*Note: James and Julie Branaman’s presentation has been moved to Fri. June 7th. They’re local photographers, and are going to share photos and stories from the artist-in-residency programs they worked on with Rocky Mountain and Everglades National Park.

[Click below for the full event highlights]

(Above: If you answered a question correctly in the mini-quiz at the beginning of Chris’ presentation, he gave you a prize, such as this Glacier National Park patch.)

If you’d like travel advice related to either of these places, you can contact the speakers on Facebook or at the email addresses below:
Bob Suren – surentime@gmail.com
Christopher Davis -chrisinko@gmail.com

Bob Suren – Egypt [Presentation Recording]

Christopher Davis – National Parks [Presentation Recording]

Meredith is a new friend of mine, and what I’ve learned about her so far is that she’s accepting, very positive, and very driven. She’s willing to be the catalyst to make the changes she wants to see within herself and her community happen. She moved back to Tampa within the last few years after having spent three years in New York building her experience in documentary production. She’ll be speaking at a New York story themed Travelogue in July. Here are her words.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a million things. I wanted to be an author, lawyer, historian, journalist, biologist, stand-up comedian, environmental engineer, politician, television writer, anthropologist, and I wanted to have every job there is to be had in filmmaking. Even now as a somewhat grown up, I still want to be all of those things. I want to tell stories, learn about new things, and help promote changes that will make life better for us all. Ultimately, that is why I fell in love with documentary filmmaking. It allows you to be involved in anything you want to be involved in.

What’s your biggest fear?
Fear is something I have a long standing relationship with. I have fears about not reaching my goals, making the wrong decisions, and not being the person I want to be. However, my biggest fear is having missed opportunities. That goes for every aspect in my life, not just in a strictly professional sense. I fear that the distractions of my day to day life result in missing out on doing things I should have done.

What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?

When things get difficult I remind myself that difficult times happen. They are a part of life and this time will not be the last time things get that way. It is important to me to reevaluate the situation and figure out what happened that made things difficult, but it is not going to help if I pick apart my mistakes and beat myself up for making them. I’ll become a stronger person and eventually things get better. If you are a person who never experiences bad times, then you are not a person who has many experiences.

Please describe New York in one sentence.
NYC is everything you think it is, while also being completely different.

One word?
Nonstop.

If you could pick one, what would be your quintessential New York story?

First off, I should say what makes a ‘Quintessential New York Story’. For me, those stories come from the days when I went to bed thinking, “I had no idea any of that was going to happen when I woke up this morning.” What will always be the great thing about NYC is you never know where you’ll end up or what will happen to you. This is just one story of many. The first time I remember going to bed still unable to comprehend the day was after the second shoot I worked on in the city. I had just gotten a job working for a production studio and for many of our shoots I had the unglamorous job of working as a teleprompter operator. On this particular day, I walked into the studio to set up, but immediately stopped when I realized William H. Macy was sitting in the middle of the room playing a ukulele. He asked, “Are you running teleprompter?” I nervously answered “Yes”, and he waved me over. The two of us sat in the studio while he sang songs and I typed them up. After the shoot, I called my mom and all I could say was, “I can’t explain what just happened.”

What are you hoping to share in July?

While New York City is full of wonderful moments and great stories, it is often put on a pedestal it should not be on. Before moving there, I was definitely one of those people who put it on the pedestal. I thought I was moving to the center of the universe and it would be full of the life, culture, and diversity I craved. Eventually, I came to realize it is just a city, it has problems, and it isn’t the city for me. I learned a lot living there, but the biggest thing I took away was understanding what is really important to me.

[Click below for the full interview]

(“My Apartment”)

(“Rooftop”)

What’s the best time you had working on the documentary Music Wood?

It was very rare for us to be able to afford working on Musicwood for an extended period of time. We always had to go back to focusing on our paid projects so we could use that money to fund our work on the documentary. So, it was really exciting when in Spring 2010 when we were able to plan a week and a half long trip just to film Musicwood. We rented a van and traveled along part of the east coast. We went from Brooklyn up to the Adirondacks to film a forest ecologist, then over to Nazareth, Pennsylvania to film the Martin Guitar factory, down to Washington D.C. to film our Greenpeace contact, and then back up to NYC to film a band. Not only was it awesome to get to see all of those places, it was awesome to talk to such an eclectic group of people on one trip. All of them had a big stake in Musicwood for really important, but completely different reasons.

