Summary

The work of creating art may seem radically different to your notions of leadership and coaching, but Patti Streeper has found that delicate balance. This feminist artist who paints portraits of women of historical significance is also an executive coach. Through her ability to listen deeply to what both the women she paints and the leaders she coaches have to say, she is able to find deep meaning and generate positive turbulence for her viewers and clients.

A Gallery of Some of Patti’s Turbulent Art

Gallery Notes

Image #1 – Augusta Savage

Early 20th Century sculptor and highly influential teacher in Harlem . She was highly regarded for her work but most does not exist anymore because she didn’t have the funds to cast in bronze.

Learn more about Augusta Savage on the Smithsonian American Art Museum website

Image #2 – Ruth Bader Ginsberg

The second woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a tireless anti-discrimination advocate. She had to fight gender discrimination to get into law school, to graduate, and to get her first job as a lawyer. Yet, she was the first female member of the Havard Law review and later the Columbia Law Review.

Learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsberg at Oyez.com

Image #3 – Ananda Joshi

India’s first female physician, Anada Joshi was married at 9 years old and lost her frist child at 14 due to lack of adequate medical care. This event was her inspiration to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Learn more about Ananda Joshi on Wikipedia

Image #4 – Maxine Green

Described upon her death in May 2014 as “perhaps the most iconic and influential living figure associated with Teachers College, Columbia University”, she was a pioneer for women in the field of philosophy of education, often being the sole woman presenter at educational philosophy conferences as well as being the first woman president of the Philosophy of Education Society in 1967. Additionally, she was the first woman to preside over the American Educational Research Association in 1981. (from Wikipedia)

Lear more about Maxine Green on the Maxine Green Institute website.

Image #5 – Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman earned the nickname Moses for her efforts freeing slaves using the Underground Railway. Born a slave, she ran away and then freed others. Later she became a spy and a fighter in the Union army during the American Civil War. And, later, still fighting for civil rights, was a supporter of womens’ suffage.

Learn more about Harriet Tubman on Biography.com

Image #6 – Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Ruth Wilson Gilmore serves as a professor of geography in the doctoral program in earth and environmental sciences and as associate director of the Center for Place, Culture and Politics. Her wide-ranging research interests include revolution and reform, environments and movements, prisons, urban–rural continuities, and the African diaspora. From 2010 to 2011, she was president of the American Studies Association (ASA), the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history. (from CUNY)

Learn more about Ruth Wilson Gilmore in this NYT Magazine article.

Transcript

Artistic Coaching, Turbulent Art with Patti Streeper

[00:00:07.980] – Rob Brodnick

Welcome to the Positive Turbulence podcast, Stories from the Periphery. Here we journey to the edge to talk to Turbulators about their experiences creating positive change. Hi I’m Rob Brodnick, your co-host. The work of creating art may seem radically different your notions of leadership and coaching, but our guest today, Patti Streeper, has found that delicate balance. This feminist artist who paints portraits of women of historical significance is also an executive coach. Through her ability to listen deeply to what both the women she paints and the leaders she coaches have to say, she is able to find deep meeting and generate Positive Turbulence for her viewers and clients.

[00:00:45.810] – Karyn Zuidinga

Hi, I’m Karyn Zuidinga, your co-host. Three years ago, Patti left a 30-year long career in the world of corporate innovation. Her only intent was to find meaning and connection. Her quest has led her to rediscover her passion for painting, as well as a talent for executive coaching. While she was inside the boardroom she was not making art, but she developed the skills of deep listening and observing that are now core to her creative process. And now those artist’s capabilities, the ability to be present and in a flow state, have given her coaching practice an edge. In everything she does Patti brings her desire for connection and dialogue. Her mission is to enable the other’s voice so that we can all embrace our humainty. Stay tuned, we jump into our conversation with Patti looking at her journey towards meaning and beauty and the idea of allowing herself that change. But first, a few words from our sponsors.

[00:01:40.630] – Sponsor Message

The Positive Turbulence podcast is brought to you by AMI, an innovation learning community that is celebrating 40 years supporting innovation and creativity for organizations and individuals. Learn more at AMInnovation.org. Also, we’d like to thank Mack Avenue Music Group as a contributing sponsor. To hear our theme song, Late Night Sunrise and other great music, visit MackAvenue.com.

