2008 December « wonderwebby

Archive for December, 2008

Babushka’s fifteen minutes

Published December 21, 2008 art & design 2 Comments
Tags: communication, microfinance, slides, slideshare, trust banks, women

If you’re going to create some slides explaining the cycle of microfinance and trust banks, you may as well make it interesting. That’s why I asked Babushka to explain it. Nooo, not this one..

This one ..

(also known as a Matryoshka doll.) Please don’t ask me to explain what Russian dolls have to do with microfinance in the Philippines. I can only suggest it is a symbol of women, community impact and the perpetual nature of Trust Bank loans. Apparently Matroyshka dolls are also known to symbolise motherhood and fertility.

I thought the slides might be silly, I rushed it and I wasn’t happy with the font – but it made it to the Slideshare feature page – nice! And the best thing is people can learn something about Trust Banks and microfinance (well I can only hope!)

Do you like to think of new ways to tell a story? Do you share your ’silly’ ideas? What holds you back?

Expressions of things beyond

Published December 19, 2008 art & design , non profit 1 Comment
Tags: art, donation, microfinance, Opportunity International, poem, poverty, youtube

Matt wrote me a poem for the Creative Challenge themed “Beyond”

…”Follow the chromosomes
that interlock like acrobats
to create the trick of a life
Balance, harmony – a high wire act.

Follow the tectonic fault-lines
that skid round the globe
without our permission.
Plates spinning in that same circus.

Follow the word network,
the net worth of word nets
that catch us each in ourselves
when the high wire snaps.”….{{read more}}

Penni created a special video about her daugher Frederique, and wrote something beautiful about their journey overseas

“thank you for showing me your world, for taking me beyond the surface of places and into the centre of them, and out of the centre and to the edges. Thank you for being angry and happy and sad. Thank you for watching the tiny polysteirine balls bounce down the bridge over the Seine while I fell in love with the Notre Dame, and thank you for making me watch them too, as they swirled and dived in the wind.”

Lee made a video on Youtube with a powerful reading, Iggy shared the story of the web connecting after loss and Arthi commented that sharing our experiences can influence our children, albeit not the way we originally intended! I enjoyed reading each of these 5 entries, which are in the running to win a great prize. I’m happy to report US$215 has been donated through this creative challenge towards a microfinance project and those 6 individuals (plus others who have made donations to date) will be in the running to win a copy of “World Poverty for Dummies”. I’m thinking of getting Spiderman to draw the names out of a hat for me.

There are still 2 more days left to share something creative on the theme of “Beyond”. Your entry would be a wonderful Christmas gift and anyone can enter. Entries close midnight this Sunday Australian EST and winners drawn on Monday.

And as a special Christmas treat, thanks to Mary Martin Books I have another copy of ‘World Poverty for Dummies’ which I will give to the next Australian resident who submits something new for the creative challenge Are you feeling creative? All you have to do is respond as a comment. photo or blog post over on the original post.

A creative education and Kay Gordon’s legacy

Published December 14, 2008 art & design , inspiration , motherhood 1 Comment
Tags: adrian gordon, arts, audio visual, childhood, community arts, community cultural development, digital media, education, kay gordon, musicals, performance, visual arts

After a day watching great performances and audio visual presentations at the VCA Centre for Cultural Partnerships launch, and listening to moving words around the importance of the role of the arts and creativity in community development, I spent some time reflecting on the the role of visual and performing arts in my own life from childhood.

As I grew up, the arts were an expression of hope and creative vitality, a world of dreams and a voice of imagination. Mum’s vibrant paintings covered the walls, and the smell of turpentine would often greet me after school, a fresh oil painting propped up with small clumps of oil paint gracing the bottom rung of her easel like raindrops on a windowsill . I was given a special hardback visual diary when I was around eight. How I wish I filled it up with many more images and words, even sketches and first drafts – I wonder if I will ever feel the same way about this blog? I have a distinct memory of taking the day off school to see “Gone with the Wind” at the cinema with my mother when I was ten. The teacher was told it was for “cultural and educational purposes”. Of course, I was most impressed with this approach to education!

