Alice Waters

PBS aired a wonderful documentary about Alice Waters, world renown chef at Chez Panisse. She combines her politics and life, uplifting and inspiring many. Out of her passion for locally grown, organic, fresh vegetables, she creates sensuous food and started a food revolution. Her exquisite sense of taste has earned her accolades from prominent chefs and critics. She extended her visionary work to an educational project, the Edible Schoolyard. A former Montessori teacher, she works well with children as she conveys her passions. In addition, she possesses the ability to facilitate and draw out the best in the many cooks who plan and prepare the meals at Chez Panisse. She is not at all a bigger than-life personality. She has accomplished her goals through hard work, perseverance, and passion.

A New Journal

The Mind's Eye: An Online Transpersonal Psychology Journal explores myth, psychology, ecospirituality, ecology, and sexuality. With a beautiful layout, the articles appear in two sections. Growing Edges: Theory and Research presents scientific research and theoretical articles. Poetry and prose appear in a section called Optimal Flow: Creative Writing. The writing here is uneven. A tough, poignant poem, "Trade Secrets" by Bret Stephenson explores masculinity and poetry from the view point of a man raised to hunt, swear, and get laid. "Where I came from poetry didn't get you laid, two hours of begging did." The journal will accept submissions of previously unpublished manuscripts on topics related to transpersonal psychology.

The Little Way

I want to write about inspirational artists. Art is important. I want to shout this from the rooftops. But the war weighs heavy on my mind. I can only write about peacekeepers who are using their creativity in positive ways to make a difference in the world. Each of their steps may be small, but like Dorothy Day, the Catholic who started the Catholic Worker movement along with Peter Moran, I must believe in "The Little Way." Do something, even if it is small. Even in this nuclear age, we can plant gardens, make art, and sing.

For a great life affirming story about a birthday party in Baghdad go to the Iraq Peace Team updates site. Courageous men and women are working as agents of peace by putting a name and face on the Iraqi citizens who become dehumanized in our culture's mass media. They spend time with Iraqi families, not to act as human shields, but to witness their lives and to be there in support. They return home to to speak to Americans about their experiences.

This weekend, I heard one recently returned peacemaker, Michele Naar-Obed, speak about the families that graciously shared their lives with her. Both families were living on rations from the oil for food program. Despite Saddam Hussein's many brutalities, the government was very efficient at running this program. All of the UN workers that Michele met testified to equality and efficiency of the program. Both families offered her food whenever she visited. Rice, rice wrapped in cabbage, rice, or rice. One family stayed in Baghdad. The other family managed to save money for the wife and children to take a cab to Syria. They only had enough money for the cab. No extra money for food or shelter once they arrived. They knew no one in Syria. She does not know how they are doing.

April Hurley reports firsthand on civilian casualties in Baghdad hospitals on the diary site. Be forewarned, the pictures are gruesome.

"Nada Adnan, 13 years old and a student at high school for girls, states "I wish that God would take Bush. Why did he do this to us? to me?". She has an open gash on her right cranium with underlying fracture and a large, deep shrapnel gauged cut into her upper left thigh. She has no narcotic relief and cries out as aides press guaze into her leg wound...Less than 100 meters from Alyermouk Hospital and a school, bombing crushed the foot of 28 year old man who was walking outside his home... A 70 year old man shopping for food for his family now has a compound fracture of his left upper arm, chest wound through his lung requiring a chest tube and making answers and complaints more dificult.

He has rage and opinions... How can I explain reasons to them? They know that Bush's Administration is interested in oil control and that they have no interest in democracy for these people. Why don't Americans know this? Why did we elect this man withouwithout human feelings, they ask.

It's not easy being an American in a Baghdad Emergency room seeing victims and their families. I wish that George Bush was here with his answers to their outrage."

