Creative Alliance

Retail Therapy and Choice Theory Workshop

info — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:56:08 +0000

Reality Therapy is an approach that helps people take more effective control
of their lives. It does this by teaching and utilizing a very practically
focused psychology (called Choice Theory) and immediately useable
skills that can enable people to re-direct their own lives, make more effective
choices and develop the inner strength to handle the stresses and challenges
of life more successfully.

27th – 30th June 2012
Starts Wed 10.00 am
Ends Saturday 1.00 pm

For more information contact: John Brickell
Email: info@real-choice.co.uk Telephone: 02380 730918
or visit the website
www.real-choice.co.uk

Dorothy Heathcote’s Legacy event

info — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:48:15 +0000

West Midlands Mantle of the Expert Network presents

Dorothy Heathcote’s Legacy

At this special two-day event, a range of practitioners will demonstrate the continuing influence of Dorothy Heathcote’s work in their current practice and thinking.

Saturday 16th June –
Sunday 17th June 2012
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm
Venue: NEWMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3NT

For further information, contact:
David on 0121 608 7144
or Iona on 07866 752169

Lead a school from special measures to outstanding in 1000 days of creativity

info — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:49:45 +0000

Here is a great article from Creative Teaching & Learning Vol. 3.1, telling the story of how Victoria Park Primary School (now Victoria Park Academy) went from special measures to outstanding with 1000 days of creativity

One failing school, one dedicated headteacher, one thousand days of creativity. Headteacher, Andrew Morrish inspires with the story of his transformational journey from special measures to outstanding.

Teachers love asking questions. So here’s one to get started: What would you rather do?
(a) Walk around the world three times
(b) Enjoy ten back-to-back round the world cruises
(c) Lead a school from special measures to outstanding

Now for the vast majority of people, the answer would probably lie somewhere between (a) or (b). Granted, you’d need a great deal of stamina and time on your hands, but either one would be a great way to spend your days. What might surprise you though, is that all three share one thing in common, and that is they all take about one thousand days to complete. To be even more specific, they’d take about one thousand school days, so weekends and school holidays don’t count. In other words, five school years and five weeks – the exact time it took to lead Victoria Park Primary school from the brink of closure to becoming outstanding. So as much as I’d love to share my experiences of circumnavigating the globe, or sailing
singlehandedly across the Pacific, I shall restrict this article solely to the matter at hand: How to transform a failing school by being more creative.

Click the link to download the full article

1000 days

Thoughts on choices and how we acknowledge those that make them.

info — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:32:23 +0000

Noel was in Krakow in Poland on the weekend of 20-22nd April and visited Auschwitz. So many people have said so many things as we try and make sense of the horror and the inscriptions on the stones at the Birkenau Death Camp say so much: FOR EVER LET THIS PLACE BE A CRY OF DESPAIR AND A WARNING TO HUMANITY …
The site of The Oskar Shindler Factory is now a fantastic museum detailing the experience of Krakow during WWII. The curation leads the visitor to examine the choices that thousands of individuals made during the Nazi occupation. There exists within us all the potential to make those choices. Fortunately for humanity, there are thousands of people who made the braver choices. This In Memoriam arrived in my in-box this morning and I wanted to share it. Noel

Look at this lady – Let us never forget!

The world hasn’t just become wicked…it’ s always been wicked. The prize doesn’t always go to the most deserving.

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena.

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.

She had an ‘ulterior motive’.

She KNEW what the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews (being German).

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids).

She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family.

Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was not selected.
President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN and…Al Gore won also — for a slide show on Global Warming.

In MEMORIAM – 63 YEARS LATER

I’m doing my small part by forwarding this message.

I hope you’ll consider doing the same..

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended.

This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated.

Now, more than ever, with Iran , and others, claiming the HOLOCAUST to be ‘a myth’, it’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

£1500 Apprentice Grant for Employers – Live from April 2012

info — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:16:56 +0000

The apprentice grant for employers is available for any small employer who has not previously employed an apprentice. The grant is an incentive to encourage an employer to recruit a young person as an apprentice. Up to three grants of £1500 are available per company. Grants will be allocated on a first come first served basis. They are allocated once the apprentice has been recruited.

What apprenticeships are available?

• Community Arts • Cultural Heritage/Venue Operations • Live Events and Promotion • Creative and Digital Media • Design • Business Administration • Technical Theatre

Further details of the apprenticeship programmes are available on our website: www.creativealliance.org.uk

If you’re an employer in the Creative and Cultural Sector

1. Check your eligibility for a grant with us.

2. Complete the employer agreement form and send it back to us.

3. Create your job description and start recruiting with us.

Creative Alliance can support you through every stage and make it as easy and simple as possible.

Contact Details:

Get in touch today: info@creativealliance.org.uk or contact John on 0121 224 7308

For aspiring comic artists.

John Bell — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:53:23 +0000

Curies, by Kate Beaton

Established comic artist and Kate Beaton is taking some time to answer questions from the public about getting started in web comics.

It’s been a very good year for me and comics. To celebrate, and to give a little back, I thought I would take on questions from people who are trying to make it in the world of webcomics. If there’s one thing I really understand, it’s that this business can be confusing- knowing what to do and how to do it. I asked a lot of questions when I started, that’s for sure.

http://beatonna.livejournal.com/154330.html

Ira Glass on creative work

John Bell — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:33:17 +0000

Mystery artist leaves beautiful book sculptures in Edinburgh libraries.

John Bell — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:15:05 +0000

Image by Flickr user Chrisdonia

We were delighted by this story about a mysterious artist leaving elaborate paper sculptures in local libraries around Edinburgh.

Read the full story here

Oxygen at Fluid Space Arts

John Bell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:45:45 +0000

Fluid Space Arts have opened their doors to the artists of Birmingham and established Oxygen, an environment for artists to share ideas and collaborate, changing the face of creativity in Birmingham.

Get a grip

John Bell — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:40:34 +0000

Via [candychang]