become perhaps the most famous contemporary fiction writer in the world, with her Harry Potter series of children's books -- a chronicle of the adventures of an adolescent wizard of the same name. The fourth volume of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was the fastest-selling book in history.

Since completing the series, Rowling has put her fortune toward philanthropic projects dealing with poverty, multiple sclerosis and other issues through her own Volant Charitable Trust.

"I'd give a lot to know how many teenagers (and preteens) texted this message in the days following the last book's release: DON'T CALL ME TODAY I'M READING." -Stephen King

Watch the clip below:

iPad Has Arrived

Source: Wired - It’s finally here. Apple’s most anticipated device since the iPhone, a touchscreen tablet dubbed the iPad, has landed. We had some time to test drive it. First impressions? It’s great for what it does, and we’re hoping it’ll expand to become so much more.

Thanks to clunky user interfaces, durability issues and limited utility, the tablet has been filed away as a niche device again and again. Has Apple, the leader in industry and interface design, finally nailed the tablet?

Take a dive into our gallery while we give the device an early critique.

Entrepreneur of the Year: Kevin Surace of Serious Materials

Source: Inc.com - The founder of Serious Materials wants to save the world and make a billion dollars. And he just might pull it off.

The Secret Service wasn't thrilled about a last-minute addition to the group sharing the stage with the Vice President. But Kevin Surace was insistent. Upon arriving at his company's Chicago factory on that warm, wet morning in April, Surace had glanced through the speaker lineup and noticed a gaping hole. Where was a union member? How could the resurrection of a union shop be celebrated without an actual worker?

A few minutes later, the motorcade rumbled up a ramp and into a cordoned-off, sharpshooter-patrolled section of the cavernous plant. As Joe Biden toured a production line, earnestly absorbing the esoterica of superinsulating windows, Surace corralled one of the Vice President's aides. The aide was doubtful. Everyone onstage needed clearance, and it was late in the game to perform a background check. Surace didn't care. "It's the right thing to do," he told the aide. "I want it to happen."

Shortly thereafter, Armando Robles, a maintenance worker and president of Local 1110 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, joined Surace, Biden, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and plant supervisor Frank Edwards onstage. Speaking before a bank of news cameras and an audience of about 100, Robles related the saga of Republic Windows and Doors, whose rescue they were marking. In December 2008, the company abruptly shut down, cutting workers adrift with just three days' warning and no severance. Furious, employees engaged in a riveting, six-day sit-in that drew national media attention. When it was over (the workers won severance and vacation pay but still lost their jobs), the cameras drifted away, leaving the plant for dead.

That's when Surace, founder and CEO of Serious Materials, which makes carbon-frugal construction products, swooped in. A white knight as well as a green one, Surace bought Republic's crippled assets out of bankruptcy and pledged to restore the factory and eventually rehire all the workers at their old pay levels.

When Robles finished, Biden took the podium. He praised Serious Materials for making "the most energy-efficient windows in the world." Then he turned to Surace, thanking him for "your faith in the people here at this factory, your faith in the country, your willingness to invest here in America." Surace stood silently with his hands clasped before him, taking it all in.

For most CEOs, such a high-profile backslap would be the unquestioned highlight of any year. For Surace, Biden's visit was certainly a highlight. But there were so many other peaks to choose from.

The Biden event occurred just six weeks after Surace basked in comparable accolades from Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell during a March ribbon cutting at another Serious Materials factory, this one in the steel graveyard of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. In Vandergrift, the collapse of Kensington Windows the previous October had stranded 150 workers until Surace bought the factory and committed to bringing everyone back. Also in March, Barack Obama publicly cited Serious Materials as among the "innovators creating the jobs that will foster our recovery and creating the technologies that will power our long-term prosperity." Colorado Senator Mark Udall delivered similar plaudits during his visit to Serious Materials's Boulder plant in April.

And politicos aren't alone in showering endorsements. In November 2008, Popular Science draped a best-new-product sash around EcoRock, the company's environmentally friendly drywall. The following September, The Wall Street Journal named EcoRock the most innovative environmental product of the year. Revenue at Serious Materials, which neared $50 million in 2009, is up 50 percent over 2008. And though other entrepreneurs are running on fumes, Surace in September closed a $60 million round of financing, doubling total raised capital to $120 million.

