"Creating a Poetic Life on Purpose" Workshop Coming Up at the University of Connecticut-Waterbury

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Connecticut Waterbury Campus is presenting the "Creating a Poetic Life on Purpose" Workshop on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. It will take place in the UConn Waterbury Multipurpose Room. The workshop facilitators are Anne F. O'Reilly, poet, mystic and teacher from Dublin, Ireland, and Steven Dahlberg, director of the Connecticut-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination.

To reserve your free seat, please call 203-36-9924 or 203-236-9925 TODAY or email osher@uconn.edu.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

Imagine, connect and act on purpose to create the life you want to lead. This is an experiential session using poetry and imagination practices to help you discover new connections between your creativity and your purpose. Learn to think in new ways about your possibilities and challenges, as well as strategies for creative thinking. Explore how to unleash and harness your creativity living your purpose as a creative act.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS:

• Anne F. O'Reilly, Ph.D., has more than 30 years experience of teaching and facilitating workshops in spirituality, creative writing and sacred poetry. She was a senior lecturer in religious studies in St. Patrick's College Drumcondra in Dublin, Ireland, until 2008, when she took early retirement and began working as a performance poet, celebrating the healing and transforming power of poetry. She brings to this work many years training with voice, poetry by heart, sacred clowning, drama and meditation. She is the author of Sacred Play: Soul Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre, and Singing from the Belly of the Whale, a book of poetry with original paintings by Caroline Hunter. The CD, Breathsong, with her own poems and music by Wayne Sheehy, was released in 2011.
• Steven Dahlberg is the director of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He serves on the board of the National Creativity Network, co-hosts the Creativity in Play online radio show, and authored the foreword to Education is Everybody's Business. He has taught courses and seminars at the University of Connecticut, Yale University, Rhode Island College, and Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, among other places.

Experiential Creativity Workshop Series at Arts & Ideas Festival - June in New Haven, Conn.

The International Festival of Arts and Ideas will feature “Unleash Your Creativity,” a series of three, experiential creativity workshops. The Festival runs from June 11 to 25, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. The workshops are June 18, 21 and 25.
The workshops will help participants explore their creativity, learn tools for new ways of thinking, find alternatives, get unstuck, discover others who value creativity, and engage creativity in the workplace. This series links the creativity of others with an in-depth opportunity to (re)discover and engage one’s own creativity and its applications to organizations and society. Full details about each workshop and its facilitators, along with registration information, can be found online (register here) or by email. The three workshops include:

• At Albertus Magnus College: “Embodying Creativity: Engaging Creative Collaboration Through Movement and Play,” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., June 18. This workshop features facilitators from Pilobolus Dance Theatre, InterPlay Connecticut, Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic, and the Alexander Technique, as well as Irish poet Anne O’Reilly who will explore how play creates the space for creativity and transformation. No previous dance experience is necessary to participate in this day, but be prepared to move. This workshop is $99 and includes the all-day workshop, lunch and a ticket to Susan Marshall Dance Company’s “Adamantine” at 5 p.m. on June 18. MORE
• At Yale University School of Art: “Creativity in the Workplace: Engaging Creativity, Design and Innovation in Organizations,” 12 to 4 p.m. on Tues., June 21. This workshop features AIGA Connecticut President Rich Hollant, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination Director Steven Dahlberg, and Irish poet Anne O’Reilly. This workshop is $99 and includes the half-day workshop, a reception, Paul Bloom’s “Ideas: How Pleasure Works” lecture at 5:30 p.m., and a ticket to Jack Hitt’s “Making Up the Truth” at 8 p.m. on June 21. MORE
• At Albertus Magnus College: “Composing a Creative Life on Purpose: Engaging Meaning in Life and Work,” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., June 25. This workshop features facilitators who will lead hands-on experiences – in arts therapy, education, creativity, art, spirituality and intuition – that will help participants engage their creativity on purpose and for purpose. This workshop is $99 and includes the all-day workshop, lunch and a ticket to David T. Little’s “Soldier Songs” at 5 p.m. on June 25.  MORE

O’Reilly is a special guest from Dublin, Ireland, whose readings and performances will be uniquely featured in all three workshops. Her participation is supported by Imagine Ireland. O’Reilly is the author of the book, Sacred Play: Soul Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre; a book of poetry, Singing from the Belly of the Whale; and a CD of her poems, Breathsong.

