A Must Have Book – Reflections of Erin

Advanced copies of Barb McKenzie’s first book Reflections of Erin, The Importance of Belonging, Relationships and Learning with Each Other are receiving rave reviews. Described as “a gorgeous, moving and very important book” and “a guide to love and community”, Reflections of Erin is a collection of narratives written by Erin’s mother Barb McKenzie [...]

Conversations and Cell Phones

I usually think of cell phones as an avoidance of conversation and a detriment to community. Especially in public places, say the airport where I observe people talking on their phones while completely ignoring the potential for conversations with people sitting right next to then. But our flights home from Seattle taught me something new [...]

Off to Washington State

Off to Washington State, looking forward with great anticipation to meeting the radical folks who invited us to present to their parent group. In honor of their work and the friendships that I know will emerge, I’m posting a photograph of A Community of Light. I am amazed at what can happen when people come [...]

More Black Sheep Art

People who need certainty in their lives are less likely to make art that is risky, subversive, complicated, iffy, suggestive or spontaneous. David Bales and Ted Orland
I painted The Map to Community during a difficult time. Support was waivering at the college Katie attends, her friends were busy with their own families. I found myself [...]

Black Sheep (authentic) Artist

Often, I feel like the Black Sheep so Cheryl Richardson’s weekly life makeover message struck home with me. She wrote:
The very act of living an authentic life requires you to risk being unusual, different, or strange. It’s the very opposite of trying to fit in. Whether you dress or live in a unique way, bend [...]

Emerging Artist – Katie Basford

Wow! Here a photograph of one of Katie’s paintings. Beautiful. Can’t wait to see what this remarkable woman creates next. Stay tuned!

Katie’s Book of Life

Here’s a pic of Katie signing chapter 12 of Jonathan Mooney’s new book The Short Bus, A Journey Beyond Normal at Otterbein college on Sunday. The chapter is titled “Katie’s Book of Life,” and its about guess who – Katie Basford, my daughter. One of the most beloved parts of the entire book is Jonathan’s [...]

Journey Beyond Normal

I just have to comment on Jonathan Mooney’s powerful presentations at three Ohio colleges this past Sunday and Monday. For those of you who don’t know Jonathan, here’s the official story – He grew up with a learning difference that impacted the way he learns in the classroom. Labeled a troublemaker and told by his [...]

Embracing Nonindependence

Read Bill McKibben article “Where Have All the Joiners Gone? A declaration of dependence” at Orion online. It’s a worthy read for for any human but especially for those of us so entangled in the service system’s concrete forest that we’ve lost site of the community’s real trees.

Otto Scharmer and the Source of Emerging Leadership

At a workshop on leadership, Otto Scharmer shared an analogy about visual art and emerging leadership.
He spoke of three perspectives on painting and what we can learn about leadership from them. The three perspectives are….
1) The completed painting – the thing that has been created, the OUTCOME or finished product.
2) As the artist paints the [...]