Let’s play a game

And count how many photos I can squeeze into while attending Creative Mornings: LA.

Luck for you – I will also narrate.

A timid Clare trots into her first Creative Mornings in a double cloth, thinsulate, black winter coat in late February. She’s adjusted to the LA weather and has decided it’s ridiculous cold and that thick coats from the homeland are a must.

__________

 

Clare is new. She takes a seat near the back but manages to peek around a guy with a large noggin in the foreground.

__________

 

Clare is no longer a newbie. It’s her second time at this rodeo and she walks in with a swagger and without a jacket. Mistake. She decides it’s still cold in late March.

__________

 

Clare loves to eat. In fact, she loves to eat so much that she is often pictured alongside some type of food. Clare turns to her neighbor, “Morning muffins are the greatest, aren’t they?”

__________

 

Clare talks with her mouth full. She doesn’t mean to be impolite. It just happens sometimes.

__________

 

Clare is starry eyed and sleepy at the same time. She is captivated by the amazing Creative Morning lecture happening before her.

__________

 

Things are getting intense. Clare is perplexed and also appears to be a bit bronzer than she was before.

__________

 

In all seriousness, I really enjoy going to Creative Mornings lectures once a month. They have been a great opportunity to meet new and interesting people in LA. The LA organizer, Jon Setzen, does a really great job in picking out the perfect people from diverse creative backgrounds to lecture on the topic of the month. And the coffee and muffins aren’t half bad either.

Inside the Oscars: Intern edition

Ever wonder what the Oscars look like through the eyes of an LA Times design intern? No? I figured not. I am just an intern. Low on the employment totem pole. But in case you are interested, look no further because I kept close tabs on myself and am here to share my night with the online world. 

2:30 pm: I am the first of the design staff to arrive at the office as I am for most award show Sundays. I drop my bag at my desk and immediately head to Starbucks for a black coffee and snacks. (Past award shows I have been famished and sometimes hostile waiting for the 6:30 catering drop.) When I get back to the office I start on the few pages of the regular Calendar section that need completing. Design done that, find a photo for that. Perf.

3:06 pm: I search the office for a remote to turn on my tiny TV.

3:30 pm: A few more designers start to show up. I am glued to the TV watching E!s mani cam. I am almost finished with all the snacks I bought to last me the entire night. Whoops.

3:46 pm: I help Judy print of initial page proofs and tape them to the wall.

4:45 pm: Printer problems. Takes me almost an hour to get the proofs onto the wall. I settle back into E! for more red carpet coverage. Lookin fab JennLaw

5:30 pm: The show begins. I am working on getting together a mock up for my Oscar fashion page and miss most of Seth MacFarlane’s skit. It’s way too long anyway. I catch the boob song. Can we get Amy Poehler and Tina Fey from the Globes instead?

6:30 pm: Tasty. The foods here. Count on me to be first in line for newsroom food. The selection of barbequed meats is pretty weak for my vegetarian diet. I have to settle on mac & cheese, salad and piece of white bread. Glub.

7:05 pm: I get tagged in a tweet by Michael. Shit. Maybe I should have done my hair today?

7:13 pm: Photos are coming in and we start finding the accessories that LA Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore wants to feature on the page.

7:24 pm: I break to discuss Anne Hathaway’s jewelry choices while Lorraine and Kelli discuss the design of A1. I really should have done something with my hair.

I am a model

Occasionally objects need a little hand holding at the LA Times and when they do my manicured man hands get their close up. Whether it’s sausages for tailgating or fur pillows for cuddling on blustery LA nights, my claws are always on top of their game.

Featured below are my close ups from my furry photoshoot in early December. Find the entire gallery here.

It’s a new year.

[LALA land]

I can’t remember the last resolution I made. It isn’t that I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions – I just can’t remember what my last one may have been? So being a post-college, newly LA transplant I thought I would make some goals for my next year. The likelihood I complete this list or even remember the contents of it by December 2013 is unlikely but I am optimistic.  So here is to 2013!

1. Get involved in a non-profit. Possibly the Taproot Foundation? Maybe get involved with the USGBC again? Definitely something local and in my community.

2. Continue working on my series of pencil drawings. I have been working on this series on and off for a few years. Without art class homework to distract me, it’s time to start drawing more frequently.

3. Save for and purchase the Alexander Wang Diego bag. It’s a reasonable goal. I mean who wouldn’t want an $850 handbag that could also serve as a weapon.

4. Take a vacation and go back home to Minnesota. Harder than you think when you are forever an intern ..

5. Continue working on my glasses illustrations. Projects easily slip by the waist side. I won’t let this one flounder.

6. Connect with local LA designers and artists.

7. Take a surf lesson. I am from the land o’ lakes and snow. It’s basically a given that this Minnesotan would want to learn to surf.

8. Get to know my new neighborhood. West Hollywood is super tasty - amazing shopping, galleries, restaurants, bars and cafes.

9. Complete my online computer engineering class and finish at least one class on CodeAcademy. I signed up for these classes this December to ‘entertain’ myself over the holidays. They WILL be completed by the 2013 holiday season.

10. Make my bed everyday. It’s a constant struggle.

Ode to four eyes

I love eyeglasses. Literally I am so obsessed with them that I owe multiple pairs for different occasions  The only problem is that I have perfect 20/20 vision. But that doesn’t stop me, I buy and wear them anyway. So I decided to start a series of drawings in honor of how awesome eyeglasses are. Cheers!

W+K 12

I applied for W+K12 this fall. Here is what I made:

W+K12

Le Petit Prince

Seattle artist, Troy Gua has found the key to my heart. He has combined my two favorite things ever. ‘Le Petit Prince’ and rocker Prince.

The french children’s novel ‘Le Petit Prince’ is basically the best book ever – it’s about at my french comprehension and reading level too which is about 2nd grade.

Now throw in Prince and you have a winner.

Find all of the ‘Le Petit Prince’ series here.