Additional facilitators include Renee Jaworski, Pilobolus dancer and associate artistic director; Lisa Laing, Certified InterPlay Leader; L'Ana Burton, director of CDC Creative Dance Continuum and teaching artist for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; Rachel Bernsen, Certified Teacher of The Alexander Technique; Carol Pollard, associate director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics; Dorie Shallcross, author of Intuition: An Inner Way of Knowing; Lisa Furman, artist and associate professor, Albertus Magnus College; Evie Lindemann, assistant professor/clinical coordinator master of arts in art therapy program, Albertus Magnus College; and Alice Forrester, executive director, Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic.

The “Unleashing Your Creativity” Series is curated by Steven Dahlberg, who heads the Connecticut-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches “Creativity + Social Change” at the University of Connecticut. The centre is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities.

The series is presented by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, Albertus Magnus College, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and Connecticut Creates, in partnership with International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

The mission of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas is to create an internationally renowned festival in New Haven, Conn., of the highest quality with world-class artists, thinkers and leaders, attracting and engaging a broad and diverse audience celebrating and building community and advancing economic development.

Berenice "Bee" Bleedorn -- Celebrating and Remembering a Great Educator, Philosopher, Humanist, Artist

To my fellow creative dreamers,

This morning I received word that we have lost one of The Great Ones in the creativity field. My dear friend -- our dear friend -- Berenice "Bee" D. Bahr Bleedorn has died. She was my friend and mentor and inspiration and colleague and teacher who got me into the creativity field 20 years ago this fall at the University of St. Thomas. Her passing leaves a (w)hole in the world. When Bee's 2005 book came out, the "book warming" invitation had a poem on it that was written for her by a Metropolitan State University student in the early 1970s. It really states the impact of Bee on us, and the way we should continue to always see the creative potential in others:

SEED WOMAN
By Kathleen Kuehnast

Seed Woman
Sower of human potentials,
Like a chemist
You experiment with possibilities
And mix together the unordinary
Until it becomes extraordinary.

We will always need in this world
Flowers and roots, seeds and ground,
and a sower -- whether it be the wind
Or you.

For those of you on Facebook, several comments have been left. Please add your thoughts, if you would like.

It looks like the funeral will be Tuesday afternoon at St. Joan of Arc in Richfield, Minnesota. Bee's daughters will confirm this on Friday. A full obituary will be in the papers on Sunday. You can also add comments to the online legacy in the Star Tribune obituary listing.

FRIENDS, please plan to come and join us to celebrate Bee's life with us ... most likely after the funeral on Tuesday. Please share this information and invitation with others, and we will update you with the specifics in the next day or so.

With a heavy heart, filled with gratitude for the 20 years of knowing Bee ...

Steve Dahlberg
International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
http://www.appliedimagination.org/

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ARTISTS IN TRANSITION CONFERENCE / APRIL CREATIVITY NETWORKING

CREATIVITY NETWORKING ... Special Off-Site, Co-Located Program with the ARTISTS IN TRANSITION CONFERENCE IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT ... Steven Dahlberg to lead a workshop on 'Creative Thinking, Aging and Living: Engaging our Strengths, Living our Purpose'
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SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010, 12:00-5:00 P.M.
Westside Campus Center Building, Western Connecticut State University
3 University Boulevard, Danbury, Connecticut 06810
$25/person (Save $15 ... enter "Creativity Networking" in the "how did you learn about the conference?" on the registration form and pay the usual $10 Creativity Networking fee!) Questions? Email artistsintransition@yahoo.com
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Artists in Transition Conference ... for and about artists facing health issues, as well as for non-disabled artists, arts administrators and anyone interested in creativity, diversity and accomplishment.

