Creativity

Universities Pushing Boundaries

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The University of Minnesota has a website devoted to environmental issues, and we immediately enjoy its spirit and perspective.  Click the image to the left to go to one brief article in a series titled “What would it take?”, in this case featuring an interview with Solomon Prakash.  He is asked a series of questions around the specific theme “What would it take for social entrepreneurship to make inroads to poverty?”  His answers conclude with:

I think the next 10 years will be the decade of social entrepreneurs. I see lots of talented people who want to solve social problems making serious career changes. Some mainstream design firms have actually set up a whole branch around social innovation. Consulting companies are looking at hybrid models of social change. Increasingly, companies are saying it’s no longer possible to look at customers just as consumers. More and more people understand that social change is no longer a marginal activity. The opportunity is huge to solve problems and to come up with interesting commercial models that can be sustainable.

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The Heart of The Matter

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Playgrounds are fairly ubiquitous in most parts of the world, be they rusty swings or elaborate constructions. My own sons have clamored up wooden forts and rope bridges in upstate New York where they were born; metal piping in the shape of a plane fuselage in Costa Rica where they grew up; and inventive, child friendly park structures in Paris where we lived as well…not to mention any and all trees, stone walls and Mayan temples they would find in between.

In 2009 Japanese architectural firm Tezuka Architects teamed up with renowned Japanese crochet artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam to create a play space both uniquely charming and innovative, that even the most “Global Citizen” of children would be amazed by. Continue reading →

Travel, Writing & Games

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This series has always been worth reading, whether you are an American looking through the eyes of a fellow American, or otherwise intrigued by a niche of American perspective that is not quite representative of that culture as a whole.

First things first: sometimes a book, a music recording or other item is only available from the mainstream online retailers such as Amazon or iTunes, but whenever possible we promote the purchase from independent sellers.  So click the image to the right if you want a link to independent booksellers in the USA, provided by the ever-entrepreneurial American Booksellers Association.

Now, the side show: the series editor Jason Wilson is also a contributor to a site we refer to on occasion, and he wrote an interesting item a couple of years ago that began:

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Stars Shine, Colors Flow

/ Amie Inman / 1 Comment

Some pieces of art are so iconic and powerful it is difficult to imagine any interpretation or alteration that wouldn’t result in angry outcries.  (The cleaning of the Sistine Chapel ceilings is a case in point.)  The piece below, created by Greek artist Petros Vrellis successfully balances reverence and imagination.

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Galapagos Crafts

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Another change visible in the Galapagos Islands circa 2011, versus 2oo3, is the quality of the craft on display in at least one shop in Puerto Ayora.  I have always been interested in artisan craft, but especially so in the last 15 years.  My first exposure to the intersection between ancient traditions and modern methods was in Guatemala in the mid-1990s, where an Austrian artisan was working with Maya communities on the re-establishment of production of finely carved ceremonial masks.  Not long after that, I saw the same thing in Ecuador, where a Swiss artisan was working with the tagua nut (aka vegetable ivory) to create remarkable carved curiosities.

Now, in Galapagos, I see that an Ecuadoran artisan has documented his work in this book, showing a series of hand-made, all-wooden mechanical devices.  While he is not based in the islands, his work is on display and somehow resonates especially well there.  I took these short videos while visiting the gallery showing his work: