Throwback Thursday: Problem Solving

"Essentially, painting is problem solving." ~ ennyman 

It was a thought I scribbled on a piece of paper while painting this weekend. Making art involves solving a whole slew of problems. 

First, what surface should I paint on, or create on using what medium? Am I working toward a goal? (For example, a portrait of a person.) Or am I allowing the event to simply unfold? If I just smear colors on a surface, which colors? What kind of music should I play, since that also influences the serenity or rapidity with which I lay paint on the surface?

There is a whole sequence of steps involved in each decision which most artists approach intuitively rather than scientifically. This intuitive process is fine tuned through experiment and experience. We know, for example, that doing "this" doesn't work. Though in a moment of incredulity an artist might try such a thing to see if he or she can make it work. Many artists are boundary pushers, questioning the rules and continually re-writing their own.

Problem solving begins with identifying and defining the problem. As a blog writer I do this every day. Problem: what will I write about today? Step two: how can I make it meaningful for my readers so that it is not a waste of their time to re-visit? Magazine editors do this all the time.

The next step in problem solving is coming up with a strategy. The problem might be, what should we have for supper? The strategy usually begins with rummaging around the fridge to see what is available, gathering information in order to help make the decision. Additional information might include an intuitive knowledge of how close the nearest store is, how much time you have, and how many days till the next paycheck.

For artists, every situation is unique. Sometimes one is working at mastering a certain skill or new style. Sometimes one is trying to produce something for a specific purpose, perhaps to fulfill a commission or complete a series. Sometimes one is simply exploring the possibilities of line, shape, form and color. The problem is that which confronts you on the canvas.

There's a sense in which life itself is a canvas. How we express ourselves is a form of problem solving, sometimes haphazard and sometimes deliberate. Sometimes bold, sometimes subtle. Some days it's nothing short of beautiful.

May you have one of those beautiful days today.

What Does A Community Organizer Do?

If you are like many, if not most, people the title "Community Organizer" has a somewhat fuzzy definition in our minds. For this reason I reached out to Ginka Tarnowski to help give us clarity on this topic.

Ginka Tarnowski

I became aware of Ms. Tarnowski through an editorial she had written two weeks ago to the Duluth News Tribune (DNT) pertaining to a hot topic that was coming to a head in the subsequent city council meeting two Monday's ago, August 16. The hot topic of that meeting was with regard to the Mayor's push to have a Twin Cities agency replace most of the promotional functions that Visit Duluth, a local team, had been managing for more than 80 years.

Having worked closely with Visit Duluth these past several tears as part of the Duluth Dylan Fest committee, I couldn't comprehend the necessity for the move in the first place. Nor did I agree with the process. 

The DNT published a lengthy statement by the mayor defending the decision, and also printed a well-crafted response by a young woman whom I was unfamiliar with. Her opinion piece was titled Local View: Mayor Larson taps out-of-town consultants for lots of fixes.

Ginka Tarnowski's bio at the end of the piece read "Ginka Tarnowski of West Duluth is a community organizer who assists with her fiance’s consulting work." This led me to reach out to learn more about the role she plays in our community. 

EN: You self-describe as a community organizers. What does a community organizer do?

Ginka Tarnowski: I think it's a common experience for many who try to fix a wrong to be pushed aside and told their voice doesn't matter. Sometimes people will have respect to tell it to your face: "You're just one person, do you really believe you can make a difference?" Sometimes, from what I've experienced in Duluth, it's by polite inaction: 'Sorry for the last minute email, my wife has an upset stomach/our turtle ran away/our dog lost their ball, can we reschedule?' And sometimes, the worst feeling can come from no action at all.

That's where a community organizer comes in, and why I describe myself as one. An organizer is someone who has their ear to the street -- a community member who listens to their neighbors. And its not just listening to your neighbor's words, but hearing what's in their heart. But that isn't enough to be a community organizer.

A community organizer has to go a step further. They don't listen endlessly, sympathize greatly, and sit empathetically; that's not enough and that's never been enough. A community organizer leads.

So why do I call myself a community organizer? Because I've spent enough time hearing from my neighbors about how we deserve better. It's time we do better, as a state, as a city, and as neighbors.

I like to think that my first experience as an organizer was when I helped save an assembly during my senior year at Denfield. We were auctioning off seniors to hang out with freshmen as a way to raise money for cancer research. The ‘cool’ seniors would hang out with their freshman, giving them food and piggyback rides throughout the day. They’d only managed to raise $7 before I realized I could do a better job by whipping up some excitement, so I grabbed the mic, leaped up to the freshman balcony, and by the end of the day we managed to raise over $1,000 for cancer research. I didn’t care about people knowing me; I cared about raising as much money as we could in a way where people would be happier when they walked out of the assembly and that they felt a greater sense of community.

When I was a student at Scholastica, the administration proposed cutting a sexual assault prevention program. That was not something that I felt was good policy, so I organized my friends to go across campus and present to the administration stories from sexual assault survivors. Within a week we were able to get the administration to reverse their position.

These days, I spend my time listening to my neighbors and identifying solutions. I’ve been meeting with elected officials and policy makers to find how I can continue to make a difference, because all throughout Duluth I hear issues which would not be happening if only our city government put Duluthians first.

* * * 

Thank you, Ginka, for the work you are doing 

to make a difference in this community.

Win $100,000 with 3,000 Thoughtful Words. The Nine Dots Prize Is Back

"Dusk Call" -- Oil on canvas, Frank Holmes

Have you ever wished you could be on the receiving end of a $100,000 advance to complete a book idea that you've been percolating? If you're a writer, here's a writing contest where this is precisely the prize you'll be privy to if you win. It's called The Nine Dots Prize.

The Nine Dots Prize is a prize for creative thinking that tackles contemporary societal issues. Entrants are asked to respond to a question in 3,000 words, with the winner receiving $100,000 to write a short book expanding on their ideas.

The aim of the Prize is to promote, encourage and engage innovative thinking to address problems facing the modern world. The name of the Prize references the nine dots puzzle that we've all encountered at one time or another – a lateral thinking puzzle which can only be solved by thinking "outside the box."

The theme for this year's 3,000 word challenge: Is there still no place like home?

The deadline for your 3,000-word response is January 21, 2019, which means that if you are a slow writer you only have to write 1000 words a month to reach the goal, or 33 words a day, or just over a word an hour.

There's more to it than writing a 3,000-word statement. The Nine Dots folk are offering a $100K payout because they're looking for a book in return, so in addition to the 3,000 words you will be needing to produce an outline of the book, and some kind of document indicating that you would be capable of completing the book in within seven months of being selected. Their aim is to have the book in print by a 2020 deadline.

Actually, though, they are not really looking for just any book. They are seeking an idea big enough to be worthy of the prize, which will be expanded on for the length of a short book. Not an epic, just something powerful that addresses a contemporary issue... Do you have something inside you that you believe big enough to change the world?

In short, HERE ARE THE THREE DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO PRODUCE:

1.
Summary
A summary response to the set question, which must be no more than 3,000 words in length. Should you win the Prize, you will be required to develop this summary into a short book of between 25,000 and 40,000 words. The summary should cover the main ideas and arguments your proposed book will make, the evidence and research on which it draws and the key conclusions it will reach.

2.
Outline
An outline structure of this short book, including provisional chapter headings. This can be up to 1,000 words and will show how you see your response expanding into a complete book and how you would develop your arguments, should you be successful. It is an opportunity to prove that there is enough depth to your arguments to provide content for an entire book.

3.
Justification
A justification statement of your ability to complete the book in the time given (approx. seven months). This can be up to 1,000 words, and will outline your previous experience in communicating effectively about evidence, research and ideas, and a commitment from you that your responsibilities will allow the book to be completed in the seven month period.

DEADLINE: Entrants must submit their 3,000-word response, an outline structure for their proposed book and a justification statement of their ability to complete the book in seven months via an online submission form.

* * * *
Over the years I've thought a lot about the notion of "home" and why this longing for home has such power for many. Here are a few blog posts I have written about it.

Reflections on the Meaning of Home
An Easter Reflection on Gardens in the Bible
Thoughts about being banished from Eden and our longing for a Promised Land

Here's the Home Page for The Nine Dots Prize: https://ninedotsprize.org/ 

IS THERE STILL NO PLACE LIKE HOME?

Throwback Thursday: Innovation Institute Gives Hope and Meaning To Wheelchair Bound

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2009

For several decades I've been watching Harrold Andresen’s career unfold. It's been easy to do since he’s my brother-in-law, having married my wife’s sister. In 1980, the four of us went to Mexico to work at an orphanage, a significant experience in all of our lives. Susie and I returned in late fall 1981, Harrold and Nancy came back to the States in 1982.

Harrold ran a shop as an auto mechanic before going to Mexico. And while South-o’-the-Border he was dedicated to mechanical tasks not only for the orphanage, but also for the vehicles of many missionaries who brought their cars and pickups to him. (The kids loved him for fixing the pedal cars that had been donated, as seen in this picture above.)

