The Creativity Roots Podcast

Creativity Roots - Episode 16 by Ronald Paredes After all the tragic events that keep happening under our noses I can’t help to think that we have failed to ourselves, we have fallen victims of our own ignorance, our lack of education, our incapacity to sustain all the social battles that we fought and won in the past, because of our bad choices. Societal deceases like racism, inequality, homophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, intolerance, and the worst of all white supremacism, all signs of a great ignorance, fear and manipulation. When we educate ourselves and most importantly our children, we prevent falling for manipulations from populist and criminals, people with questionable characters that we have put in positions of power and influence. We can’t keep failing to ourselves, we need to develop a generation of individuals with the capacity to make better choices, to analyze, discern, and understand the consequences of making decisions out of manipulation, disinformation and ignorance. The creator this week is a guy called Don Draper and his upbeat and delightful song “Got U" Find more of him at: https://soundcloud.com/don-draper-music https://www.instagram.com/dondrapermusic/ https://twitter.com/dondrapermusic Visit www.creativityroots.com for more of this episode Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/creativityroots Remember to send your creative work, comments, and feedback at creativityroots@yahoo.com Also, follow me on Instagram @creativityroots

Creativity Roots - Episode 15 by Ronald Paredes In this episode I reflect on my own experience teaching to a group of highly unmotivated and disengaged group of high school students who have turned this way by being enclosed for several years in sterile classrooms, under an educational regime the stifle their creativity and forced them to fit into standardized mentality, hence repressing who they really are. We know this is wrong and yet we keep trusting the education of our kids to these institutions that very often care more about fulfilling a program than forming strong and critical individuals The creator this week is a woman I came across in the internet called Jessica Hart with her song "Soul Phazed” a very enjoyable and delightful tune Find more of here at: https://soundcloud.com/boxedtreats https://www.facebook.com/jessicahartmusic https://www.instagram.com/jess_sweet_hart/ Visit www.creativityroots.com for more of this episode Remember to send your creative work, comments, and feedback at creativityroots@yahoo.com Also, follow me on Instagram @creativityroots

Creativity Roots - Episode 14 by Ronald Paredes Like money, fame should never be the purpose for doing anything in life, since the arrival of the internet the idea of fame has completely changed, everybody with a camera and an outrageous behavior now have the chance to become famous by simply pulling pranks on people or making some stupid challenges that many times have ended up badly. We have to be more selective about what we consume, what kind of role model we have in our life, who are we following. Fame is an illusion, is temporal, it vanishes with time and not necessarily leaving something relevant behind. Instead of fame, we should work for legacy, by producing work that is relevant, important, of benefit to somebody, something constructive. The creators this week are the Venezuelan duo from Masseratti 2Lts and their theme “Levantate”. Find them at www.2litros.com Visit www.creativityroots.com for more of this episode and Masseratti 2Lts Remember to send your creative work, comments, and feedback at creativityroots@yahoo.com

Creativity Roots - Episode 13 by Ronald Paredes Have you ever being so afraid of being judged or criticized? Criticism is one of the biggest inhibitors that creators and pretty much everybody face, every single person in this planet experienced it constantly, it can completely restrain you from expressing your ideas regardless of how well you do, in fact, the better you do more exposed you are to judgment and criticism. For a confident person, with a healthy level of self-esteem and fully aware of their motivation and purpose, criticism represents a source of information an opportunity for growth. Criticism is a signal that there is some conventionalism that is being broken, it means that the work it’s having an impact, negative or positive but there is something moving and changing and changes always make some people uncomfortable. * Don’t receive criticism with arrogance * Maintain your work aligned to the highest possible purpose * Be open-minded and objective enough to listen and adjust but never compromise on your idea The creator this week is the recurrent and always powerful Krystal Gypsy Orellano with her poetry piece called “Normal” Visit www.creativityroots.com for more of this episode and Krystal Remember to send your creative work, comments, and feedback at creativityroots@yahoo.com

