It was chosen by our Isfahan chapter in Iran and illustrated by Nazanin Emamieh.

Here is the event page!

Groundbreaking inventions and earth-shaking technologies make headlines and millions in profit. But innovation rarely arrives in a limousine. It shows up as a question or a pet peeve. A hunch that the default setting could be better. An inability to accept the status quo.

Innovation is risky and rebellious. It means breaking the routine and reimagining the familiar. It treats uncertainty as an invitation instead of a barrier. Innovation doesn’t take a genius, it just requires curiosity and willingness to try. And try again.

The world needs more tinkerers, experimenters, and fixers. People who believe change is possible and start with whatever they have. Then don’t stop until they’ve made something new or better.

Creativity asks, “what if?” Innovation replies, “here’s how.”

The latest buzz at Creative Mornings SF is the visit from Mr. Bloom (a.k.a, Shalaco McGee (Instagram and TikTok and explore SFinBloom) and hearing about his grassroots movement and business to beautify neglected corners of San Francisco with ecologically correct plants… umm… dressed in a shockingly stylish bee outfit!

It was fun to hear everything he had to say, including his superhero origin story of growing up in National Parks and being one with nature from a young age. It’s like part Spider Man; part spider plant! These days, he’s certainly covering a lot of ground locally with his guerrilla flower power and also inspiring others internationally. He’s good at reminding us not to take the wonders of nature and evolution for granted.

Though he remarked that getting recognized in public feels a bit weird, I say what did he expect with such a creatively positive line of public works ? The truth is that it is very easy to become his fan, from observing the very best use of a Parmesan shaker (since enhancing pizza), teaching us about the chemical fertilizing benefits of dog pee, and generally inspiring us all to help take some of the sting out of the Anthropocene.

His presentation made me look inward, too. Good ideas like this should be shared and cloned. We should all start positive feedback loops. We should err on the side of the planet. Also, on a more personal level, everyone should get busy finding flow. Everyone should discover their own ikigai (or “reason to get up in the morning”)… and perhaps even go share it with others while eating a bagel and sipping delicious coffee. Hmmm. That is what Creative Mornings is all about!

His presentation also helped me connect some additional dots. This month I visited San Francisco Public Library’s seed lending library for the first time looking for California native seeds. I recently witnessed carnivorous California native plants in action when visiting with cool people I met through Creative Mornings. I also learned the ABCs of native California bees from photographer Krystle Hickman at a recent California Academy of Science lecture. Now, that is someone else who also appreciates a good patch of native flowers!

As he finished his presentation, I couldn’t help to daydream a bit regarding what’s next for Mister Bloom as his work progresses. Perhaps a bee-shaped drone stealthily dropping off rooftop planters with native flowers on a neglected industrial building. Or perhaps a team of Mr. Bloom types in praying mantis outfits installing native vertical gardens on other buildings like living murals.

Well, despite the surprise of his sudden fame, I suspect Shalaco’s success will only increase because the act of making forgotten places blossom is an excellent way keep San Francisco awesome and inspire other folks around the world too.

Written by community member Luis Betances (https://www.instagram.com/ideealabs/). Photos by Andy Paul. 

It was chosen by our Sacramento chapter in California, illustrated by Amber Rankin, and presented by Adobe.

When we were kids, it happened fast. We outgrew clothes and shoes seemingly overnight. We constantly reached for things just out of our grasp. We made messes and art without worrying about what anyone would think.

As we shift into adulthood, growth gets harder to come by. Get good grades and a great job. Burn the midnight oil. Struggle against the odds. Then somewhere along the way, we get comfortable with the status quo. Sitting on the couch, watching and scrolling instead of trying and doing.

But creativity demands growth. Not the kind that can be measured with a ruler. It’s about taking stock of your character. Who’s ready to chase wild possibilities and meaningful progress? We must unlearn the need to be perfect and busy. Remember how to play and get our hands dirty again.

It takes curiosity and courage. Because growth doesn’t always feel good. It forces us to shed our old skin, to stumble, and start again. Sometimes, growth happens quietly, in between uncertainty and doubt, the moments when nothing seems to be changing. Until everything does.

Hand printed power jumpsuit, check ✓
Brightly colored power lipstick, check ✓
Shrimp shaped bolo tie, check ✓

Risa Iwasaki Culbertson’s outfit certainly was memorable, but the thing I’m going to remember most from her talk was the thread of soft and hard that was woven through her story and her work. As an artist, instructor, community organizer, and introvert, we soon learned why she felt like this month’s topic of “SOFT” was made for her.

Though an artist to the core, she decided to study business, where she experienced a mix of the softness of creativity with the rigidity of business school.

After college in tech-smothered San Francisco, she started a hand printed stationary company. She used a massive two thousand pound metal letterpress to craft heartfelt little handmade greeting cards.

During the pandemic she found needle felting. Shaping soft wool with sharp needles (another contrast,) into large-scale humorous and playful sculptures.This hard/soft theme continued to surface as she spoke from experience about grief’s role in creativity. When she was processing the loss of her dad to Parkinson’s she discovered that it was in her “biggest pains she produced her biggest works.”

In grief, the loneliness and temptation to isolate (especially for an introvert) was strong. But it was in community that her heavy heart was wrapped in softness.

