The Heat Check

Welcome to the CreativeMornings/Indianapolis! This is were you will find info on upcoming events and video and images of past events. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date and get first access to tickets.

This month’s poster designer is Maura Broderson, a designer through the AmeriCorps VISTA program at Second Helpings. Get to know Maura as we ask her a few questions! - Photo by Fred Miller

• What do you do during the week?
  Right now, I’m fortunate enough to be completing a year of service with AmeriCorps VISTA at Second Helpings, getting to use my design skills to ensure everyone in our community has access to good, nutritious food. After work, I’m either lazing around with a good book, or exploring the city. I’m new in town so there’s still much ground to be covered.
• What’s your go-to breakfast place in Indy?
  My home, of course. My roommates and I host a casual, open-invite pancake breakfast every Saturday. No better way to start the morning than sharing coffee and ‘cakes around the table with friends, new and old. Hit me up, Creative Mornings people, you’re all welcome!
• What’s your favorite CreativeMornings talk (Indy, or beyond) so far?
  I have to shout-out my home state of Kentucky, and specifically my old friend Harry Pickens. Please do yourself a favor and listen to his CreativeMornings/LOU talk on the intersection of compassion and creativity. This man has so much love for the world, just listening to him speak is like giving your soul a hug. Oh, and he’s also an internationally renown jazz musician who plays an original piece for the talk. Casual.
• Tell us about your process in designing this month’s poster. Would you say it’s within your typical style, or did you try something new?
  This is going to sound so lame, but I really try to not have a style. I’m more in the world of advertising than illustration or design, so I need to be able to slip into the visual style of any brand I work with. For this poster, I kept coming back to this image of an old, tough-guy, but instead of something bada** tattooed on his bicep, it says something sweet and endearing like “Commitment!”
• If money wasn’t an issue, what’s a creative project you’d like to pursue?
  I have this strange obsession with free public places…think parks, libraries, and especially highway rest stops. They can be run-down and gritty, but there’s so much beauty in how they equalize and converge us. I’d like to travel the country documenting stories and images of these spaces and the people passing through them.

Follow Maura!

Instagram

Welcome to the CreativeMornings/Indianapolis! This is were you will find info on upcoming events and video and images of past events. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date and get first access to tickets.

This month’s poster designer is the one and only Lee Eisenbarth, Director of Design at ClearScholar! Get to know Lee in our Q&A below! - Photo by Fred Miller

What do you do during the week?
When I’m not scarfing down drunken noodles at Thai Paradise, or sipping on a rise and shine at Pearings — I am probably at ClearScholar working on screens for a new product feature for our student engagement platform.

What’s your go-to breakfast place in Indy?
I have too many favorites — but recently, I’ve been favoring the Crab Benedict at Garden Table.Tell us about your process in designing this month’s poster. Would you say it’s within your typical style, or did you try something new?
I feel curiosity and playfulness go hand in hand. When I initially started thinking through concepts for this month’s poster, I kept coming back to the idea of the letterforms turning into a character of some sort. I really liked the idea of the “o” becoming an eye, and so after several iterations, this is where we landed. This illustrative style was a stretch for me — it was definitely fun to play around in this realm.

If money wasn’t an issue, what’s a creative project you’d like to pursue?
I’m a big space nerd and would jump at the opportunity to work on a large branding system for SpaceX. Elon, want to go to Pearings?

Follow Lee!
Instagram
Twitter
Dribble

Here’s Jon Rohlf with his incredible poster design for tomorrow’s event. Tickets are sold out but we are going to release a few more this afternoon - so jump on that waitlist! See you tomorrow 8:30 at The Speak Easy in Broad Ripple.

Connect with Jon!

Creative Mornings
Dribbble
Instagram

Josh Driver

What’s your day job?

I am the Founder of Open for Service.

What’s your favorite breakfast food?

I love chocolate chip pancakes.

Where’s a place you’d stop on a free afternoon in Indy?

If I am free in the afternoon - you can find me most likely working at The Foundry.

What’s one thing you’ve been inspired by lately?

Lately, I have been inspired by our team of volunteers that have been working around the clock to build our mobile app and directory.

In spirit of July’s theme Love, what is one way you help others choose love over hate?

I started Open for Service for exactly that reason - choosing love over hate. It’s hard to have a positive conversation at times because of everything going on in the world. My hope is that we continue to find ways to engage people in new positive ways that can show the inclusion we seek.

Chris Corey

What’s your day job?

I’m a visiting lecturer in the VC department at Herron School of Art & Design. I’m also currently working at a bakery until classes start back up, which has been a lot of fun. Listening to great music and baking all day isn’t a bad way to spend a summer.  

What’s your favorite breakfast food?

Banana bread.

Where’s a place you’d stop on a free afternoon in Indy?

That’s easy. Dorman Street! I’ve spent so many nights out on that back patio drinking with all sorts of awesome people.  

What’s one thing you’ve been inspired by lately?

My students! Last year was my first time teaching and I loved being in a creative environment like that every day. I had a group of hard working designers that made classes a lot of fun and it was really cool watching all of them improve so much over the course of a year. On top of that, on our last day of the year I had a student walk up to me and say, “After the first semester, I wasn’t sure I picked the right major but I really liked your class and now I know I want to be a designer.” I graduated from Herron a few years ago and had some amazing professors I was trying to emulate while teaching my own classes so hearing that from a student meant a lot. The whole experience has been really fulfilling and I can’t wait for the next semester to start up in August.