Creativity Roots - Episode 12 by Ronald Paredes Today is September 30th, and we are celebrating #InternationalPodcastDay. It is a good day to think about the reasons why we started podcasting, obviously we all have something we think is worth saying, maybe we feel that we represent a group of people with some specific need or maybe some of us just want to entertain. Whatever it is the motivation for us to get in front of the microphone we need to be always aware that we are occupying a space, that we are stirring a pot somewhere, that we are influencing people and for that reason is important to be aware that all this comes with a responsibility. Congratulations to all my fellow podcasters! Happy #InternationalPodcastDay! Visit my website: www.CreativityRoots.com

Creativity Roots - Episode 11 by Ronald Paredes Chef Nino at the Pacific Restaurant at the Jinling Hotel in Nanjing is without a question one of the most interesting people I have met in all my years in China, his approach to producing menus, creating dishes and serving is very unique, he enjoys creating an entire experience where all the senses are involved, even those senses we didn’t know we had, Nino believes that we possess 7 senses adding emotion and thinking to the traditional 5 ones, and they should all participate in the enjoyment of his food. Visit www.creativityroots.com for more information and images. Remember to send your creative work, comments, and feedback at creativityroots@yahoo.com

Creativity Roots - Episode 10 by Ronald Paredes Note: For those listeners located in mainland China the podcast is accessible by using a VPN connection. Given the importance of developing a sense of identity I feel is necessary to summarize the topic and emphasize some important information about it. I mention an experiment about isolation called "In Solitary: The Anti Social Experiment” that you can find int he following the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28D-lTFa_ss The Vanuatu Women's Water Music documentary directed by Tim Cole can be found at https://www.wantokmusik.org/vanuatuwomenswatermusic The World Didgeridoo Vibes is available at https://archive.org/details/World_Didgeridoo_Vibes_Vol1/Droihoeksken_Djridoo.mp3 The creator this week was Gemini George performing his song Full Foolish Moon, find him on his website: http://www.geminigeorge.com/ and more information at: www.creativityroots.com

Creativity Roots - Episode 9 by Ronald Paredes Conversation with Benj Kinenga Mushila, Congolese visual artist and painter Check the Creativity Roots website www.creativityroots.com for more information about Benj Kinenga Mushila and his work. Originally from the Republic of Congo, Benj Kinenga Mushila is a visual artist who regardless of his young age has developed, through consistent and disciplined work, a very mature and distinctive technique of painting. Using mainly oil painting and knives he basically places chunks of color one on top of the other to create impressionist like compositions rich with a very expressive texture, to me, it looks like painting with pieces of melted candy. The themes of his painting are usually attached to his African cultural roots, daily life scenes, the market, the walking, the working, and even the struggles. Find more from Benji at www.benjkinenga.com Contact The Creativity Roots Podcast by mail: creativityroots@yahoo.com IG @creativityroots

Creativity Roots - Episode 8 by Ronald Paredes Identity is probably the most important aspect of an individual, it is what helps us identify ourselves with the different social groups we interact with, giving us a sense of belonging. Knowing who are, where we come from, having a strong sense of identity can help us to be more social adaptable. Lack of an identity can create great conflict that can be of great detriment to our mental and physical health and maybe even make us incur in criminal behavior. Our identity can be a rich source of material for our creative activities. The featured creator for this week is once again Krystal (Gypsy) Orellano with a wonderful piece called “Who I am” Enjoy!

Creativity Roots - Episode 7 by Ronald Paredes Conversation with Sabine Ichikawa Ph.D., researcher, conference speaker, developer of programs in luxury and creative industries in Europe & Asia, currently living and working in Shanghai for the last six years. Currently, Sabine Ichikawa is working on a research that focuses on identifying the resources and characteristics that make of the city of Shanghai a potential fashion capital and a creative city of international relevance. Check the Creativity Roots website www.creativityroots.com for more information about Sabine Ichikawa and her work.