I recall spending weekends and evenings during my childhood attending final rehearsals and matinees at the local theatre where mum played piano for musicals such as Guys & Dolls, The Sound of Music, The King & I and South Pacific! And of course, the sound of the piano being played, often impromptu, filled the house (thankfully not more songs from those musicals, but classical, jazz and cabaret) I remember many weekends spent with dad visiting the museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the library and the Botanical Gardens. My grandfather enjoyed taking photos of his beautiful garden and as a young child I would savour the times he would get out the slide projector or Reflex viewer.

Sometimes, as a teenager I was taken to art gallery openings and I recall being mesmerized as a sixteen year old by a Charles Blackman exhibition. Again, it was part of my “education”.

Flowers and Insects by Charles Blackman (image originally uploaded by Savill Gallery)

When I was 17 I met the tall thin and sprightly Kay Gordon at one of these openings. Kay had shaggy, short, silver white hair and wore brightly coloured kaftan tops with black pants. This eighty-something year old had eyes that lit up with childhood fascination at life and bell-like laughter that rippled through your bones. When she was in her fifties she took up photography and led an amazing life, taking photos for National Geographic and the Royal Photographic Society. She invited us to her home for audio-visual nights with her latest images – spectacular blades of grass in macro view that lit up on screen like fireworks, set to music by Tangerine Dream.
Her charming husband Adrian, a Meteorologist also in his eighties, wore black jeans, taught at Flinders Uni and went to Red Hot Chill Peppers concerts. Kay and Adrian had lived in many countries including Iran, the Philippines, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Bermuda and London before returning to Adelaide. They were wonderful hosts, and gave me a great appreciation for passion based living. (I read that Adrian died in 2000, and I can’t find anything about Kay anywhere. I last spoke with them in the early 90’s and unfortunately lost touch after moving interstate. When I moved Kay said “I hope you find many interesting people in your carriage [of life]“)

I used to enjoy drama at school and joined the local youth theatre, and watching the performances last Thursday was a reminder that I’ve probably neglected this area of the arts for too long (although it sometimes finds its way into playtime with the kids!)

Yesterday I told mum how grateful I am for having the opportunity to appreciate the arts at home and in my local community. I hope I can provide my children with similar formative experiences and then beyond- exploring the application of the arts, technology and digital media in community cultural development.

What about you? What role has the arts played in your life, or that of your community?

VCA Centre for Cultural Partnerships

Published December 11, 2008 art & design , creative therapy , innovation , motherhood , non profit 1 Comment
Tags: Centre for Cultural Partnerships, Julia Gillard, launch, University of Melbourne, VCA

Today was a significant day for me. The Hon Julia Gillard, MP, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia launched the VCA Centre for Cultural Partnerships “a dynamic hub, drawing in people from around the world to think, reflect and take action on building stronger, more vital communities through partnership-based approaches to the arts, community development and cultural expression”.

The launch was fabulous, including performances by Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company and the Lamine Sonko Ensemble. Ms Gillard, who is also Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Social Inclusion spoke about the meaning of social inclusion and the need for individuals around Australia to have a voice in the community. She spoke about the role the arts has in personal expression, from visual arts to performing arts and digital media.

I heard stories from Advisory Committee members; Directors, CEOs and creative professionals talking about projects involving the arts and communities, homeless people, women, Indigenous Australians, youth…people from all walks of life in Australia and all around the world. I felt truly humbled to be sitting amongst people who are really contributing to society through the arts and creative expression. I was on the edge of my seat, listening to their stories and experiences.

Anyway, the day was very exciting and just too exciting to take many photos, so I only managed to grab this one on the way out …

What an honour (thanks to an opportunity through my employer.) No doubt I will be blogging more about the Centre for Cultural Partnerships as I become more involved. It’s a joy, because it brings together my lifelong involvement and love of performing & visual arts, digital media, community development and creative therapy – it feels like home . It even makes me feel like joining their Masters program.

