Having been invited to several Sunday meals with Keith and his beautiful wife Carleen, I laughed out loud when I saw the name of Keith’s cooking show. But isn’t that perfect? Growing up in the midwest, Sunday dinners were a big deal. They were always earlier in the day, and always more special than weekday meals.  The name “smells like Sunday” brings it all back.

Keith can make any meal, and make any meal better. So for Keith to share his talent is a treat for the rest of us; I just wonder how he finds the time.

Thank you Keith; I can hardly wait to see the next video. Spaghetti and meatballs! Keith is on YouTube; just type “smells like Sunday” in the search bar. And leave a comment!

Having lived on the Monterey Peninsula for a long time, I opted for Dave’s specialty (which means Dave picks!).  That way I could experience his tours like anyone else.

We meet in Carmel on a sunny Monday morning.  Dave’s Volvo sedan is comfy; I sip my coffee while I watch the coastline scroll past the window.  Dave points out places of interest and the history behind them.  Even after having seen the dramatic cliffs and hairpin curves many times, it is more special with an affable companion.

Before I know it we have completed the 26 mile drive to Big Sur and pull into Big Sur River Inn for breakfast.  Nestled between Apple Pie Ridge and Pheneger Creek, this rustic inn has guest lodges, a great restaurant, and local bands playing most Sundays.

Food:  I recommend it.  The banana walnut pancakes are amazing.  Service is excellent; everyone says “Hi Dave!”

After breakfast we set out for more of Big Sur.  When you see it with Dave Engelberg, you get an entre to places other tourists miss; I don’t want to spoil it for anybody else so will just leave it that; go on a tour with Dave and be treated well, see things you wouldn’t have otherwise, and have a day to remember.

The Creativity Workshop comes to the historic village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California November 6 through 9 for the first time. During the 4-day workshop, participants will explore concrete ways to expand their creativity through a series of exercises including guided visualization, automatic drawing and writing, map making, memoir, and storytelling. The workshop is for people of all professions, including education, business, the arts, sciences, and social services.

Carmel, CA (PRWEB) September 15, 2009 — Internationally known Creativity Workshop: Creative Writing, Drawing, Storytelling and Memoir will be taught for the first time in Carmel, CA this November 6-9. The workshop is taught in New York City, Barcelona, Prague, Crete, Florence, and now Carmel, where the founders have recently moved. The workshop is taught in some of the most inspiring places in the world, making it a perfect learning vacation. The workshop is featured in National Geographic’s book, The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life.

During the 4-day workshop, participants will explore concrete ways to expand their creativity through a series of exercises including guided visualization, creative writing, map making, memoir, and storytelling. The workshop is for people of all backgrounds and levels of creative experience, including education (K12 and university), business, the arts, and social services. People take the workshop for many different reasons. Some people use it as a business creativity workshop, others use it as a creative writing class or personal growth seminar. Exploring creativity covers all those fields and more and gives the workshop a group of intriguingly diverse and international participants.

The workshop also attracts many people in education; they use the workshop exercises to help them teach in new and exciting ways. Educators can receive either graduate level university credits or CEUs for their teacher professional development by taking the workshop. Shelley Berc, director of the Creativity Workshop notes: “This past year we are also seeing a number of participants taking the workshop because they have lost their jobs and want to develop their imagination and innovation to find new jobs. In times of economic recession, creativity is one of the most important assets you can have to reinvent yourself in the workplace.”

The Creativity Workshop was established in 1993 by award-winning writer Shelley Berc and multimedia artist Alejandro Fogel. The company offers the aforementioned 4 and 8-day workshops, as well as private and corporate seminars and retreats focused on creativity. Berc and Fogel are often keynote and motivational speakers at business, education, and arts conferences. The Creativity Workshop is dedicated to teaching people about their creative process–how to nurture it and keep it alive. Berc notes, “We are all born creative — it is one of the most vital and constant aspects of being human. Children are incredibly creative — it is how they learn. Unfortunately society doesn’t nurture it in us once we grow up. So we must step in and reclaim our creativity.” The workshop shows people a myriad of ways they can do just that.

Berc and Fogel have used their techniques to teach thousands of people all around the world about accessing and expanding their imagination, sense perception, inspiration, and brainstorming. They have helped among others, Procter and Gamble industrial designers, Mad Cow veterinary researchers, Purdue Engineering students, educators k12 through university, entrepreneurs, psychologists, artists of all disciplines and retirees. For several years the Creativity Workshop was taught at the University of Iowa in the International Writing Program where Berc was a Professor. It was also taught worldwide through the US State Department’s Arts in America program.

The Workshop in Carmel-by-the-Sea will meet for 3 hours each day. This gives participants free time to explore the magnificent Carmel/Monterey area. Class exercises and talks by the instructors focus on ways to help attendees believe in the power of their creativity, find ways to trigger inspiration and get over creative blocks and the fear of failure.

Fogel notes that “the only requirements for participating in our workshops are curiosity, playfulness, and a willingness to tell your rational mind to take a back seat for awhile so the imagination can run free.”

The workshop also helps participants find ways to give themselves the permission and time to do creative work. To this end Berc and Fogel offer easy techniques for developing a daily practice of creativity exercises. As Berc says, “creativity is a muscle: use it, or lose it!” Fogel notes, “the exercises don’t stop when the workshop does: they are meant to become tools for a lifetime.”

Fogel and Berc started the workshop after many years of teaching in a traditional University setting. They felt there were a lot of programs that taught techniques of creative expression, but very few that focused on the creative process itself. “We decided to provide a workshop that spoke to that neglected area”, Fogel says. From their vast experience as educators, thinkers, and artists they developed a unique series of exercises dedicated to inspiring and keeping alive the life of the imagination. They teach from the point of view that people are by nature creative. Berc says that, “creativity, like DNA, is unique in each individual. Our workshop exercises are intentionally broad paradigms so that each participant can easily tailor them to her/his own goals, whether it be a particular specialty or life in general.”

For more information, visit www.creativityworkshop.com

About the Creativity Workshop: The Creativity Workshop was established in 1993 by writer Shelley Berc and multimedia artist Alejandro Fogel. The workshop is taught in Carmel, New York City, Barcelona, Prague, Crete and Florence.

CONTACT:
Shelley Berc
Alejandro Fogel
25475 Rio Vista Dr.
Carmel, CA 93923
831-915-5209
questions (at) creativityworkshop.com
Website: www.creativityworkshop.com