Creativity Roots Summary Episode 1-5 by Ronald Paredes After reaching the episode number 5 I wanted to make a summary of the topic we touched in the previous episodes to remind ourselves of those things that we know so well but we tend to take for granted, also for those who are landing into this thing and are starting to listen they will find in this a review of what we have been talking about so far.

Creativity Roots - Episode 5 - hosted by Ronald Paredes Success is one of the most difficult and challenging aspects of our life. There are external factors that pretend to enforce on us an idea of success that is confusing and wrong, family, friends, partners, society, in general, make us believe that success is determined by wealth, possessions, fame, recognition, titles, diplomas, power and influence, and we grow up thinking these are the rights things to pursue in life, our goals, when in reality these should be the consequences of a life pursuing our real passion working to achieve those things that we really love. It is important to define what is your personal idea of success and happiness and work with discipline and commitment to achieve those REAL life goals. For the Creator featured this week we go once again with Empress Ellehcim, she introduces herself and explains her source of inspiration for her creative work and perform her song “Listen To My Lion”

Failure can be either a perception or an attitude and it only happens in our brain and later it manifest in our life. We must understand how failure was first implanted in our mind as a concept at a very early age, how it works in our perception and how the fear of it is one of the first and strongest creativity inhibitors. To overcome the fear of failure and redefine it's meaning is one of the first and biggest steps in acknowledging our innate capacity of being creative. Failure is a healthy and necessary part of any process that can not be avoided, the best way to deal with it is to set our mind with the fact that it will happen and that it must be embraced with an open mind. Only that attitude will allow us to learn from it and take advantage of the outcome to develop further. The song played at the end of the episode is called "Nothingness" and it was composed and performed by the beautiful Empress Ellehcim, a multi-talented Micronesian artist, singer, and performer.

Creativity Roots - Episode 3 - hosted by Ronald Paredes I closed the previous episode with the claim that creativity makes us better human beings, which sounds a lot like self-help voodoo, since that’s not what we are doing here, in this episode we talk about what is the process taking place in our brain when we start engaging with creative work. I clarify that creativity is not exclusively what an artist produce but also what scientists or anybody in any other discipline or practice can use or do by innovating, by doing things differently and breaking patterns. I also talk about how these activities that force the brain to step out of the comfort zone, to learn and to make new connections represent a way to keep our brain young and healthy. Exciting news, our first creative feature it's a powerful piece of poetry submitted by Krystal (Gypsy) Orellano Weldon, titled “I Speak These Words”. You can also submit your work at: creativityroots@yahoo.com

I can not think of a better way to start making the case of creativity being not only an essential part of our existence but in fact a human need, than talking about Maslow and his pyramid of human needs. The American psychologist Abraham Maslow created what is called the Maslow Pyramid of Human Needs in which he identifies the basic human necessities for survival, well being and motivation. In this diagram, he organized those needs from the most primordial and basic ones such as food, air, sleep, and sex to the most elevated ones such as self-actualization, in which creativity is amongst the factors included in this tier, which was at the very top of the pyramid before Maslow added self-transcendence. As creativity is a human need we must try to engage with it in every possible way, every day of our life. Engage with creativity doesn’t necessarily mean stand in front of a canvas or sit in the piano, simple steps like a good read or simply listen to some good music are a good start.

The Creativity Roots Podcast hosted by Ronald Paredes - Episode 1 I wanted to start by giving a brief introduction about who I am, what I have been doing as a professional creative and my motivations behind hosting a creativity podcast. The idea of sharing my experience and information working as a creative in a way that is palatable and easy to understand to those who haven’t had the chance of being in contact with creativity and feel intimidated by it. The ultimate intention is to encourage people to rediscover the creative confidence that we all had once when we were kids and that went away as we grew up. I hope the information that you find in this series serves the purpose intended which is to encourage people to become a better individual through the development of their creative capacities. An intense thanks to my gorgeous and super talented friend Michelle Masiwemai for composing the opening music that you will hear at the beginning of every podcast.