I also worry for the US soldiers in harm's way. Michele talked about the depleted uranium used in the last gulf war. 320 tons of DU were dropped in the deserts around Basra. It is not all cleaned up. Low level chronic exposure to this known carcinogen continues. 22 of 1,000 children in southern Iraq are suffering from cancer. An Iraqi scientist has proven the relationship between this chemical and cancer. His research has not been published due to the embargo. Michele helped the scientist contact UN workers who are delivering the research results to the WHO. Our soldiers are stationed in the sand storms outside of Basra. Bush is asking for cuts in funding to veteran's hospitals.

Healthy Careers

According to a 'lite' article by Allan Hoffman, choreography is one of the ten healthiest careers. "Why it's healthy: Choreographers are often dancers themselves, so they practice their craft on a daily basis, while focusing on a group endeavor." If you link, notice that the healthy careers are not necessarily high paying careers.

Artist's and Writer's Retreats

Thank you Rebecca, for sending this link. This website lists artist's retreats in the United States and abroad. There is another list of workshops/classes. Costs vary widely.
http://www.shawguides.com/?p=residencies.html&s=1&a=f .

I found a retreat in my ancestral region of Italy:

Vasto Artist's & Writer's Retreat
Vasto, Italy
June 20-June 30. Est. 1999. Retreat. Length: 10 days. Applicants: Artists.
Costs: $990 double, $890 single occupancy includes room, breakfast & lunch, guided museum tours, language courses.
Location: On the central Adriatic coast in the Abruzzi region, three hours from Rome, two hours from Naples.
Contact: Syed A. Haider, Vasto Artist's & Writer's Retreat, 517 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60202; 847-328-6957 (phone/fax).
The email contact was outdated.

Lysistrata

According to Democracy NOW!, over 1000 readings of the ancient Greek anti-war comedy, Lysistrata were held in 59 countries and every state in the U.S. on March 3, 2003. Conceived just 6 weeks ago by New York actors Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower as a way for actors the world over to register their opposition to a war on Iraq, the global theatrical protest will raise money for aid groups working in the Middle East.

Background on the play can be found in a related link, the Lysistrata Project. Written by Aristophanes in 413 B.C., Lysistrata may have been based on an actual revolt by Athenian women against the debilitating Peloponnesian wars. The heroine, Lysistrata (meaning "releaser of war"), organizes women on both sides of the war who are tired of losing sons and husbands. In order to force their men to abandon the war between Athens and Sparta, she proposes that the women refuse to have sex with their husbands and lovers until the men made peace. In the play, the men give in and the play ends in a pan-Hellenistic celebration. Historically, Athens, weakened by years of war, is defeated in 404 B.C.

I must admit that my interest in the Lysistrata project was peaked because it reminded me that I had agreed to my husband's idea of naming our child Lysistrata if we had a girl. While I had misgivings of burdening a little child with a name so long and hard to spell, I decided that Lys was an unusual name and I could live with that. I spoke to the child in my growing stomach as Lyssie. I also feared that a child named Lysistrata may have a hard roe to hoe in later years if people referred to the inspirational character in only the most base ways. We had a boy.

Are You a Cultural Creative?

Cultural Creatives, a term coined by Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson, refers to a growing subculture of optimistic and altruistic millions. It describes people who value social justice, peace, spirituality, and ecology above getting and spending. Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., a macro-sociologist concerned with the evolution of culture, discovered this group during 13 years of research on values and lifestyles using surveys and focus groups. Along with Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D., a psychologist focusing on the qualities of inner experience and his wife, they published The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World (Harmony, 2000).

"As of the year 2000, there are 50 million adults in the United States who have the worldview, values and lifestyle of the Cultural Creatives. (There are probably about 80-90 million Cultural Creatives in the European Union as well.)"

They wrote the book to help this group recognize their power. "Cultural Creatives are not yet aware of themselves as a collective body, they do not recognize how powerful their voices could be."

Take the quiz on the site and discover whether you are part of this promising group.

