September/October 2002
Feature Articles
Holistic Health Q & A
by John DeCosmo, D.O.
Of genes and gene testing and evaluation.
What is... the Organic Movement?
by Robert Roman
Part two of a three-part article detailing
the author's personal experiences and the growth of the organic movement.
UnCommon Sense!
by David Findlay
War - Iraq - Should we remove Saddam
Hussein?
Articles on the theme "The Learning Process"
A Basket Weaver
by Lou Galgano
An example of how one artist learns
and teaches what he knows.
Getting "It"
by Lewis Fishman
Using "it" as an inspiration
to learn.
Learning Without Harm
by Barbara Bedingfiled
How intellectualism has negatively
influenced our education of the young - and how to counter this.
Music and Movement, and Learning
by Bob and Claire Franki
How the combination of music with movement
from age zero not only facilitates musicianship but increases coordination
and learning.
September 12
by Janet Kato
A moment when the learning process
became the healing process
Learning From Everything
by Patrick Plaskett
Learning from life - from both the
"good" and the "bad."
Learning From Other Cultures
by Dr. Jean Houston
The birth of the Planetary Human
The Relationship Learning Process
by Bob Murray, Ph.D.
How our problems stem from failed relationships;
how to make good ones.
A Basket Weaver
by Lou Galgano
This July I left a successful 20-year career in electronics as a bio-medical engineer to follow my dream: to have more time to learn and teach my craft. When I tell people I'm a basket weaver I get strange looks. Why do we look and judge people by what they do and not who they are? I've had many jobs lifeguard, sailor, salvage diver, fireman, video producer. I served in the U.S. Navy, did sales, have been a wood carver, artist, yoga teacher and more. Now I am back to carving the coconut heads you see on this month's cover. I've made about 250,000 roses from palm fronds. Those on the front cover are examples of what I've woven in the last 32 years. I plan to make a million! I love to teach people how to reconnect with the earth using natural resources to make their own creations artfully with love. I made that hat I'm wearing in 30 minutes in the desert of Arizona on a 100-degree day. Everyone wanted one! People always ask me how I learned to create a thousand or so items from bamboo, coconuts, palm leaves and gourds.
Here are Coco Loco Lou's 10 Secrets to Learning.
1. How you think is everything
Be positive. Stop the self-talk that says you can't do something. People often say they can't paint or draw. When I was 10 years old I painted a picture. I saw it next to my sister's wonderful art (she was 8 years older) and decided I could not paint. For 30 years I repeated that negative mantra. On my 40th birthday I changed it to "I paint and draw well." Today I sell wildlife and nature art including many commissions. I've taught myself not only how to paint, but how to pay less attention to the fears. You may never completely lose the fear but you'll learn to move forward through it.
2. Decide upon your true dreams and goals
List your goals and develop a plan to reach them. The end may seem impossible. Imagine: if you improve only 1% each day how much more you'll know after a year, or ten years!
3. Take action
Goals are nothing without action. I know well the fear in starting a project. I've spent hours staring at white paper, afraid to put paint on it because I might mess it up. When I'm faced with a deadline I often will paint two pictures. I don't care if I mess up the first one and I take more chances. The second one comes out looking great. Often so does the first one!
4. Never stop learning
Go back to school or read a book, get training and build your skills. Teach what you want to learn. When you explain and show someone else a skill you will really own it. Learn for the fun of it. You never know how you'll use it in your life. I started teaching yoga 10 years ago. It opened me to my art and music. Even my surfing and coconut-tree climbing improved!
5. Be persistent and work hard
Learning is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up. I was a terrible weaver when I started in 1970 and not much better 20 years later. I set my goal to be the best palm-frond weaver in Florida. I wove every day for a year. I started at 5 am before work and continued every night after work for 3 or 4 hours. I took basket-weaving courses in other styles. I experimented with dyes and giant weavings 18 ft long. I made 30,000 palm roses in a year. I lived and breathed weaving and drove friends and family crazy. One dark and windy night I sat on the beach and wove the whole night. I created baskets and hats by touch alone. They were perfect. 10 years later I am much nearer my goal and still weaving with joy and love in my heart.
6. Learn to analyze details
Use all the facts and all the input. Learn from your mistakes. Your mistakes and failures are your greatest teachers. After a show I look at what did not sell and try to figure out why. I apply new techniques at the next show and I normally do better. Remember: the Zen mind is a beginner's mind. Listen and act as if you don't know and you will be open to new approaches. When we think we know all there is no room in the mind to learn new ways.
Don't forget to surf the web, go to the library and talk to people with the same interests to share new ideas.
7. Focus your time and money
Don't let other people or things distract you if possible. Set aside 5 minutes each day to learn something new. In a year that will be about 30 hours you have invested in learning new skills. Commit your money to a class and you have a much better chance of completing it.
Each day I watch the process of a coconut growing from a flower to a 15-pound nut. I observe bamboo shoots as they grow 20 feet in two weeks. The plants teach you if you observe them.
8. Don't be afraid to innovate be different
Following the herd is a sure path to mediocrity. If you learn something and you are told this is the only way, throw out the rules and do it in at least three different ways. When we know only one way to do something we are enslaved. When we know two ways we have limited choices. Freedom comes from knowing three ways to do something!
I created Tropical Topiary one day while meditating. I envisioned giant sets of baskets, 18-foot woven fish and alligators diving into a coconut tree with five hearts and many other shapes. The next day I sat on a 20-foot ladder in my yard weaving my creations into the tree. The leaves and tree were happy and stayed woven and growing for months. Now when I need several large topiary pieces for a show I make them in the tree a few weeks before and cut them from the tree fresh the day of the show.
I have never followed the herd. I've given many people joy as they laugh with (or at) me. When was the last time you saw someone on a unicycle juggling coconut heads and singing
I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts?
9. Deal and communicate with people effectively
No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others. In teaching workshops I try to see how each person learns best. I explain and illustrate how to do something, then have the student do it. I listen to what they are saying and repeat back to that person what I heard. Our greatest need is to be understood. To understand the other person is to really communicate with them.
10. Be honest and dependable take responsibility
Otherwise numbers 1 to 9 won't matter. Be honest with yourself. If you don't understand something admit it. Don't worry about what others think. When teaching, admit what you don't know and that you will try to find out. If your boss shoots down an idea or you feel that you've failed, don't blame others. Take responsibility for how others receive your ideas. Learn how to gain people's support without resorting to hard sell, manipulation or power plays. Whether you are a teacher or student, show up on time.
Now go out and find what you're passionate about! Learn it and teach it. Along the way you may make your passion your career. I did!
Lou Galgano has been a Florida crafter/artist for over 30 years. He will teach weaving classes at Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg, FL this fall and participate in local arts and craft shows throughout this year. Lou teaches yoga at the YMCA. (727) 398-4570. lgalgano@gate.net
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