Reflection and New Statement of Purpose

I'm sure many of those who have happened upon this blog to date have been uncertain about what "Artful Innovation" means and what I'm trying to accomplish.

1) Some were probably expecting resources. Does the blog offer classroom strategies or techniques that could be applied to a variety of challenges? Maybe an online course or eBook that could help in thinking and working more innovatively?

2) Some may have expected to see promotion of expert services. Is the blogger an innovation guru? A designer? An artist with a broader lesson to teach? Is she going to share all kinds of exciting stories about her meetings with teams in Silicon Valley and her workshops in China?

Neither are the reality . . . at least not yet.

This work began primarily as an advocacy blog inspired by a belief that innovative thinking and other vital 21st century skills are developed in the context of making art, learning about the arts, and using the arts broadly as a way of knowing, a form of expression, a creative catalyst, and a proxy for the invention and innovation being furiously pursued by today's global economies. Those are not the only benefits of arts education, but they need to be acknowledged, and I hope to help make the case.

The Artful Innovation blog is a prelude to a more in-depth project about that core belief and as a supplement to more focused arts advocacy writing I do for clients. It has been helpful as a way to connect with other people who have similar interests and to stay motivated and somewhat intentional in the process of reading widely and developing my own line of thinking in a dialogue that I feel is still somewhat diffused and peripheral.

I have been getting more serious about structuring my "case" in a more coherent, logical, and (I hope) compelling fashion for publication and will probably be pulling things together on a companion Web site soon.

In reviewing my postings, I see that this blog has become much broader than my original tagline or statement of purpose implied: (In this Age of Innovation, learning in and through the arts is essential for everyone). That's because making my case about the arts requires a broader view. I need to explore individual and group innovation objectively, and I need to look at the bigger picture of education. Although the arts education literature is rich and the diversity of work in the arts is dazzling, a strong case will involve exploration beyond the knowledge base of arts education.

Moreover, my core belief must begin as a question: Are the arts important in developing innovative thinking and 21st century skills? And I must make sure my audience understands what I mean by arts education, innovation, and other concepts.

Therefore, my new tagline for the Artful Innovation blog is:

Exploring artistic responses to the challenges of education, organization, and human development in the Age of Innovation.

It reflects the broad scope of my current investigation, which I hope will funnel effectively in a useful, informative, thought-provoking site that I will launch by the new year.

So who am I to make this case? Check back tomorrow.