Flight or Invisibility: Steps of Choosing

John Hodgman asked people to select a superpower for their imaginary transformation into a superhero. From his interviews, he developed the Five Stages of Picking a Superhero. You can listen to them on the March 2, 2003 program of This American Life. For creative people, selecting a creative project may also involve these five stages. The stages may not evolve in the Hodgmanian order, however. The first stage is gut reaction. "Invisibility as a super power appeals to me." "I feel that this is a unique idea." The second stage involves practical considerations. If you are a superhero who flies, can you carry someone on your back? To follow through on this creative idea will take a certain chunk of time, money, or skills. An artist starts to evaluate her resources for the project. Philosophical reconsideration characterizes the next stage. Is it fair to watch others if you are invisible? A writer asks about the meaning and consequence of the novel he proposes to write. This leads to Stage Four, self-recrimination. Creative people experience this stage frequently. Eric Maisel writes of hushing negative self-talk and Julia Cameron challenges the inner critic. Hodgman's fifth stage is acceptance. I would add a sixth stage. A creative project is not fully chosen until the creator starts to act on her idea.

For an interesting insight into your own creative hurdles, look at the dichotomy represented by the two superhero powers that people in Hodgeman's study chose - invisibility or flight. Flight is noble. You display it in front of others. Crowds look up to you. It is the power of angels. The superhero who flies is a selfless hero. Invisibility is sneaky. It can lead to crimes of shoplifting or voyeurism. For an artist, however, I will pose the idea that invisibility represents a safe haven away from the prying eyes of others. It is the solitude necessary for absorption in a project. All creative people possess both sides of this dichotomy - the desire to work safely without criticism and the desire to have others acknowledge your work; the desire to create for yourself and the desire to share your work with others; the need to work deeply with absorption and the need to engage other people in your work. Examine your fantasy version of an artist's life. Is your fantasy filled with images of intense, solitary work? Perhaps your fantasy involves eager crowds watching you perform or dignitaries praising your achievements with grand prizes and MacArthur grants. Solitary work and public presentation are both necessary for the completion of a creative work. Which one challenges you the most? Most likely, it is the part missing from your fantasy image. Muster courage in superhero proportions to meet the challenges of noble flight and solitary invisibility.

Virginia Woolf on Patriotism

Liza Featherstone reports on recent antiwar actions and on the history of women's resitance to militarism. Her article includes the role of artists. Featherstone states, "In her 1938 treatise Three Guineas, Virginia Woolf argued that as a woman, she had no reason to be patriotic, as the state denied her equal property and citizenship rights. She wrote, 'If you insist upon fighting to protect me, or 'our' country, let it be understood, soberly and rationally between us, that you are fighting...to procure benefits which I have not shared...in fact, as a woman, I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.' "

Women today may value their equal property and citizenship rights and still question whether going to war to procure benefits is a justification for humanitarian crisis and turmoil. Recent street theater performances by members of Code Pink serve as creative reminders of the consequences of war for women and children in third world countries. Code Pink calls on "women around the world to rise up and oppose the war in Iraq. We call on mothers, grandmothers, sisters and daughters, on workers, students, teachers, healers, artists, writers, singers, poets, and every ordinary outraged woman willing to be outrageous for peace." They call on women, not because they are more nurturing than men, but because men have been busy planning and making war. They evoke women's universal connection to the love of a mother for her children.

Artists have been critical supporters of peace and justice movements although their individual works have not always been overtly political in nature. Alice Neal continued to paint portraits while connected to many liberal movements. Viewers may see her work as political when she painted political figures. Still, her main message remains psychological. So artists with strong political opinions have several options. One is to express your viewpoint in your art, whether as an individual artist or as part of a group. Many artists feel the need to continue on their own chosen art direction and struggle with postmodern ideas of connecting their politics and their art. An artist's true work is important humanitarian and cultural work for our world. Artists can empower themselves by expressing their opinions outside of their art, as an artist, or as a mother, or as a daughter, or as a caring human. Again, joining with others is an option that can leave time and energy for making your own art. If you become involved with groups, take stock of your proirities often. Make conscious decisions about where you are spending your time and make plans that include creative time.