When the Andresens left Mexico Harrold set up shop in the Rio Grande Valley, where he continued to work on cars, but also continued to service missionaries’ vehicles. Eventually the family moved to Duncanville, a suburb of Dallas, where he established his business, Mechanical Excellence. In addition to taking care of cars, Harrold was continuously inventing. He invented tools, he invented what he called the Cozy Heater, a product they sold to customers in nearly every state. He conceived a vehicle which combined the best engine with the best body, and built a number of them for customers. He also ran a rental car business and pursued other miscellaneous endeavors. But underneath it all was a desire to help handicapped people, especially the wheel-chair bound.

About five years ago, Andresen began taking steps toward building what has come to be known as Innovation Institute. “The mission of the school is to get products into the hands of the disabled that they couldn’t get anywhere else or they couldn’t afford. Also, to give them some skills so they can earn some money for the first time in their lives.” Andresen has also learned a lot about wheelchair sports, but we'll save that for another blog note.

Mechanical Excellence, Andresen’s auto shop, at one time had 20 bays for working on cars. Three-fourths is now set apart for the school. The school combines Harrold’s incredibly creative mechanical aptitude with his passion to help the handicapped, especially men more drawn to activities like welding and maintenance than arts and crafts.

In March we had a chance to tour the facility, and "impressive" is an understatement. There's a welding section, locksmithing, a library, classrooms and all kinds of work areas for other designated purposes. One section is devoted to modifying ride around lawn mowers for the wheelchair bound. To describe Harrold's vision in all this would take several blog entries and this is but an introduction. Let's just say that if you look up the phrase "Thinking Outside The Box" it will probably lead you to images of Innovation Institute.

Here's an example of the kind of thinking that went into modifying the auto shop to be a school.

"So here's one logistic: how do you get grinders that are approved by OSHA people, usable from a wheelchair, yet somewhat portable because when we have a big project we gotta move things?" Andresen laid out the issues. "And this is their fifth attempt! The advantage we had in remodeling the facility is we had two guys in power chairs, and two guys in manual chairs minimum, but often there were way more than that. They would come in on Saturday and Sunday and most evenings for the four years that we remodeled this place."

Andresen is standing over a low bench. "We had this on cement blocks. We had grinders on I-beams, we had grinders on telescopic stands, and we came up with this. The same kind of heavy pallet thing that made the welding areas, this has 500 pounds of weight. So it's not bolted to the floor, which it has to be if it's movable, but this isn't moveable. And the height's right... And here's the other problem: cutting. You cut metal, you blow hot sparks. You blow hot sparks on your legs with no nerves, you burn your skin and don't know it until the guys smell the burning skin and say, 'Hey, Joe you're burning your legs.' So we had to figure out a way to catch the sparks. One day I was watching [my daughter] Amy feed her horses and I thought, hey a feeding trough is tapered in a way that you could get under this with your wheelchair."

And so it is, attention to detail... solving one issue at a time.

* * * *
NINE YEARS LATER
Harrold has many strengths, including an endless curiosity and a stubborn commitment to do whatever it takes to fulfill the vision, to see it through. If you feel moved to contribute to the work, Innovation Institute is a non-profit.  To see what they are doing today, what they have accomplished and where they want to go, visit: https://innovationisus.org/

Problem Solving

"Essentially, painting is problem solving." ~ ennyman

It was a thought I scribbled on a piece of paper while painting this weekend. Making art involves solving a whole slew of problems. First, what surface should I paint on, or create on using what medium? Am I working toward a goal? (For example, a portrait of a person.) Or am I allowing the event to simply unfold? If I just smear colors on a surface, which colors? What kind of music should I play, since that also influences the serenity or rapidity with which I lay paint on the surface?

There is a whole sequence of steps involved in each decision which most artists approach intuitively rather than scientifically. This intuitive process is fine tuned through experiment and experience. We know, for example, that doing "this" doesn't work. Though in a moment of incredulity an artist might try such a thing to see if he or she can make it work. Many artists are boundary pushers, questioning the rules and continually re-writing their own.

Problem solving begins with identifying and defining the problem. As a blog writer I do this every day. Problem: what will I write about today? Step two: how can I make it meaningful for my readers so that it is not a waste of their time to re-visit? Magazine editors do this all the time.

The next step in problem solving is coming up with a strategy. The problem might be, what should we have for supper? The strategy usually begins with rummaging around the fridge to see what is available, gathering information in order to help make the decision. Additional information might include an intuitive knowledge of how close the nearest store is, how much time you have, and how many days till the next paycheck.

