The Creative Edge Workshop

There have been lots of hits on my blog recently and the marketing people say I should be making the most of them so . . . . here's a plug for my book The Creative Edge Workshop.

By participating in the activities and completing the workbook you will:

• learn what creativity is.
• learn about the ways in which you are already creative [and expand them].
• learn how to make your life more creative.
• learn how to identify and strengthen aspects of your creative character.
• learn what creative people do [habits] that makes them creative.
• learn how you can expand your creativity by applying the six habits of creative people to your life.
• do practical activities to grow your creativity.
• do it all in your own time and at your own pace.

The Creative Edge Workshop is a sizable, information rich workbook developed by New Zealand creativity consultant Wayne Morris, and honed through many individual and group-based workshops. Whilst retaining and element of fun, it robustly teaches an approach to understanding and building the creative process within any individual, that Morris – a highly creative person in his own right – has developed over many years of exploring. Used with intent, this workbook will help locate the creative inner-you, or act as a sound guide for those who wish to expand the creative potential of others.
Graeme Beals, Publisher, Zenith Publishing Group, 2010

In New Zealand you can get it from me wayne@future-edge.co.nz or the publisher www.publishmeshop.co.nz Search for creative edge. Overseas go direct to the publisher.

Its around $NZ30 plus postage and packaging.

Go on - you know you would like one!

The International Centre for Studies in Creativity

This from Dr. Cyndi Burnett, Assistant Professor, Director of Distance Education Programs, International Center for Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State University
www.buffalostate.edu/creativity

Would you like to keep up to date with current issues in the field of creativity? Please follow the Current Issues Blog (entries submitted by our Graduate Students):
http://creativityresearch.blogspot.com/

Why creativity matters

Question and answer with Josh Linkner.
Linkner is a jazz musician, venture capitalist and the founder and chairman of ePrize, an interactive marketing company.

More here: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/the-world/article/why-creativity-matters-most-qa-with-josh-linkner-maya-payne-smart?cid=em-smartbrief

How to be an explorer of the world.

The title is from a favourite book of mine by Keri Smith.

My friend Bruce Hammonds says the title of this interesting book sums up what learning ought to be all about - students as explorers of their world. I agree.

He then goes on the express his real concerns about creative teaching [or rather the lack of it it.]

He begins: "I would like to think that creative teaching is alive and well but I am not sure I believe that anymore.

Being creative has always been a hard road to follow particularly since the introduction of the curriculum and accountability and assessment demands imposed on school in the mid eighties. And this has only escalated with demands for schools to focus on the 'three Rs' leading up to the most recent reactionary concept of National Standards - themselves one step away from National Testing and League Tables."

More here:
http://leading-learning.blogspot.com/2011/02/seeking-using-and-creating-education.html

Creativity Habit: PLAY

This TED clip from Marci Segal's blog
http://marcisegal.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-powerful-link-between-creativity-and-play/

Tauranga Acoustic Music festival

Last weekend Hard Candy, the band in which I am a drummer, were invited to perform as part of the Tauranga Acoustic Music Club Festival. Our hosts Penny and Paul made us very welcome. That's Paul and Penny performing.

The day started at 10 am with a range of very talented local musicians on a smaller stage and then later in the day the attention focused on the large stage.

One of the challenges for Hard Candy is that we all live in different parts of the North Island of New Zealand so practicing prior to gigs is challenging. Our friend Christine arranged for us to practice at a neighbours place. We could have stayed at Little Weed all day - beautiful environment, homemade ginger beer and ice - but we couldn't. Thanks Anne.

The highlight for me - apart from our own gig and an originals band from Raglan - The Hand Me Downs - was playing with one of the world's best harmonica players - Brendan Power. That's me and Brendan and a really hot guitarist Peter Charlton-Jones. I got to play a duel with Brendan - him on the harmonica and me on the Cahon [the box that I am sitting on] and trying to match Brendan rhythm for rhythm. Hopefully the video clip will come out and I can out it on a later blog.

A great festival and great people whose spirits were only slightly dampened by a thunderstorm. But that's what festivals are all about - the unexpected!

Young Creative Leaders

For the last couple of years I have been invited by a local primary school to work with their senior students. The school expects all senior students to play a leadership role.

One of the challenges is to identify what it means to be a leader and the expectations that the school has for their senior students. Rather than dumbing the sessions down I do as I would with any leadership group and I have to say that the kids respond as well as any adult leadership group. They know what leaders do.

Capturing and keeping young students attention is a challenge so the morning is broken up into some individually focused activity and some team activities. Starting with a game of Leadership Bingo, through to team based activities with rope and duct tape to tower building these kids applied themselves really well.

One activity involved having a student lie on a large piece of paper so that others could draw around them - I was too busy working with then to get photos - and then the group drew or wrote over the shape all the characteristics of a leader. They then had to present their poster to the remaining groups

I'm not sure what happens as people get older but if the energy and commitment of these kids is anything to go by New Zealand is going to be well served with leaders in the future.

Thanks West End School students and staff.

The dark side of creativity

According to this Harvard Business School report original thinkers can be more dishonest. What do you think?
http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-064.pdf
And here is Greg Fraley's response:
http://www.greggfraley.com/blog/?p=1700

ADHD's upside is creativity

Parents who’ve claimed for years that their kids with ADHD are more creative are getting some scientific backup from a new study, which found that subjects with the disorder have enhanced creative abilities.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-08/adhds-upside-is-creativity-says-new-study/?cid=hp:mainpromo6

The Creative Economy

Creative Economy - United Nations Report. Its quite a big download but interesting reading.
http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ditctab20103_en.pdf