Great Creativity Tool

Mind maps are great tools for planning, organizing, problem solving, or brainstorming. Hold a paper in landscape view and start with one word of your idea or problem in the center of the page. Connect lines to other thoughts. Tony Buzan suggests using many colors and symbols as you you work from the center out. Recently, I used this method during a 15 minute break at my job and discovered the structure that I needed for an article. This productive use of a small bit of time helped me to move quickly when I sat down at the computer. It is one of those activities that you can add to your list of things to do for your creative project when you only have a short slot of time. Use it when the answer to a problem eludes you. It combines the whole picture with details. Therefore, I am not sure whether it is a left brained or right brained activity. It certainly frees up areas of your unconscious as you work in a non hierarchical manner. In the end, you see connections and structures.

Career Advice

I like this bit of career advice from George Monbiot. He aims the advice to journalists, but I find it inspirational for all creative people. He claims that the typical career advice in school "teaches you to do what you don't want to do, to be what you don't want to be. It is an exceptional person who emerges from this process with her aims and ideals intact. Indeed it is an exceptional person who emerges from this process at all." He outlines three approaches to do the work you want to do. None are easy or quickly lucrative. "The first is simply to start how you mean to go on. This is unlikely, for a while, to be self-financing, so you may need to supplement it with work which raises sufficient money to keep you alive but doesn't demand too much mental energy." He warns against working in a job that leaves you with "no time or energy left to develop the career path [you] really wanted to follow. And you have to develop it: it simply will not happen by itself." He makes good suggestions to journalists trying to find markets for the work they want to do.

Finally, this wonderful quote: "You know you have only one life. You know it is a precious, extraordinary, unrepeatable thing: the product of billions of years of serendipity and evolution. So why waste it by handing it over to the living dead?"

Poet Power

Have you ever doubted the power of art? Poets intimidated the First Lady and a poetry reading was cancelled when it became evident that many of the creative wordsmiths were antiwar. While one poet planned a subtle protest on her silk scarf, many poets planned to read poetry against the Bush planned war in Iraq. Imagine the conversations between Laura and the poets if she had not cancelled the reading.

ARE CATS CREATIVE?

Are cats creative when they play with a pipe cleaner as though it is a hairy, long-legged insect? If there is an element of playfulness in creativity, then are cats creative? What is the difference between play and creativity? One answer obviously involves the difference in product. If you are a serious artist, writer, or preformer, you expect a serious product. Is the act of play itself enough of a product to be considered valuable and creative? Where does play fit into your creative life at the moment? I do not have a link for this. If you have a link or thoughts to share, please send them via my email at chrisyocca@hotmail.com.

"There isn't time for writer's block."

Composer John Williams and National Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin both conduct in the concert series called "Soundtracks: Music and Film." NPR's Liane Hansen interviewed the two for Weekend Edition Sunday, January 26, 2003. You can hear the interview online.

Slatkin who thinks highly of film music is excited by the collaboration with Williams. Williams describes his working process. He uses a piano, not a computer and works back and forth between the film and the piano. He listens for the kinetic tempos of the movie, the breathing of the film. He writes six and a half days a week. "It's a working life," he says. "There isn't time for writer's block." He does admit that some days are better than others, but attributes his success to "a lot of elbow grease." If Williams produces a successful soundtrack, you may not even notice it as it threads in and out of the film's other sounds and dialogue.

Leonardo: Genius or Blocked Artist?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an exhibit of Leonardo daVinci's Drawings, Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman.

Leonardo is a name synonymous with genius. Yet, he was often a blocked genius. Carmen C. Bambach states in her introduction to his drawings, "By temperament he never managed to fit within the traditions of production and socioeconomic structures of the Italian Renaissance, and he disappointed a good portion of the patrons who commissioned work from him."

While little is known of Leonardo's personal life, his blocking lead to an itinerant life as he left one city's project to work in another city. He was unable to complete the Battle of Anghiari mural in Florence despite extensive drawings. He never finished a sculpture project. When he should have been painting for Giuliano de' Medici, his Roman patron from 1513 to 1516, Leonardo obsessed over recipes for varnishes, the last step in a painting.

