Our theme for December is INNOVATION. It was chosen by our Isfahan chapter in Iran and illustrated by Nazanin Emamieh.

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.”

CREATIONS FROM OUR COMMUNITY:

Each month, we ask the readers of our Weekly Highlights newsletter to submit creative work inspired by our global theme.

Here are this month’s featured works.

Chicago Art Locker by Shea Michals in Chicago Illinois.

The Chicago Art Locker is an ordinary locker reinvented as a free neighborhood art hub. It connects to innovation by demonstrating how reimagining simple objects can create new pathways for creativity and connection.

You can see more work on Shea’s instagram.

Artists… have an important role in society. We hold a space for communication, a space to decode the complex rhetoric of the everyday. Artists are the eyes of the blind who do not know they cannot see. We are the hearts of the blocked who do not know they are confined. We are the ears of the deaf who do not know how to listen. We are the senses of society and the mouthpiece for a message. We are modern day shamans. We are artists.

Artists: A Poem by Annelies Gentile in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This poem is a powerful reminder of an artist’s role and impact in life.

You can see more work on Annelies’ site.

“We, the people, have a long, possibly infinite history of inventing new things that we will regret or, at the least, be a little bit embarrassed by.”

An Incomplete Review of New Inventions: 5500 BC through Today by Jessie Van Arman in Brooklyn, New York.

A personal essay, inspired by the theme of innovation and my child and his peer’s obsession with Roblox which seems, at first blush, like innovation but upon further reflection…isn’t.

Read the rest on Jessie’s substack.

Daphne by Colleen O’Brien in Medicine Hat, Canada.

An acrylic painting, 4”x4”. Innovation happens each time I touch paint to canvas. Capturing the essence of a child in a few strokes is an act of creation, each time.

You can see more work on Colleen’s site.

Want to see your creative work featured on our blog? Subscribe to our Weekly Highlight newsletter to find out when submissions for next month’s theme are open.