One of the best gatherings on this topic, with more than 15 speakers and workshops, and outstanding networking opportunities. In workshops, learn more about creativity and aging, maximizing employment opportunities, career transitions, grant writing, health insurance and more. Plus hear from speakers who are artists/performers who are themselves dealing with health issues and disability and are living active, creative and accomplished lives in and through the arts.

• Find more information about the conference and about Steven Dahlberg's workshop.
• Download a PDF of complete conference information, including workshop descriptions.

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The Creativity Networking Series is curated and hosted by Steven Dahlberg, who heads the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut.

The Creativity Networking Series is presented by The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, both based in New Milford, Connecticut. Creativity Networking is normally held at 2 p.m. on one Sunday each month at The Silo. The series provides a forum for exploring the many facets of creativity and for discovering other people interested in creativity. Through interesting topics and guests, the series seeks to help people rediscover and reconnect with their inherent creativity and explore new ways of expressing it.

Visual/Performing Artists Health Issues Conference - April 14 in Connecticut

The International Centre for Creativity and Imagination is pleased to be one of more than 100 arts, health, educational and advocacy organizations co-sponsoring the Artists in Transition conference on April 11, 2010, in Danbury, Connecticut. Additional co-sponsors include Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation, Actors Fund of America, Chamber Music America, and Merce Cunningham Foundation, among others. Steven Dahlberg will be leading a session (I-9) on "Creative Thinking, Aging and Living: Engaging our Strengths, Living our Purpose." This session will take participants on a journey through creativity, more specifically the creative thinking process, which engages our strengths and purpose. You will explore insights about positivity, strengths, adaptability, and neuroscience in tapping into and harnessing one's creativity in living more meaningful lives.

[1 March 2010 - Artists in Transition] Artists in Transition -- an organization that works with artists and performers facing physical and/or mental health issues that affect their ability to create or perform -- is having its inaugural conference on Sunday, April 11, 2010, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut, USA.

The conference is being co-sponsored by more than 100 local, state and national arts, health, educational and advocacy organizations.

Inspiring architect/sculptor Tom Luckey will keynote the event and awesome musical entertainment will be provided by Our Time Theatre. There will be outstanding networking opportunities and 15 information-packed breakout sessions on diverse subjects such as healthcare, maximizing employment potential, grant writing, creativity and purpose, etc. Speakers will include artists and performers who themselves are dealing with health and disability issues and making their art and lives a creative force.

Sign up now to be part of this informational and inspirational event. Check out the event Web site for complete conference and registration information (REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 13).

• Breakout Descriptions
• Registration Information

Edutainment: the benefits of arts and crafts in adult and community learning

[March 2008 - Voluntary Arts England] A collection of inspiring and informative case studies from a range of adult learners and tutors highlighting the many benefits associated with participating in the arts and crafts through adult and community learning. With a foreword from Professor John Benyon (Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Leicester), the publication also contains results from our national survey of adult learners along with information on where to find an art or craft course in your area. Hard copies are also available. More (PDF)

For a Sharp Brain, Stimulation

[13 May 2008 - New York Times] AMERICANS may worry about heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but they downright dread Alzheimer’s disease, a recent survey found. For good reason. One in eight adults over 65 is affected by the disease. Those who are spared know they may end up with the burden of caring for a parent or a spouse who is affected. Even though the number of older adults with dementias is rising rapidly, only a few drugs that have been approved to treat symptoms are on the market, and they slow down the disease but do not cure it. Researchers, however, are more optimistic than ever about the potential of the aging brain, because recent evidence has challenged long-held beliefs by demonstrating that the brain can grow new nerve cells. "For a long time, we held the assumption that we’re born with all the nerve cells we’re ever going to have, and that the brain is not capable of generating new ones — that once these cells die we’re unable to replace them," said Molly V. Wagster, chief of the Neuropsychology of Aging branch of the National Institute on Aging. "Those assumptions have been challenged and put by the wayside." ... "Another thing that’s important as people get older is to maintain flexible attitudes and be willing to try new things," said K. Warner Schaie, who in 1956 started the Seattle Longitudinal Study, which follows the psychological development of participants through adulthood. "You have to expect things will shift over time and won’t be the same as when you were young. Those who manage to roll with the punches, and enjoy change rather than fighting it, tend to do well." More