[00:02:08.930] – Karyn Zuidinga

But there’s so much meaning there and so much beauty there. And I think that maybe that’s a nice place to begin with you, Patti. In your search for meaning and beauty, in the work that you’re doing as an artist in the work that you’re doing as a consultant. I feel like there’s a shift going on for you towards meaning and towards beauty.

[00:02:26.250] – Patti Streeper

Very much so. You know, when you’ve invested a good portion of your life in a career and then you make that change, how ever, that change comes about, it takes you through… I mean, I’m very much been trying to allow myself to go through that. And in some respects, you know, the A-part of my personality says it’s been too long, been three years since I moved on. But on the other hand, I’m very much trying to allow. So one of the things with my painting is that when I move into that space, I’m very conscious about what what is that I’m drawn to do today. I don’t judge. I mean, there have been times when I’ve been working on a painting and I’m just thinking, oh, God, that is just like the worst thing in the world. And then I’ll go into the studio, approach it very honestly, allow it to flow. And I stand there and I look at the painting for a while and then I don’t make a mark until I know where I want to make that first mark. And I don’t know where I want to make the next one, or stroke, or however you want to say it. I don’t know where the next one is coming from, but one leads me to the next. And before you know it, I’m deep in flow. What comes out at the end of the day is something I’m surprised by. So I’ve learned to trust that.

My background, I was trained as an artist. And then I moved away from it for essentially almost 30 years. And I use things I learned from that, whether consciously or not. But now I’m reclaiming it. And I think part of that is just that opening to what could be and it’s not a thinking process, it’s just a tuning in and an awareness and waiting for something that comes through that says to me, this is where I need to address. You know, this is the next thing I need to work on in that painting. And before I know it — like yesterday, I had parts of this painting, a woman, her name is Augusta Savage. She is an African-American sculptor from the early 20th century. And her work, most of it has been destroyed, but not a maliciousness that I know of, but that she couldn’t afford to cast in bronze. But her pieces are magnificent! And I’m doing a painting of her next to one of her large sculptures. There was a part of this painting and I’m thinking, oh, God, you know, I mean, I’ve got three figures going on. I’ve got one that’s real, Augusta, and then two that are these clay figures. And I’m wanting to make sure that they look right. And that, you know, that it still has the interpretation and the way I wanted to come across. And I wasn’t sure. I mean, just, you know, by trying to figure it out from a thinking process, I can’t figure out how to address it. But once I determine that first stroke, then from there it starts to fall out. And when I step back at the end of it, it was like, good Lord, I can’t believe how much I got done and how much of this figure has come to life as a result. So that’s kind of where I’m at.

That’s also a metaphor for what I’m trying to allow as I move through this process of where do I want to contribute and how do I want to give back? How do I want to serve and what is it I care about? I don’t want to necessarily serve in a generic way, I want to do it in a way thats specific to who I am. And that’s part of that discovery process.

[00:05:36.260] – Karyn Zuidinga

For people who aren’t familiar with your painting and your work and the mission behind that work. Would you mind just giving us a sense of what that is and maybe describe a little bit of the work as it evolves so that listeners can at least try to imagine it?

[00:05:49.340] – Patti Streeper

So I paint portraits of women from primarily from history. I’ve done two contemporary women who, oddly enough, they both turned out to have the first name of Ruth. The focus is around the fact that I feel as though we’ve lost half of our human history because as women we look back in history books and if there’s anything around the contributions of women, it’s sparse and it’s not given the full contextual merit that it deserves. I just go through a process of finding women that have done significant things. And I and I not only do white women, but women of color. I probably have done, I’m sure I’ve done more women of color because I think their challenges are far greater than than white women’s are. But we all share certain things. And so I’m trying to tell their stories.

Over time, it started out to be more illustrative, more, it looked like something you might find in a magazine. And now it’s moved to a more painterly vision or look. It tells a story. But it’s more of a celebration of them. I’m almost like having a conversation with them and I learned from them. As to what they’ve gone through, how they overcame it. What was their ability to focus in on what they were seeking to accomplish. And their undaunted pursuit of whatever it might be, whether they wanted to be a pilot more than anything, or they wanted to be in science, or they wanted to have social change. Interestingly enough, and I think this is coming out of my own interest, I paint a lot of women who are social activists throughout time. Including the suffragists and what they went through. And as a young girl, I didn’t understand that story because it wasn’t fully documented in a way that was compelling as to what was actually happening. But these women were brutally beat and imprisoned or spat upon. And every kind of social pressure you can imagine were put on these women just to get the right to vote.