To top the day off, I saw the best performance of the day - my six year old singing on stage, outdoors at his school for Christmas Carols night with his biggest, brightest gappy-tooth-smile ever

World Poverty for Dummies

Published December 8, 2008 non profit Leave a Comment
Tags: Adam Valvasori, Ashley Clements, book, giveaway, Lindsay Rae, microfinance, Opportunity International, poverty, Sarah Marland, Tim Costello, world poverty for dummies, World Vision

I have two copies of World Poverty for Dummies to give away as part of the Creative Challenge. Back in September when I signed up as a volunteer Ambassador with Women’s Opportunity (Opportunity International Australia) this book was endorsed on the recommended reading list.

World Poverty for Dummies includes an overview of world poverty, a history of poverty, covers topics such as women, bribery, the slave trade, human trafficking, impacts of climate chaos, economics and the levers of change, with ideas on how you can personally take action. The book contains a blend of statistics and personal stories by four authors who have worked almost exclusively in organisations dedicated to helping other people. Authors are Sarah Marland, Ashley Clements, Lindsay Rae (World Vision) and Adam Valvasori.

From Chapter 8 “Women: The World’s Poor”
Women are the poorest of the poor, the oppressed among the oppressed.”
“One of the most effective ways to end poverty is to work directly with women. Because women run the households in almost all societies, any improvements in their lives flow on directly to the lives of their families. Helping women helps entire communities”

How microfinance and trade banks help to bring“… a bunch of women in a particular community together , dispenses small loans to help those women set up a micro-businesses or grow their existing businesses. The loans may be as little as US$100 and are used to buy things like a sewing machine or livestock…..”

“These microfinance programs have much lower rates of loan defaults than are experienced by large commercial banks. And they work. It’s been proven that with a tiny injection of cash in the right place, whole communities can work their way out of poverty.”

It’s such an educational and interesting book, and you don’t have to do much to be in the running to win a copy. Simply submit a blog post, comment, or picture for this Creative Challenge before 21st Dec 2008, or make a tax deductible donation (over $2) towards a microfinance project for a group of women in the Philippines (if you do both, your name gets entered twice!)

This is a cross post from “A Woman’s Investment“. Because it’s important.

NaNoWriMo evidence

Published December 5, 2008 inspiration 2 Comments
Tags: NaNoWriMo, writing

Did you hear the one about the part-time working mum who thought she’d try writing a novel in the month for NaNoWriMo, but only made it to 5,600 words? Ha, that’s me! The moral of this story is:

Have a well thought out plan/plot beforehand (who would have guessed!!?)
Cancel all social events in November. In fact, cancel talking to people, even your own family members
Go away for a weekend on your own, just to write (if you want to make more than 5.600 words) and hire a live-in maid. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Trying was still loads of fun and I’m hoping to try again next year
wonderwebby should read more fiction
wonderwebby is out of creative writing practice and needs to learn to write good

Considering the few hours I spent, I may as well share a bit

“Violet held her fist to her cheek and closed her eyes. The orb hummed and was warm from her firm grip. She rarely wore the necklace as the others did. She always felt constricted wearing things around her neck, she was not particularly fond of trinkets and decorations and such – and it was much more comforting to hold it in her hand. Suddenly, as if somebody had slapped her out of her predicament, she opened her eyes, smacked her lips with a loud pop and sprung up, slipped the orb into her pocket and zipped it up tightly before deciding to head down to the port. “

“…The port had become an intersection of cultures, trades and destinations. Hopes and dreams landed here, some took root – and others had been lost beneath a girth of affluenza. Nowadays, it was a meeting place. Traders still enjoyed selling an array of technical knick knacks and curios from their portable stalls. Violet came here occasionally, sometimes to meet friends, or run errands for her mother. Sometimes her younger brother would beg her for an excursion to the far end of the port, where colourful kites powered by miniature rockets would sail through the air, turning and spinning in spectacular style before crashing down into the waves. Evenings here were always magical. You never knew quite what to expect. And so Violet found herself drifting along the carousel footpath, patting her pocket occasionally, eyes looking into the distance in a way that is not quite looking, and not quite asleep, but adrift in a mood that had overtaken her.”

Things to do with Moo

Published December 3, 2008 art & design , inspiration 5 Comments
Tags: moo

I found some fun Moo pics on Flickr, while I was looking for some Moo pics for my creative challenge post (they’re giving away a pack of postcards, minicards and stickers.)