In spirit of June’s theme Broken, what’s something you wish you could fix?

Wow, have you read the news lately? I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but that’s a hard question to answer. I think I’m going to pass on the heavy stuff and opt for something a little more casual that I’ve been noticing a lot lately.

So many people (myself included at times) are attached to their phones. When I’m out with friends or family it really bums me out when someone grabs their phone and looks down instead of enjoying the company of the people they’re already with! Just earlier today I was riding my bike on the Cultural Trail and three friends were walking shoulder to shoulder (taking up the entire trail ☹) and all of them were staring down at their phones. For starters, it looks ridiculous, but more importantly I think it’s rude to the people you’re with. When we’re with someone and we pull out our phone to check social media, “you’re not that important to me” is the message I think we’re sending.I might be overreacting a bit but I wish we could just take a step back from our phones and be a bit more present. I know the idea is that all that stuff helps us stay more connected but in a lot of ways it seems to have the opposite effect.

Connect with Chris!

CreativeMornings

June 17^th, Indianapolis Creative Mornings heard from Elle Roberts on this month’s topic of Broken. Elle is the founder of SheHive, musician, and a general badass.

We were hosted at Tube Factory artspace in the heart of Garfield Park, created by BigCar Collaborative. BigCar is a nonprofit organization and collective of artists that brings together all backgrounds and produces creative spaces and ideas. Their mission statement: “We bring art to people and people to art, sparking creativity in lives to transform communities.”

BigCar’s newly opened Tube Factory artspace is open, industrial, artful, welcoming, and bright.

Many, many thanks to our partners at Quills Coffee, Jack’s Donuts, and Yelp Indy for bringing the coffee and donuts; arguably the most important part of a Creative Morning’s event.

Elle began her talk by singing a song and telling us that “it’s never too late to go back and get what you’ve forgotten.” Being reminded that we are all broken humans that need healing was perhaps a better wake up call for the morning than the coffee was. Elle was able to completely transform our space and create an environment that felt comfortable and accepting.

We always love when a speaker is able to take us out of our comfort zones, and that’s exactly what Elle did.

Until next month,

CM/Indianapolis

P.S. - WE HAVE A SNAPCHAT FILTER! Look at those spraaaankle eyebrows on our donut BFF. 

If you missed the talk, click here to watch.

Click here for photos of the event.

And here for our follow-up podcast with Elle.

Aaand here for everything your #CMIndy heart desires, including future event dates!

Heidi Peterson (and Emerson)

What’s your day job?
Currently, I’m a stay at home mom of Harper, a 22 month old, and Emerson, a 3 month old. Formerly, I have been a freelance copywriter.

What’s your favorite breakfast food?
Anything involving bagels. They can be healthy or completely indulgent: in my world, that spells p-e-r-f-e-c-t. I particularly love the Bagel Deli in Broadripple and have been going there for 12 years.

Where’s a place you’d stop on a free afternoon in Indy?
When I’m free in Indy, I love dropping by one of the many beautiful parks for a quick hike and, now that we have a toddler, some energy-releasing playtime. Holliday Park is a favorite…and also free!

What’s one thing you’ve been inspired by lately?
My little family and I live near Marion, IN. Currently, the town is experiencing a resurgence that we hope will revitalize the community in a sustainable way through the use of design. The work is being done by Marion Design Co., a consortium of volunteer professors, students, and Marion community members.

In the spirit of May’s theme Reality, is there a project you’ve worked on recently that has turned out to be better in reality than you imagined?
Can I say parenting?! It is ridiculously hard but more rewarding than anything I have given my time and passion to in the past. It truly takes every ounce of all that I am - the good, the bad, and the caffeine-infused! It is so exciting seeing your child achieve something, like walking, after struggling for months to go it alone. Hopefully, my kids will learn how to be involved in their community through early experiences like coming to a Creative Mornings talk or participating in community revitalization. We are nothing without a solid foundation for the future that takes the shape in our children.

Connect with Heidi!
https://creativemornings.com/people/heidipeterson

Jess Butler

What’s your day job?
I teach sociology and a first year seminar course at Butler University.

What’s your favorite breakfast food?
Egg sandwiches. Every time I move to a new city I try to find the best egg sandwich in town. So far “The Gretchen” at Three Sisters is at the top of my Indy list.

Where’s a place you’d stop on a free afternoon in indy?
During the school year, if I have a free afternoon you can find me either at the bar or at Breathing Space yoga. In the summer, I’ll add a hike with my dog to that rotation.

What’s one thing you’ve been inspired by lately?
Creative Mornings! It was the end of the semester, so everyone was ready to be done and I was feeling kind of flat and uninspired about doing what I do, and listening to all these people talk about the magic of words, the power of language as a force for social change, hit me in just the right spot.

In the spirit of the theme, what risk has led you to great reward?
I’ve moved a lot since high school– started in Ohio, then Boston, Los Angeles, Colorado, now Indy. It’s hard to push the reset button every couple years– I miss the friends I’ve made, and getting plugged in to a new place takes time and a lot of emotional energy. The risk, and also the great reward, has been that I’ve had to make friends with myself and learn what it means to stay present in the middle of change and uncertainty. It’s not always fun, but it’s been worth it.