But I celebrate as many as I can possibly paint in the world. There are quite a lot of women who contributed. So I just keep diligently working and finding as many different fields in as many different background perspectives as I can, so that I’m in some way honoring them, in some way helping to share their story. But what I hope to gain from that is to open people to the fact that someone that looks very different from them have endured things that may be similar to what they’ve faced, but also they’ve been able to contribute significantly. And that’s something that we should honor and then right the scales of history, if you will, so that they have a rightful place and we can learn from them. Hope that answered your question about helping people understand what these images are.

They are portraits, they are in oil. They’re fairly large, typically 36″ x 36″. I do have some variation of sizes. I’ve developed, over time, sort of a pixelization process that shows, that tells something about where they’re focused. And I’ll give you an example. I painted Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I actually painted her in a 40″ x 60″. I think it’s bigger than life size. And I use the pixelization from her head, her heart and in her hands. Because her work has been obviously very intellectual. She’s an incredibly bright woman, highly educated and has so much to lend. But she speaks it from her heart and she uses her hands as she works through her her work on the Supreme Court. And that’s in a way that I’d use the pixelization to show their experience, if you will, and also their gifts and how they share them.

[00:09:24.310] – Karyn Zuidinga

On that journey to meaning and that sense of purpose, I suspect you’ve also found a change in yourself over these three years as you’ve been painting, as you’ve been doing this work. I suspect something has also shifted with you.

[00:09:38.730] – Patti Streeper

Yeah. And that’s one of those things that actually I feel like maybe I should be able to articulate. I’m not sure if I can or not fully because it’s an ongoing process. But when I moved from my creative background to the world of the corporation, I pushed that aside. And so one of my realizations was just a re-embracing of who I was before, and why I was before, and that that was completely valid and worthy and worthwhile. To clarify, I don’t think I had decided it was not worthwhile, but I had protected it. I closed it off and I set it aside. And I didn’t let too many people know that because it didn’t feel like it was it was safe for me to share it. That was my judgment, whether it was or wasn’t. I don’t know. I’ve been able to come back to that. So that’s one thing.

I think the other is to be humbled by what I realize through the processing, what I was able to do well, and what I was able to do wrong, and how can I learn from that and come out of that with a commitment towards what feels right at this time. At least for me as a creative person, walking into something that was so foreign as in the world of business and learning that. I I had to open brain space to learn those things and therefore I set those other things aside and now I’m re inviting the other back in. And it gives me, your term from earlier, it gives a texture, you know, to my experience that’s different than when I was living in it. So I have perspective now, but I’m also able to then use that forward.

So as a coach, I’m working with executives and professionals that are seeking new understanding. And man, my experiences are just really helpful for me to ask powerful questions of them, to help them see where they are while they’re in that moment rather than later in retrospect.

[00:11:29.900] – Rob Brodnick

I have a question that goes back to something you had said earlier. But I think it applies to the phrase that you just used. But it’s when something goes from the unconscious to the conscious and as you’re staring at either the blank canvas or something you’ve worked on, images are starting to form and you’re exploring the relationships and the meaning, you choose to act at a certain point in time. And otherwise you’re observing internal/external dialogue. Something happens, though, when you choose to bring something from the unconscious and manifest it. Talk about that moment for us a little bit. Do you recognize something rationally in your processing? Or is it a feeling that comes forward? Or are you just watching your hand move forward to the canvas? What that’s like?

[00:12:14.050] – Patti Streeper

For me I would call it a clarity of what’s that first step. It’s not that I figured out everything that I’m going to do that day or that I’ve planned it out or anything. God forbid, that that does not work, if I try to force it. That takes me down the wrong path. And that’s when I end up with something that I think is ugly. I’ll study the painting and I’ll look at what for me needs to change of what I’ve done so far. What for me needs to change? For a moment I’ll go to when I first start with a blank canvas and I’ve decided a woman that I’m going to paint and I’m working from a set of images of her, because in most cases, these people are no longer alive. I’ll look at that, and I’ll study, and I’ll find out what part of this image moves me and I’ll start there. So a lot of times, if it’s a full-on portrait, I’ll start with the eyes, because that enables me to have that conversation. That’s a natural entry point for me.

