Leather Leadership Conference XI:
The Art of Sharing Power

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Call for Presentations

Leather Leadership Conference XI has now opened the “Call for Presentations.” Presentation opportunities are limited, and we will close the “Call for Presentations” on November 15, 2006. In keeping with our conference theme “The Art of Sharing Power… A Work in Progress,” the track themes have been developed around the concept of mosaics.

Mosaics are composed of many different elements that when combined, give us a rich tapestry of visual stimulation. Carefully crafted mosaics work artistically and form a compelling image, stronger than if one were to only examine the individual pieces. Incorporating several types of mosaics in our programming themes assists us in identifying the elements, which help us to examine and understand the complexity of our leather communities and the Art of Sharing Power.

Minnesota is home to several different types of mosaics and we will use these to help define and highlight our programming tracks for LLC XI.

• CROP ART – Organizational themes - Minnesota has a long and proud tradition of crop art. Crop art has been traditionally been found at the Minnesota State Fair and it represents many small natural elements which work together to create an incredibly harmonious work of art. Crop art mosaics typically use seeds in their creation. Seeds, when properly nurtured, will produce a wonderful organism, or in the case of the LLC, a viable and healthy organization. Elements required to create such an organic mosaic include planning, preparation, meticulous attention to detail and a clear understanding of the bigger picture. Programming that includes legal, accounting, management, problem solving, growth, taxation, incorporation and fund-raising will fall into this track as these represent similarities to crop art elements.

• QUILTING AND FABRIC ART - Outreach - The Midwest has a centuries long tradition of creating beauty from fabric. Historically, quilting bees were used to help bind a community together and to welcome newcomers using a non-threatening and highly social environment. The quilting group functioned as a whole, creating numerous utilitarian items of great beauty and practicality. Minnesota is home to many quilting and fabric stores. A nationally famous local mystery author sets her whodunits in a knitting store located in a suburb of Minneapolis. Hmong refugees (many of whom have made Minnesota their home) have used their traditional tapestries to relate their stories and preserve their history. Several of these tapestries, recognized for their artistic value, now reside in Minnesota museums. There has been a local resurgence in quilt making as well as other crafts. Every Wednesday, a group of kinky crafters meets in the Twin Cities to welcome newcomers, swap knitting hints, socialize and basically strengthen the backbone of the leather community. Quilts are often raffled off in creative marketing schemes to help fundraise for a worthwhile organization. Crafting teaches patience and learning to work with quick grace while under pressure of deadlines (those babies don't wait). We don't use brute force when quilting, but rather finesse the beauty out of the blending of the fabrics, with a keen eye toward design. Programming that includes publicity, promotion, marketing, advertising, and crisis management all fall under this mosaic.

• GLASS - Presenters - In the European tradition of stained glass, Minnesota is host to many glass arts - from neon to glass blowing to stained glass. Glass workers use transparent elements to create their objects of beauty. Stained glass was used as an educational tool hundreds of years ago, when most of a populace was non-literate. The windows functioned as storytellers and clarifiers, shedding light on the masses. We have many churches with breath-taking windows. A quick walk around the Uptown area or downtown areas or across the river to Riverplace will reveal incredible mosaics of neon art - glass bent to the will of the artist to create wonderful tapestries which distill the important elements within and enrich our daily and nocturnal experience. Presenters allow others to perceive the subject matter in a new light. They use a visual and concise transparency that allows us to understand what makes us tick and what brings joy and passion to our lives. Presentations that include pedagogy, public speaking, demonstrations and self-promotion will be included in this mosaic.

• TILE AND CERMAIC - Newcomers - Quite simply, one of the early and important issues a newcomer addresses is the question of "where do I fit in?" In reviewing the varied tile mosaics found all over Minnesota, including several in Minneapolis and Duluth, one gets a sense of the artist having discovered the secret to where each tile must fit to create a breathtaking tableau of incredible expanse. These mosaics often cover the side of a building, encompassing hundreds of square feet. Exploring these elements reveal how they function so harmoniously and shed light on the secrets of successfully integrating newcomers into the leather community. Elements of this mosaic include etiquette, organizational structure, event coordination and planning for newcomers.

• SAND – Event Planning- The winds of change forced a large segment of the Tibetan population to resettle in Minnesota. With this resettlement, sand mandelas have been introduced to us over the past few decades. These brief interludes of beauty, concentration, teamwork and convergence are similar to leather events. They shift to meet the needs of those attending and reflect both current and historic esthetic trends. They are transitory by nature - involving enormous amounts of coordinated effort and planning with the end result being but a temporary mosaic. Once the mandela is completed, the wind quite literally sweeps the sands to the four corners of the world - never to be assembled again in quite the same fashion. This phenomenon describes our leather events. Each one is a unique reflection of our community and each is but a brief gathering of the tribes. While the elements of volunteers, recruitment, publicity, finances, venue and travel negotiations may seem as banal as the sands upon which we walk, when they are combined and careful crafted, such as a mandela, they produce a mosaic of events not to be forgotten, reaching the very core of our existence. Our leather events touch our hearts, our souls and our minds; and if successful, we carry those grains of sand back to our own communities, to nurture the creation of our own mandelas.

• STONE - Electives - Solid stone mosaics, such as the one found by Minnesotan Native American artist George Morrison, on Nicollet Mall, represent the very foundation of our community. Without a firm underpinning of our personal development, we would not be able to create
  the other mosaics of our community. Without an understanding of what has gone on before us, we would not be able to properly and effectively shape our future. Fundamentally, we are at our best when creating and
  nurturing successful relationships - whether individual to individual, individual to group or group to group. Tracks in this mosaic include personal growth, history, traveling well, relationship issues and the philosophy of leather.