When she was wrestling with anxiety over her first solo show, she learned that it takes vulnerability to be brave. Risa said that her “printing press became her shield,” and built her confidence. But this heavy metal also brought her to the softness of community, connecting her with other artists and neighbors.

We all got a little touch of that soft blanket called community in both the beginning and ending of her talk. She broke the ice by having us make funny faces at our neighbors, sharing that expressing silliness helps make us brave. She ended our time with a Q & A encouraging artists and business people to spend more time together, that we should lean into curiosity and playfulness when experiencing creative blocks, and invited us into community by connecting with her either at the Asian Art Museum or at her regular Drink and Draw events here in the city.

Written by community member Matthew Ronan (http://www.matthewronan.com/). Photos by Hunter Ridenour.

It was chosen by our Victoria chapter in British Columbia, Canada and illustrated by Leah McInnis.

The world feels hard in so many ways. Couldn’t we all use more softness?

Soft is gentle, empathic, and vulnerable. But being soft is not a weakness. It is a sign of deeper strength. Having the courage to walk through life without armor. A willingness to listen before speaking. Welcoming whatever comes with open palms. Pulling someone close for a hug.

What if our work was softer? What would we make with a little tenderness? Art that truly resonates. Innovations that heal instead of harm. Communities that hold one another instead of tearing other people down.

Soft can be a quiet form of resistance. Practice subtlety, trust, and intimacy in a world that celebrates loud braggadocio, knee-jerk reactions, and blunt force.

Let’s snuggle up and let down our guard. Soft can be our salvation.

Our September theme was BLOSSOM. It was chosen by our Pereira chapter in Colombia, illustrated by Edwin Morales, and presented by Adobe.

Every blossom is an act of becoming. The quiet force of roots pushing through the dark, the slow unfurling of a bud, a sudden burst of color. But plants don’t blossom on command. They need light, nourishment, and time. It’s the same for creativity: it can’t be rushed. It grows beneath the surface, quietly gathering strength until it’s ready to be seen.

And that’s where our September speaker, Brooks E. Scott, came in.

Brooks knows what it means to bloom in unexpected places. He shared a story about losing something he’d worked his whole life for. Realizing, only later, that the loss was planting the seeds of something greater.

What felt like a dead end became fertile ground for transformation. That detour led Brooks to a new career, a new coast, and ultimately to founding Merging Path Coaching, where he now helps leaders reconnect with their values and each other.

He shared a simple framework for defining what matters most:
Simple. Clear. Concise. Bold. Actionable.

Because if you know your values, you’ll always find your way back, even when life knocks you off course.

“Your setbacks don’t stop your blossoming,” Brooks reminded us. “They plant it.”

This month’s theme asked us to consider what within us is ready to blossom and how we can nurture others to do the same. Brooks’ story was a living answer: that growth often begins in the dark, that resilience is its own kind of sunlight, and that when we open up, we make space for others to bloom, too.

Let’s go. Let’s get out there and see what the world has waiting for us. By putting ourselves in a new environment or experience, we gain a different perspective. That sense of discovery sparks fresh inspiration. If your brain feels stuck, try moving your feet.

So, let’s travel somewhere we’ve never been. Either down the street or across a far-off border, there’s so many places to explore.

Scott Doorley & Carissa Carter from Stanford d.school will take us there and share how to design our own and collective futures.

The trick is to embrace the detours and delays. Because there are no shortcuts on a journey of self-discovery or creative expression. Just please remember: you are not traveling alone.

Our world runs on cycles. There’s the frantic buzz of the 24-hour news cycle. The boom and bust of economic cycles. The changing seasons. Every plant, animal, and organism exists in a life cycle of birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Water flows through a cycle of evaporation into vapor to condensation in clouds to precipitation that falls as rain or snow. The menstrual cycle. The circadian rhythm of our sleep cycle.

Cycles are circular and keep things moving. Which cycles are you living in tune with? And which ones are you fighting vainly against?

Jeff Raz brought humor and fantastic storytelling about how artistic traditions cycle through generations.

2024/October – VISION – Natalia Kowaleczko & Tony Mingo

Vision, a word that has become so ubiquitous it is easy to mistake it as a mission or a goal. During our October Creative Mornings connect, Natalia Kowaleczko and Tony Mingo of PACT studios shared their creative process for vision that they’ve used with their clients and in their personal lives to use their heart and their head to design a bigger mission that connects with your individual values and passion.

With case studies of helping a local yogi articulating how calm is essential to activism to blowing up ageism and racism in tech. They shared a framework on how vision is what is nestled between our passion and action and asked us to think about what we wanted to see more of in the world.

We left inspired to not only look at how we communicate our vision to others, but how we are better together when we share and support one another in bringing them to life.

Thank you to the wonderful Pam Dineva for capturing these moments.

2024/September – REFLECTION – Tim Westergren

During his talk Tim Westergren shared some of his (hilarious) stories from struggling musician playing in empty bars, to co-founding and running the very successful music streaming service Pandora. 

His path is full of unexpected twists and turns, ups and downs and obstacles, that left us holding our breath and laugh out loud. He touched on topics like creator burnout, losing ones creative vision and his new adventure, an app for digital creators that’s part assistant, part manager, and part magic. 

If we didn’t cut the Q&A short, we’d still be there discussing and laughing with Tim.

Thank you to the wonderful Pam Dineva for capturing these moments.