"It's been a hell of a year," acknowledges Surace, 47. "But it's not like I have a choice. For this to work, we have to be on a world stage. We have to make people care about what we're doing. It's part of the plan. And my job is to execute the plan."

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Serious Materials is a dirt-under-its-fingernails business situated among such giants of the virtual as eBay and Yahoo. Serious Materials aims to save a billion tons of carbon each year by reinventing, of all things, windows and drywall. Those may not sound like environmental supervillains (though tainted Chinese drywall has caused a panic over sulfur emissions). But after crunching some Department of Energy data, Surace estimates that the construction and operation of buildings -- heating; cooling; lighting; the manufacture of cement, drywall, and glass -- produce 52 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, says Surace, the "built environment" presents a far greater opportunity than oft-demonized cars and light trucks, which produce 9 percent of emissions. "What we're doing is brand-new-materials science," Surace says. "This is the big play." Continue reading here...

Ms. Spider & The Case For Expressive Arts

Source: JenniferLothrigel.com - As many of you know, art is a very important part of my life. The creative process has always been one my most dear methods of transforming the unconscious material that can sometimes come up to 'bite' us. Last year I completed my certification in Expressive Arts and through that process I began to integrate art into my work more and more. When I say art, I speak of creative expression in all of its many forms. I view creative expression as an essential part of being a whole individual. Further, I would say that I view the creative process as a powerful way to obtain wholeness. It has certainly been so in my personal experience. I wanted to share an example of this with you from a recent 'Intuitive Painting' experience that I had. You will find the painting below (at the end of the note) along with the writing that I did about the painting (this is a way that I process what has 'shown up' through my intuitive creative expression.) Following, the writing I share an example of how I work with the creative process when working with clients and in workshops.

This is the writing that I did about her. What I do, is once I have painted I sit down and dialogue with the painting. I simply ask that the painting reveal why it has come to me. I don't try to 'figure it out' rather, listen to what it has to say as if it is a wise messenger who has come bearing valuable information.

This is what Ms. Spider had to say: "I have come creeping out of your unconscious womb space to let you know that there is debris down there that is getting in my way of maintaining a beautiful and vibrant web. I want this cleared because my web is being weighted down.

Please listen to me seriously, because if you do not, I will bite. And my bite is very painful. I am not afraid of dark places, or what I find there and this is how I am a gift to you. I do not fear what I may find or doubt my ability to face what seems to be too scary to look at. I do not doubt my ability to take on the largest of monsters. I can see in the dark. This is my advantage."

Additionally, I had been having dreams that mirrored the message of this painting. The process that I used with this painting is what I teach in my classes when we use 'Intuitive Painting'. Everything is energy and symbols hold so much energy for us. There is so much in symbols for us to dive into. In intuitive painting, I teach how to pay attention to energy and then the painting process becomes a listening exercise where we listen with our hands. In this process, we are following the energy throughout the entire painting. It is very exciting and curious to wonder what will appear. What symbols will reveal themselves to us? In the painting above, I had no intentions and this wonderful, very feminine spider came with such a valuable message for me.

I should add that prior to painting this, I prayed, I meditated and I did a ritual to connect with my deepest aspects of myself as well as my most Spiritually connected parts of myself. I use this process also in my classes and my individual session work. Following the dialogue with the painting there is much more exploration to be done. I often will use Voice Dialogue with painting and discover parts of myself or my clients that are similar to the painting and listen to what they have to say. I often will have clients dance the painting and discover how it feels in their bodies. Or write a poem about the painting.

By spending time with the painting we can see where there is personal growth that is beckoning us. And this gives us a place to work from. With this, I may then, use Shamanic work such as Soul retrieval. And I most always do a ceremony to initiate the arrival or the exit of what has been painted in or out of my life. Sometimes paintings are parts of us that are dying and other times, they are parts that are being born into our experience.

In individual sessions we don't do large paintings such as the one above due to time constraints but we will use watercolors or acrylics and then work much like what I described above.

Thanks for allowing me to share in my process. If you have any questions about the process or working individually this way I am happy to answer. For more visit www.JenniferLothrigel.com