This particular one that I’m working on right now, because her sculpture is so much a part of who she was and she’s not actually facing me directly in the portrait. She’s looking at her piece. I started with the sculpture. That’s where the the initial mark is placed and how that comes about. And then on each time I go back to the studio. It’s one of studying. What have I done so far and, what’s speaking to me that needs to be adjusted because it’s not quite there. I always take pictures after each session of painting. I try to paint two times a week for about six hours. Each time I take a picture at the end of it and I study the picture in between. And like, I already, now yesterday was when I painted and now I’m like, okay, I know exactly what I’ve got to do. And some of that is just mechanical like this doesn’t look right. And some of it’s more, there’s you know, there’s something else I want to do here. And so its a feeling more than anything.

[00:13:59.120] – Rob Brodnick

I got the sense from the way you described what happens after that first inspiration hits and you move to action, it’s really characteristic of the flow state. Time kind of disappears. High performance is being created. And then you come back and you go, wow, look what just happened, almost as if you’re in some kind of otherworldly mode. That sound about right?

[00:14:19.550] – Patti Streeper

Rob that’s exactly it. And I tell you what, one of the things that I believe wholeheartedly is regardless of what your discipline is, what your life’s work is, we all need to be able to enter that that state of flow in order to access new insights and to be open to what might be possible. It’s just absolutely critical. And I profess it to be when we work with our hands. It integrates mind, body, and it helps us to get out of that constant thinking because our thinking sometimes can completely, not just sometimes, but it can often get in the way. I use that and I embrace that. And I actually did that at work. So when I was in my career and actively creating, I was creating through other means. And so I use  my power of flow to determine what was the next best action.

[00:15:16.190] – Rob Brodnick

So it takes me a while sometimes, but I’m coming back to that comment that inspired me. You were talking about your coaching. Now, as a coach do you bring that mechanism or that transition from the unconscious to the conscious into your coaching? And I don’t know whether it’s around leadership or creativity coaching, but help us understand that.

[00:15:35.570] – Patti Streeper

Yeah, it’s it’s tended to be more leadership, interestingly enough. And I’m fine with that. I love that as well. It’s very much there. And and what I call it is that as being present, I’m listening intently. I don’t try to figure out what I’m going to say to this person or how I’m going to raise a question or any of that, because if I do that, I mess the whole thing up. But if I if I’m just listening to them and I’m listening to emotional changes in their voice, like a lot of times you’re on the phone and you don’t have the face to face. And so if I’m face to face, I’m watching the face and the whole story. If I’m on the phone, you can hear you can hear subtle changes in energy. You can hear when they suddenly come up with something where insight comes through. It’s so rewarding in that sense. It’s also very exciting. And from that I am able to… something will pop into mind, I’m hearing blah, blah, blah… and this is a pattern, have you thought about that…and it takes you to another level. And they respond to it very well because they know you’re lisening.

[00:16:38.100] – Karyn Zuidinga

I love that. I absolutely love that. That sense of, I and I can relate to, that sense of when you’re very present and when you’re listening very well. That attentive listening state, you can get carried away with the individual you’re talking to and get out of your own listening, get whatever they’re into. And forget to listen again. Do you have ways to get back into that listening place?

[00:17:02.140] – Patti Streeper

I think it’s being conscious of it, right? An knowing that that happens. And it does happen. And there are times when I get caught up in their story and not so much about what’s going to be most helpful to them at this point, right? You’ve got to you’ve got to remain a certain amount of detached. You can’t identify with where their head’s that because they they may be going down a chasm. And, you know, there may be something similar. It’s like a trigger for me that maybe I’ve experienced what they’re talking about. I can go down there with them. That doesn’t help them at all.

Over time and experience you just kind of catch yourself doing it and you redirect. Almost like meditation when our minds start to wander. You go back to breathing. And and so it’s the same mechanism. That totally happens and it’s just knowing ahead of time what are those trigger areas for you? And what am I going to do when that happens to me, when I find myself caught in that? What’s going to be my approach. Sometimes I just sort of take a deep breath and say can we pause for a moment and I’ll ask a different question. And it brings them out of what they’re in and it allows me to step out of the whole rhythm.

[00:18:12.540] – Rob Brodnick

It’s a double-edged sword, though, in one sense, because, you know, when you when you’re in that empathic state, that’s important. You’ve got to get there to really identify with either your creative process or the person you’re coaching or whatever it is. You have to reserve a little part of yourself that’s being self-observant. Otherwise, if that shuts off, you’re lost in empathy.

[00:18:32.740] – Patti Streeper

You’re absolutely right.