Dahlberg Brings People Together Through Creativity

[26 January 2008 - The Chronicle - Willimantic, Connecticut] A Willimantic man was recognized for submitting one of the Top 100 breakthrough ideas for the Make It Your Own Awards -- awards that encourage community development. Steven Dahlberg, along with others in a group that have met since last summer, submitted their application to the Make It Your Own Awards, a new grants program that aims to increase and strengthen citizen involvement and looks for a more inclusive and innovative approach to grant making. Dahlberg -- a self-employed consultant for the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination -- is looking to open up the creative minds of those in town, as his project is titled "Weaving a New Willimantic." More

Creativity Networking Series Launches in Connecticut

WindhamARTS Collaborative Launches Monthly Creativity Networking Series ... Provides forum for exploring the many facets of creativity and for discovering other people interested in creativity

The WindhamARTS Collaborative, in partnership with the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, will host a Creativity Networking series from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month from March to June. The series will be held at WindhamARTS, 866 Main Street, Willimantic, Conn.

Steven Dahlberg of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination will lead the first session, "Creativity, What is It?" on Wednesday, March 5. Participants will explore what creativity is, who has it, and how one can tap into more of it.

This series is open to all. A $5 donation and RSVP (860-450-1794) is requested. Following the session, receive 10 percent off dinner across the street at Willimantic Brewing Co / Main Street Cafe (967 Main Street, Willimantic)!

"The creative force is present in all humans to some degree. Pressures to conform within education and society often silence creative expression for many students and citizens. The potential for its development remains, however," says author and educator Berenice Bleedorn. "The right of an individual to create new ideas and to expect a respectful, supportive climate for their expression is a human right too often ignored. The human right to think and be heard at higher, more complex and mutualistic levels is a necessary added freedom."

Creativity matters in all aspects of society. If you want to reconnect with your inherent creativity and explore new ways of expressing it, don't miss this series. It will cover topics about creativity in all forms (including, but not limited to, arts), creative thinking, creative communities, creativity and education, creativity in organizations, creative persons, the creative process, creative aging and more.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
The series includes opportunities to learn with others, to think in new ways, and to generate new ideas. The format of the monthly Creativity Networking sessions will be informal and will usually include about 30 minutes of a presentation or experiential workshop (from a different facilitator each month), 30 minutes of dialogue about the topic, and 30 minutes of networking with other participants. Come and be inspired to apply your imagination and invent new possibilities for yourself and your community.

In addition, watch for Creativity Networking coming to the New Britain Museum of American Art on July 31 and August 28! The Creativity Networking series is part of a larger initiative to widely promote a more "Creative Connecticut." More details about this statewide project coming soon!

Creativity Networking is sponsored by the WindhamARTS Collaborative ... in partnership with the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination

ABOUT WINDHAM ARTS:
The WindhamARTS Collaborative is comprised of member arts organizations and individuals who came together in 2001 to foster and promote the arts and cultural life of the Windham region. Its goal is to maintain a multicultural, multidisciplinary, and multifaceted arts center where artists and artisans can interact with the public by sharing their creative endeavors. http://www.windhamarts.org/

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:
Steven Dahlberg heads the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He manages creative community projects for various institutions, serves as an adviser to the Guggenheim Museum’s “The Art of Problem Solving” research project, and serves as a juror to select public art for a new science education building. He collaborates with artists, scientists, business people, educators and others to help people develop their creativity. He has worked with UNESCO, Americans for the Arts, Heinz, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, General Mills, and Yahoo! Research Berkeley, among other organizations. He’s led workshops and keynotes on creative engagement and participation at the international Creativity & Cognition Conference, the University of Connecticut's Confratute (summer institute on enrichment learning and teaching) and the State of Connecticut's Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Schools Summer Institute. Steven has more than 16 years of experience promoting and teaching creative thinking in the United States, South Africa, Europe and Asia. He was head an international creativity foundation, director of an annual creativity conference, program director of the Institute for Creative Studies in Minneapolis, and helped two long-time toy inventors launch a creativity consulting business. He has designed and taught three graduate-level creativity courses at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, as well as guest lectured at several universities. Dahlberg authored the foreword to the book, "Education is Everybody’s Business: A Wake-Up Call to Advocates of Educational Change," and edits the "Applied Imagination" blog. http://www.appliedimagination.org/

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SUMMARY ...

