Creativity in Play

We'll explore where creativity resides in the winemaking process with Hopkins Vineyard winemaker and vineyard manager Jim Baker. Jim will connect the nature of creativity and creativity in nature. Find out how he ended up a winemaker in the first place. And we'll ask if winemaking is the ultimate STEAM (science, technology, education, art and math) activity!

MEET JIM BAKER IN PERSON:

Jim Baker will join Creativity in Play co-host Steven Dahlberg for a keynote on "The Nature of Wine and Creativity: A Sensory Wine-Tasting Experience" at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's STEAM conference in Ridgefiled, Connecticut, on September 17.

We'll explore how "the world becomes what we teach" and how we can create a just, healthy and humane world with humane educator Zoe Weil. Zoe will share why we need to reimagine education and prepare a generation to be solutionaries -- young people with the knowledge, tools and motivation to create a better future. Zoe is the president of the Institute for Humane Eucation and the author of several books, including the recently released The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries.

We turn the tables on our regular co-host Mary Alice Long to talk about her Archival Memoir Project and her Active Dreaming Workshop. Poet Anne O'Reilly joins us from Ireland as co-host for this episode as we talk with Mary Alice about her personal archival memoir, which includes a written memoir, performances and collection of images inspired by the birth of her surrogate son in 1987. She'll share more about the broader Archival Memoir Project, and how others might connect with it to document and share their own stories and experiences. Plus, we'll find out how our dreams can help us shape and live a more creative, playful and healthy life.

MORE RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW:

The Archival Memoir Project: A Performance + Invitation to Collect and Share Your Story Creatively - October 28, 2015, Ridgefield, Connecticut - More InfoArchival Memoir Project Workshop: Imagine, Play, Create and Share Your Story - October 31, 2015, Farmington, Connecticut - More InfoActive Dreaming Workshop - November 1, 2015, New Milford, Connecticut - More InfoCreativity in Play interview with guest co-host Anne O'Reilly

We'll explore what happens when we bring more visual images and visual thinking -- including comics -- into teaching, learning and creativity. Our guest is comics artist and educator Nick Sousanis, who received a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he wrote and drew his dissertation entirely in comic book form. His dissertation has been published as the book, Unflattening.

We'll explore how to nurture children's creative intelligence, ways to incorporate nature into learning experiences and more with Marghanita Hughes. Marghanita is a nature art teacher, an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, a naturalist, and founder of the “Let’s Go Outside” Revolution.

“I grew up in a home where art, nature and books were the stuff of everyday life. My parents, both art teachers, allowed me the freedom to roam wild and my young mind was free to wander, explore and discover in the beautiful country-side of Scotland. That sense of awe and wonder has never left me. It’s what drives me to explore more, not just in art and nature but in life itself. The more I discover and learn the more I wish to share. I believe if we inspire a love for nature in a child, it will lead to a desire to protect it. My overwhelming goal is to nurture the Body, Mind and Spirit in each child in my classes I teach and indirectly through the teachers in my workshops.” -- Marghanita Hughes

We'll talk with poet, essayist and author Sheila Bender about tapping into our creativity to write from personal experience. Sheila is an accomplished author of many books about writing, including Creative Writing Demystified. She teaches university courses and workshops about writing for several organizations and conferences, as well as online courses.

We'll talk with Jeff Smithson about bringing play, creativity and clown to learning, work and healing. Plus, find out how the developmental power of play can improve communication and create flourishing communities. Jeff is the founder of Proponent of Play, which creates safe atmospheres for people to develop through mindfulness and movement. He's also worked with kids with chronic and life-threatening illnesses as part of The Big Apple Circus Clown Care program and Paul Newman’s The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

FROM THE SHOW: Listen to our full interview -- and create and share your own #‎eyesshutselfportrait?, created with your eyes closed! Post to our Creativity in Play page at https://www.facebook.com/CreativityinPlay!

We'll talk with author Fran Sorin about the connections between gardening and creativity, and how gardening can be a creative tool for enhancing joy and well-being. Fran is the author of Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening.

We'll talk with writer Cheryl Merrill about her applied creativity work documenting elephants in Africa, as well as her forthcoming book, Larger than Life, Living in the Shadows of Elephants. Find out what elephants have to teach us about creativity, learning, writing ... and being human.

Cheryl writes about her experience with elephants: "Together. Inhabiting the earth. Lives enlarged."

We'll explore what it means to plan, design and implement accessible and inclusive playspaces for children with and without disabilities, as well as how different types of organizations -- from manufacturers and retail stores to parks districts and community groups -- can ensure that all children have the best play opportunities possible. Our guest is nationally recognized play and playspaces expert Mara Kaplan, founder of Let Kids Play!

RESOURCES:

Accessible Playgrounds

Playworld Systems: Playground 101