I ended up using a stock standard pic of Moo products on the post, but I just had to share some others here:

Leo Reynolds (fun for creating words on friends backs I’m sure)

epmd (urban Moo)

from a second story

homemadeoriginals (where do you keep your Moo)

arboltsef Frankenmoo

darkmatter (love this one)

Herve Kerneis (cheeky moo)

Have you seen any other fun or creative pics on Flickr lately? I’d love for you to share them with me.

Looking Beyond

Published December 2, 2008 inspiration , non profit Leave a Comment
Tags: beyond, creative challenge, hope, Women's Opportunity

I’m going to eat my own cooking, by responding to the “Beyond” Creative Challenge I set up for Women’s Opportunity/Opportunity International!

So, what does “Beyond” mean to me?

Earlier this year I went on a “date” to the ever charming Fairfield Boathouse with our eldest son, then aged five.

We had a lovely time. We laughed, we ate scones, drank tea and hot chocolate then went for a wander to explore and feed the ducks. On the way back to the car I noticed the Icecream Flowers!!

“I don’t see an icecream” you say. So did he. It’s a family secret, you see. Looks like a regular flower and you could quite easily walk right past it and think that’s all there is to it. But once you carefully unravel the petals you will find a precious teeny tiny icecream cone

That’s a five year old’s hand, so you can imagine how tiny it is. Right inside the fower is a perfectly formed little yellow cone and fluffy white scoop on top. As a child I thought it was absolutely magical and wondered how a flower could turn into an icecream, just like that.

See, to me thinking “beyond” doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to be super-smart. It’s a way of looking at things. I’m very grateful that my mother took the time to show us the wonderful things that can be seen when you apply a new and different way of looking at things, and by using your imagination.

Ultimately, when I think about what “beyond” really means – it’s about providing hope for each person.

—-

So what do you think of when you think of “Beyond”? If you would like to respond to the Beyond Creative Challenge (before December 21st):

1. Be creative. You could share a story, an opinion, your experience, a motif, a poem, a picture, a short video, a call to action, or…you decide! The idea is to share something that represents a way to think “beyond” and make a difference in the world

3. Place a link on your response to the original post . You could also mention that this is all about raising awarneness and funds for a microfinance project in the Philippines.

4. Verify your entry by commenting on the original post . with a link to your response

Inspecht HR Futures Conference 2009

Published December 2, 2008 learning , web 2.0 Leave a Comment
Tags: conference, event, Futures, HCM, HR, informal learning, inspect, melbourne, michael specht, social media, virtual worlds, web 2.0

Michael Specht kindly asked me to speak alongside some very clever cookies next February, at a well priced one day event in Melbourne.

Keynote speaker and friend Stephen Collins writes:

…this one day event will look closely at the opportunities and risks faced by business in 2009 and the issues these businesses face in the current economic and technical climate. The day will see speakers look at issues of social media, innovation, culture and technology and how they empower, attract, engage and evolve employees.

Michael has put together an amazing lineup of highly qualified speakers from a wide spectrum of industries, including:

Stephen Collins, Founder Acidlabs
Anne Bartlett-Bragg, Managing Director Headshift
David Talamelli, Senior Recruiter Oracle Corporation
Geoff Jennings, Director and Founder Online Recruitment
Jasmin Tragas, Managing Consultant IBM Human Capital Management
Michael Park, Senior Associate Deacons Law Firm
Riges Younan, CEO 2Vouch
Sean Lew, Consultant from BearingPoint
Thomas Shaw, CEO Recruitment Directory

You can see full details of the program at the event web site.

Michael has gone to great pains to keep the event competitively priced; at $350 if you register before January 15, I think it’s great value.

If you work in recruitment, L&D, HR strategy or HR management, I recommend you get along. There’s also a flyer in case you need to get something in front of your manager.

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wonderwebby

Archive for December, 2008

Babushka’s fifteen minutes

Expressions of things beyond

A creative education and Kay Gordon’s legacy

VCA Centre for Cultural Partnerships

World Poverty for Dummies

NaNoWriMo evidence

Things to do with Moo

Looking Beyond

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