Did Leonardo procrastinate? Leonardo was not lazy, as his accomplishments speak for his productivity in his artistic, scientific, and engineering careers. It's not laziness, but a phenomenon called "output failure" according to Mel Levine, M.D., author of "The Myth of Laziness" (Simon & Schuster). In a January 13,2003 interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, Dr. Levine talks about students and adults who lose momentum and stall out. They can't deliver the goods.There are many aspects to consider for each individual. For Leonardo, organization may have been a problem. Dr. Levine encourages you to take an inventory of your organizational strengths and to exercise your organizational muscles whenever you find a weakness. According to Dr. Levine, we all have organizational strengths and weaknesses.

Consider these four types of organization. Each type requires its own set of skills. The first is time management. Do you know how long it will take you to do something? The second type involves handling the props of organization. This includes papers, your desk, and your workspace. Third is the ability to prioritize. The fourth is the ability to deal with task complexity. If there are many parts to a task, do you feel overwhelmed?

What are your organizational strengths and weaknesses?

Develop strategies to deal with your weak areas. If you don't know how long it takes you to complete a painting or an magazine article, start to keep a log. Write down the date and time of each work session. A log is an invaluable tool. It helps you to discover work patterns that work for you and patterns to avoid. It also will give you a written record of how long it takes you to finish a project. Once you know how long it takes to work on a given project, you can develop time lines. You can tell an editor how long it will take you to write a book. You can ask the art center for three weeks to complete an on-site installation, not just one. You will know if you need to rent space at the recording studio for two weeks or two days.

Set up your work environment so that you can work when you enter it. Develop routines that keep the workplace in order before the clutter becomes overwhelming. Set a timer for 30 minutes and do a studio cleansing once a week. Buy the folders that you need for filing important information. Invest in bulletin boards or white boards. White boards make an easily edited space for lists and deadline notes.

Give high priority to your creative activity. Commit time to your work. Commit yourself to some time each day. Most people are more productive in chunks of time. Carve out a chunk of time each week. Find small slots of time in the midst of your daily life where you can take a small step on your creative project. Practice thinking about your project several times a day. Take a minute during your day job lunch break to turn your heart toward your studio or writing room. When you get to your own space, follow your heart and enter your room, ready to work.

Do not get overwhelmed. Do things in steps. Think about starting, not about finishing. Ask yourself, "What is the next step I can start on my project?" Then, "What is the next step?" Or, "Where can I start today?" Many daily starts add up to a completed project.

You can develop each of these four muscles. Do not give up.

Is it Good Enough?

On another link within the Doonesbury site, Garry Trudeau answers questions about how he creates Doonesbury. Here is a great question:
"Are there any strips you wish you could have done over?"
--Tony F., Albuquerque, NM
GT: "Almost all of them. In a deadline-driven business, most syndicated cartoonists haven't the luxury of asking themselves, "Is the work any good?" Instead, like people everywhere, we ask ourselves, "Is it good enough?" Success is measured in percentages."

When you look at your own work, can you ask yourself, "Is it good enough?" If not, find a way to measure success that takes to heart your human condition. You don't want to give yourself permission to do shoddy work, just to do humanly possible work with the mark of your struggles and a sign that you are alive. If your perfectionism keeps you from producing on a regular basis or you redo or rewrite the same piece over and over, give yourself permission to be more productive by accepting and loving your work. Apply the measure of success to your effort, not to the end product. "I worked today." "I worked for x hours today." "I completed this step today." "I started a new piece today." "I was frustrated and I continued to work." "I was true to myself today as I worked."

Soon a work will be completed. Apply your new humanistic measure of success to the work. Then move on to the next song, the next chapter, or the next piece.

Humor and The "Day Job"

Thinking of getting a professional degree in order to find a well paying day job? Tired of the starving artist life? Read this classic Doonesbury comic, "Hug Me".