For artists, every situation is unique. Sometimes one is working at mastering a certain skill or new style. Sometimes one is trying to produce something for a specific purpose, perhaps to fulfill a commission or complete a series. Sometimes one is simply exploring the possibilities of line, shape, form and color. The problem is that which confronts you on the canvas.

There's a sense in which life itself is a canvas. How we express ourselves is a form of problem solving, sometimes haphazard and sometimes deliberate. Sometimes bold, sometimes subtle. Some days it's nothing short of beautiful.

May you have one of those beautiful days today.

Six Hats

At some point in the nineties I was introduced to the ideas of Edward de Bono whose work focuses on the important skill of learning how to think. To this day I've frequently shared his PIN method with people, which is a thinking tool to keep us from automatically getting knee-jerk reactions to everything. Essentially, he states that everything has a Positive, Interesting and Negative aspect. It’s a tool that helps short circuit automatic fight or flight responses, among other things.

Here’s an example of how I used the PIN method to assess the Dylan film He’s Not There.

De Bono’s methods aren’t just the stuff of ivory tower academics. They have garnered real world attention by getting results when put into practice. Here’s an example.

The De Beers diamond mines had a serious problem. There were a lot of fights down in the mines. As you know, when there is a fight, there’s a work stoppage. It can be very disruptive for everyone. They had about 200 fights a month, which means 200 work stoppages.

De Bono was hired to deal with this situation, and he did it by teaching the men algebra. (Just kidding.) He did it by teaching the PIN method or some other technique to break the cycle of automatic responses which were normally occurring. Think first, don’t react. The result? Work stoppages due to fighting were reduced to six a month.

To my way of thinking that’s impressive. And I've not punched anyone in the face since.

Dr. De Bono’s claim to fame is creative thinking, or thinking in alternate ways, getting outside and around the box and sometimes even above it or below it. One of the tools he has written about and shared extensively is his concept of the Six Thinking Hats.

Essentially it is a tool for group decision making. De Bono claims it reduces decision making time in meetings by 20 to 90 percent. I would guess it depends on how complicated the decision is, but for sure I can see how it would have been useful in a few situations I have experienced over the past two decades.

The key concept is learning how to examine a situation or decision from multiple viewpoints. Often we miss key information because we have locked on to one perspective and failed to take time to shift. Or, because of the personalities involved in the process, or politics, important information is ignored or neglected. As the name suggests, each hat represents a different point of view and the tool is designed to get us past these obstacles to good decision making.

The Blue Hat is the process coordinator who is operating from the bird’s eye view. Like the conductor of an orchestra, his job is to get the team on task, to lead the meeting, and to bring closure at the end. From this blue (think sky) perspective, he or she should be aware of the dynamics of the meeting in addition to its content and objectives.

The White Hat is neutral. Wearing the white hat means pointing out the facts that are known, eliminating emotional baggage, just seeing what is there, or what is lacking. Analysis of trends, historical data, etc. would fall into this category.

The Red Hat is intuition, gut reaction, emotion. Some people think this hat should not be worn till the end. The challenge of this hat is that the emotions and gut reactions may be very strong, and the subtle intuitive feelings may get run over and not heard. The intuition is often our most important ally and it takes special blue hat leadership to insure this voice is not drowned out.

The Black Hat is what it sounds like, a downer, the pessimistic perspective. Yet this is an extremely important hat because if your ideas or decisions do not stand up to scrutiny now, they will certainly be scrutinized later if things don’t pan out. This hat makes us more resilient, and actually helps increase our confidence when we can see and deal with the problems in advance. Confidence creates its own momentum.

The Yellow Hat is the optimist. The yellow hat view is upbeat. Wearing this hat gets us on track for all the benefits, the payoffs, the value of our decisions, commitments, etc. Keep your eyes on the prize!

The Green Hat represents creativity. This is where a little freewheeling and open-ended thinking, discussion takes place. No black hats should be allowed in the room till the green hat voices have all been heard. Being too quick to criticize the nub of an idea is a sure way till kill the inventive solutions that might have emerged otherwise. The excitement that one gets as an idea is shared, modified, modified again can be a truly invigorating experience. Often a relatively weak idea seed can go through multiple permutations to become a very cool, fruit-bearing idea which bears no resemblance to the original seed.

Well so much for all that. I just wanted to draw hats yesterday and had to make up something to go with it.

And Happy Mother's Day to all you mums. You deserve more than just one day's recognition for all that you have done and do. Pick out a hat and run with it.