• DATES: Come to any or all of the first-Wednesday-of-the-month sessions: March 5, April 2, May 7 & June 4, 2008
• TIME: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. -- Followed by dinner at Main Street Cafe, 967 Main Street
• PLACE: WindhamARTS Collaborative, 866 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226 (860-450-1794 - www.windhamarts.org)
• REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION: $5 donation; RSVP requested by phoning 860-450-1794 or emailing news@appliedimagination.org
• FACILITATOR: Steven Dahlberg, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, www.appliedimagination.org

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Art with heart ... Community banner project to brighten downtown Rock Hill

From my creative community work during the last week-and-a-half in Rock Hill, South Carolina ...

[7 February 2008 - The Herald - Rock Hill, South Carolina] A splash of color will liven up the winter blahs in downtown Rock Hill, part of a community arts program sponsored by the Arts Council of York County and the Rock Hill school district. ... The public arts project was brought to Rock Hill by the school district and arts center as a way to get children and community members involved in public art, said Kristin Sessions, resource development coordinator for the center. ... The community art project, titled Creativity: The Heart of the Community, is led by artists in residence Steven Dahlberg and JoAnn Moran, both from Connecticut. The project is a way for people to express themselves and participate in creating their own community through art, Dahlberg said. "It is a way to engage people in creating their community and bring people together that wouldn't normally work together, like youth and adults." Dahlberg said. ... Dahlberg said the project is collaborative, so everyone can add something. More

Creativity is ...

[12 March 2007 – Steve Dahlberg, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination] Participants at the "Creative Wisdom Workshop: Composing a Creative Life" at the Hartford Public Library (Hartford, Connecticut) generated the following definitions of creativity last month.

CREATIVITY IS …

* Looking at the ordinary and seeing what others don't see
* Passion – being own voice
* Responding to conflict
* Coming out from under
* Inspiration
* Energy
* Perseverance
* Universal
* Sharing
* Spontaneous
* Intuitive
* Your own way of interpreting of things around you
* Coming with your own ideas
* Drawing, dancing, walking, singing
* Unique, genuine, given easily, capable, reliable
* Freedom to think of new ideas and ways of doing things
* Sense of bringing to well-being
* New interest, focus, happiness, fulfillment
* Thinking out of the box
* Ideas practically formulated into reality
* Imagination acting on life
* Spiritual – from God
* Co-creator with the divine
* Being able to visualize
* Bring unrelated resources together to make something new
* Making something from nothing
* Tapping into the great unconscious

Adapt or Die: The Biological Imperative for Aging Creatives

[24 November 2006 - Gamasutra] For more than 3 billion years, biological evolution has guided the colonization of our planet by living organisms. Evolution’s rules are simple: creatures that adapt to threats and master the evolutionary game thrive; those that don’t become extinct. Just how much “mastery” has been involved in my ability to dodge an evolutionary bullet is certainly an open question but none the less, I am still in the game well beyond my projected “use by date” and at 62 years old, show no signs of “going bad” anytime soon. My point being this: to avoid self-extinction, we must develop some level of awareness that we are at risk in the first place, some way to "change the nature of the outcome." The bargain is just that simple: if we do, we survive, if we don't, we disappear. So we elder statesmen must find a way stay relevant, and if it does not exist yet, create it. Adapt or die becomes much more meaningful when you realize that the work you have taken on has lost its momentum and that the necessary internal support continues evaporating at an alarming rate. This, then, is my humble recitation of fact concerning my own evolutionary trajectory. A trajectory that has been, and I am being generous here, erratic, convoluted and not without some level of discomfort and distress. More