[00:18:34.320] – Rob Brodnick

Direct it in some kind of way. You need to reserve a little bit of self-consciousness there. It did remind me of meditation as you said.

[00:18:40.590] – Patti Streeper

Yeah, you said it very well. That’s exactly what what it is. But it’s not about perfection. You just kind of acknowledge, okay, I went down that hole with them. Pull yourself out in the moment.

[00:18:55.010] – Sponsor Message

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[00:19:26.090] – Karyn Zuidinga

Patti, we talked about your artwork. We’ve alluded to the coaching work that you do. But what is this coaching you’re doing and how are you helping executives do better work?

[00:19:35.530] – Patti Streeper

What I am seeking to do is first of all, connect with someone and be their advocate and help them around moving in the direction they wish to move in. Now, obviously, if they want to move in a direction that I don’t have any real feeling about or it’s not my area of, you know, where I can’t I just can’t support or whatever it might be then I’m not the right coach for them.

So you kind of make those decisions, but assuming they’re working in a direction of greater growth and impact and having a positive impact on the people they’re working with and that sort of thing. There’s a huge connection point there. I’m seeking to help them see from time to time the bigger picture. To see what might be another person’s perspective. If there’s some challenge or conflict at play, what’s going on in the business that might be different or that could be different. I’m there as their partner. I’m beside you, and sometimes I’m behind you pushing you, but with permission. It’s very much a dance. It is an art. And I love that about it. And it’s a connection that’s pretty deep because people trust you with stories, and feelings, and vulnerabilities that they don’t share elsewhere. And so I respect that. There’s something about that that’s sacred. And I want to respect that.

[00:20:51.290] – Karyn Zuidinga

Can you just give us a quick for instance, not sharing any stories, obviously, but a quick, for instance, of the kind of person that you would coach? Who are these people that you’re coaching and what kind of companies are they working in?

[00:21:02.150] – Patti Streeper

I’ve got a mixture of startups and larger corporations. Personally, I love that kind of dynamic because I was working in a larger corporation, but then building small businesses inside of that – an essentially startup. That’s a good mental exercise for me. Sometimes it’s hard to shift from one to the other. And it has tended to be women. That’s not a prerequisite for me at all. But I think that tends to gravitate towards me. People may be working to achieve the next level of leadership. They may be seeking to solve an issue that’s right in front of them.

With the businesses in particular, we’re trying to get approval for something or they’re leading the charge on a new initiative or they’re trying to get funding the next wave of funding on startup side, whatever it might be. I’m helping them bring their best forward for that. I think the hardest thing for me is to keep my mouth shut when it comes to something I do know something about so I don’t flip into consulting mode, right?

[00:22:00.990] – Rob Brodnick

Yeah, you become the expert for the moment, right?

[00:22:04.220] – Patti Streeper

And honestly, people will want me to do that. And so what I have to be conscious of, because it’s not mine. I don’t live in their shoes. I would never want to do that. But. When I see something and I’ll say, OK. So I noticed something that I could share with you. If you’re open to that observation. And you know, they can come back and say absolutely most the time they do, but I’ll qualify it and make sure does that fit with your view. Sometimes there’s an insght and somethimes it’s like, nope doesn’t work. And so that’s okay, cool.

[00:22:39.120] – Rob Brodnick

So it’s just a great way to handle that. I love it. Thank you.

[00:23:00.930] – Karyn Zuidinga

How did you make that decision to choose to coach over consulting? Because a part of that is not stepping in as the expert. And when you have 30 plus years behind you, you got a fair amount of expertise you’re carrying around. So sometimes it can be hard to not want to share that.

[00:23:18.400] – Patti Streeper

And honestly, somebody newer in their career or in a completely new situation. It’s a lot more of a battle for me to not do that. Yeah. Somebody that’s experienced, I’m helping you think through what you already know.

[00:23:37.140] – Rob Brodnick

I was just thinking, you know, for myself and maybe some of our listeners, you know, we find ourselves doing all these different things in life, multiple directions. The things I’ve got going on, I just don’t see how they connect. I don’t see how there’s synergy between them. It sounds like you’ve tapped into something that is pretty interesting. You’ve got this apparently divergent world of, you know, the self-reflective artist who’s looking at history and making meaning of these things and as a coach. We’ve heard a couple of parallels, what are some other connections? Or some tips for out listeners to help them self-reinforce the things in their lives that may not seem like they’re really connected in any kind of way.

[00:24:18.950] – Patti Streeper

As I’ve alluded to, I am trying to work from what inspires me. And so regardless of whether it’s something inspires me in the art world or if it’s something that inspires me in the business world or in coaching or in social action or in some other thing, I try to make sure that I’m approaching it from an authentic perspective and that it’s something that I feel I’m engaged in. I’m not doing the “should”. I’m not I’m not involved with this because I should be involved with this or I’m not doing it out of guilt or meeting somebody else’s expectations. First of all, I’m having that conversation with myself. And if I feel like I’m truly being authentic, one of the things, and I’m not out of this yet, I’m trying to figure out what are these disparate parts? And I think what I’m landing on is connection.

By painting these women. I’m I’m hoping that people who view it would gain a greater connection either to their own history, to their gender’s history, to the role of women and how it’s benefited all of us. But they’re getting a connection to that and they’re filling in some blanks that haven’t been populated til now. So that’s a connection with information, it’s a connection with people. It’s an understanding of this is what this particular set of people have been through, what that reality was like, perhaps, and what might I learn from that and how might I connect with somebody that’s more like that than they are like me.

Coaching is connecting people to help them see how they might achieve their big dreams or their goals. And its a connection to each other so that through that process, everything we do is in the context of people. Very few that are truly isolated pursuits. And so, how do you achieve your dreams and them help others to achieve theirs? And so that’s the connection in that sense.

[00:26:19.080] – Rob Brodnick

This March, we’re going to be celebrating the 40th anniversary of AMI. We’re going to be in Greensboro, and Patti, you’ve got a special role. You’ve been invited to be the artist in residence. I hear that we’re gonna be setting up a gallery at the Proximity Hotel. You’re bringing some of your art and you’re going to have the opportunity to do some things, a little speaking slot. It’s going be a lot of fun. For the people that are going to come and experience you and your art. You’ve got some deep stuff going on, I believe. How do you come? How do you approach this? How do you get ready to experience it? Any tips for the observer or participant in what you’re going to do?

[00:26:59.070] – Patti Streeper

I would hope people would come with an open mind to learning about these women’s stories. Some of them are tough stories. I don’t know exactly which subset of my work I’ll be bringing yet. I’m working through that. Some of the stories can be tough, but at the same time they’re incredibly uplifting. So I think being open to hearing that story and to experience it, I mean, you almost put yourself in those shoes, regardless of how different. I’ve got the first woman doctor from India, Ananda Joshi, as one of my subjects. And so that’s quite a world away from Greensboro, North Carolina. And yet you can put yourself in those shoes if you listen to the story.

And so I ask for that. Bring your empathy, bring your curiosity, your interest in learning, and then bring your willingness to dialogue, to talk. What did you see? What did you learn? What would you suggest that I do differently? What other stories that you feel are missing from this subset of my work? What would you love for me to do next? Because I want it to be a promoter of community and dialogue. And so ultimately that’s the next step. So, come open, come curious, and come willing to talk.

[00:28:13.240] – Rob Brodnick

Part two is, okay, so they have a little context for how to approach it. So, impacts? When they’re leaving some of the things that they’re leaving with. After having experienced some time with you, some time with the AMI community, and with your works of art.

[00:28:30.520] – Patti Streeper

My goal, and my hope and dream would be that they’re inspired. They’re inspired to understand how women from all different backgrounds have contributed to where we are today. And the important role that women can play in the future, that’s far beyond what we’re currently playing in today. I think we’ve made huge strides as women. But I think, you know, we have to see people as people, not as genders, or as nationalities, or as ethnicities, or religious groups. We’ve got to see them as people, as human beings.

So I would hope that people are inspired to move to that next step of understanding and start to see the oneness of all of us. And that we each share things that we can relate to. And that we come at it from very different view and perspectives perhaps but there’s some commonality and that can be explored in safe spaces, in honoring spaces, and that’s what I hope for.

[00:29:26.170] – Rob Brodnick

It’s beautiful. Thanks.

[00:29:27.820] – Karyn Zuidinga

Taking a moment and just going. Yes. I hope so, too.

[00:29:32.720] – Rob Brodnick

You actually caused Karyn and I to stop talking and that’s really something.

[00:29:35.110] – Karyn Zuidinga

It’s true. It’s very true.

[00:29:44.800] – Patti Streeper

I am very, very passionate about our common humanity. And when I see what I see on our media and our news and our larger country and global agendas, I’m just so very troubled. And I think that there’s truth. And then there’s understanding and wisdom, as you referred. We’ve got to come to a place of greater understanding, and connection and wisdom. I think that for anyone that is just embedded in their beliefs set I’d ask them to step back and say to what end? Where does this play out? Take the long view and look at it longer term. What do you imagine that it plays out? Is it suddenly that your point of use victorious and the rest of the people that don’t believe that are gone from this earth? What is your perspective on where this goes? Because I think it’s only when you step back and look at it and say we can be very different and we can disagree.

But we’re all human and we’re all we’re all cut from the same cloth. We are fruits of the same tree, leaves of the same branch, and we need to really start to recognize that. So to your point earlier, Karyn, about how you see things bubbling up, and I completely agree with you. And I think those of us that see it and feel it, we have a certain responsibility to engender more dialogue and discussion to promote that and to help people see that. And to put down their arms or whatever weapons they’re using. And think about what’s the impact on somebody and is that truly what I want to have happen? Because how does this play out? If I think about escalation, it’s not a good thing. And whether we care about it for ourselves, we surely must care about it for our children.

As I think about where we’re going, as a human race, there is one race. The human race. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s also incredibly enriching. If you spend time with a completely different person, and point of view, and perspective. And we’re all here for some reason, even those that are doing that, right? So that notion of the other is, be mindful of when when you’re actually putting somebody in that perspective of they’re other than me. What’s the impact of that? Because they feel that some at some visceral level. And if you’re doing that, or if you’re having it done to you, figure out how to have a conversation that opens that enlightenment and that’s that insight. It’s important.

[00:32:15.950] – Karyn Zuidinga

Before we forget to say thank you Patti, it has beena wonderful conversation.

[00:32:20.800] – Rob Brodnick

What a great time!

[00:32:23.990] – Patti Streeper

It was! Thank you guys for making this so fun.

[00:32:29.350] – Karyn Zuidinga

Before we thank our episode and contributing sponsors, I want to encourage you our lovely listeners to stay tuned for this episode’s Positive Turbulence Moment coming up in about 20 seconds. First off, a big thank you to AMI, who have nurtured us in developing this podcast, is the source of so many of our guests, and of course, the founder, Stan Gryskiewicz, is also the author of the original book, and dare I say… the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of Positive Turbulence.

[00:32:57.100] – Sponsor Message

AMI is a pioneering non-profit organization comprised of committed individuals who foster and leverage creativity and innovation in organizations and society, and identifies leading edge innovation, shares, experiences, sponsors, research and recognizes innovation and creative processes. Find out more and aminnovation.org. And thank you to Mack Avenue Music Group our contributing sponsor for providing our podcast soundtrack Late Night Sunrise.

[00:33:24.610] – Karyn Zuidinga

And here’s our Positive Turbulence Moment, where we speculate on what might happen when Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ruth Wilson Gilmore two women Patti has painted who are contemporary, see their portraits. Has anyone who you’ve painted a portrait of seen any of your work?

[00:33:40.270] – Patti Streeper

No, no. And I definitely I would love to be able to send copies of these to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the other woman that I painted that’s contemporary, Ruth Wison Gilmore. I just wanted to let them know that I appreciate their contributions and their stories. And the way that they brought another perspective and helped all of us, men and women alike. Yeah, I would love to do that, but I haven’t.

[00:34:06.010] – Rob Brodnick

You’ll probably get a call as a request after this podcast, right from the Supreme Court.

[00:34:13.990] – Patti Streeper

I’d probably think it was like a fake caller.

[00:34:20.390] – Karyn Zuidinga

You’ll see the call come in and say oh it can go to voicemail. It’s probably just spam. I’ll just let it go to voicemail.

[00:34:33.850] – Karyn Zuidinga

If you want to share a Positive Turbulence moment or otherwise, comment on what you’re hearing, please drop us a line at podcast@PositiveTurbulence.com. We welcome your thoughts. Be sure to tune in next episode when we’ll be time travel into the future with Joe Tankersley and re-imagining our tomorrows.

You can head over to PositiveTurbulence.com to find out more about us, get a transcript of this episode, get links to more about Patti and learn about our wonderful sponsors, positive turbulence, our guests, or check out our very cool and very diverse reading, watching and listening to list. Until next time, keep the turbulence positive!