Most difficult?

We were working on Musicwood while the story was still revealing itself. We always hoped for the best, but never knew what was going to happen. One day, the story took a turn and it became clear to us that we were not going to have a storybook ending. Musicwood was not going to be wrapped up in a bow. The feeling of the film entirely changed and we had to adapt to that. It took a while for us to switch gears and accept how the story was unfolding. What we realized we needed to do was finish the film and get the issue get out to the public, so the film could hopefully inspire the change we wanted to see happen.

What is something you’d like to work on in the near future? Do you have any projects or ideas floating?

I’m looking to start hosting documentary screenings in Tampa. A lot of really fantastic films have been coming out and only a small few ever get to play in this area. I also find that when documentaries do screen here, I am often the youngest person in the audience, which really bums me out. While it is great for everyone to watch them, it is particularly important for young people. I know there is a larger audience for documentaries in Tampa and I want to encourage people to start watching them in a group setting and engage in conversation, rather than watching them alone at home on Netflix. Once an audience is created, then I can delve into making some new films.

Finish these sentences:

Tampa’s best when: we act as a community and are supportive of each other.
I try to: do the best I can.
I love: genuine people.
I’ll never: stop wanting to learn.

What we learned:

1. Italians mix the sauce into the pasta right before it’s fully cooked, instead of fully cooking the pasta and then laying the sauce on top as we do.

2. There is a specific way that you begin dating someone, and the way that begins is by going out in a group first. If you go out as just the two of you instead and come home late, your traditional aunt may lock you out of the house.

3. Perfectly shaped fruit is cherished and often given as a gift in Japan, therefore you may be paying $50 for a perfectly shaped watermelon if you wander to the fruit shop rather than a more casual fruit stand.

4. Mount Fuji is one of the top ten most dangerous mountains to climb, so you’d better bring the right shoes or you could lose up to three toes– sorry, toenails.

P.S. The most apologies for the reasons why Julie’s photos are blacker than night. It’s difficult to take photos and click through a PowerPoint at the same time, however this is the first and last time this will happen. Please check out her slides that are however as bright as the sun in the photos.

[Click below for the full event highlights]

Victoria Hawley – Japan [Presentation Recording]

Julie Garisto – Italy [Presentation Recording]

Photo by Erica Peters

I met Patrick at Art Pool’s 2012 Wicked Winter Wonderland fashion, music, and art event. He was shooting the vintage fashion show and I had volunteered to be one of the models. He was so easy to work with, he gave clear and helpful directions and took wonderful photos. When it came time to host The Travelogues in January, I wanted to have the first evening documented, and Patrick was just the one for it. Patrick is clearly great with a camera, and he’s equally great with people. I look forward to his future projects, and hope you enjoy his photos and words. Cheers.

When did you first pick up a camera? What was that like?

I picked up my first camera in high school. It was a 35mm Minolta, which I still shoot with. I didn’t have that magical moment most photographers talk about. In fact I gave up photography after my first class thinking it was an easy A, only to come back to it years later to pursue it as a career. Now I can’t stop.

What are you looking for when you take a photograph?

Always the light. The light is everything, without it, a photograph is nothing.

Can you tell me about the beach self-portraits in your portfolio? What was it like trying to get participants? 

Sure, I basically wandered the beach for a few days finding interesting folks to photograph. Except for I wanted them to take the picture of themselves. I would set the camera on a tripod and hook up a 30 ft. cable release, which is what you see them holding in the photos. That way they have full control over the moment. Most people were happy to volunteer. Confused, but happy. The beach is a weird place when you think about it.

[Click below for the full interview]

Is it easy for you to approach people for photographs?

If you’re super outgoing it may be easy, but I had to work through it a bit. I just think of the final image and the awkwardness subsides. The more you shoot, the easier it gets. If people see that you’re confident and exited about it, then they’ll get exited too.

When did you realize photography was a thing you could do for a living?

I still don’t know if I’ve realized that yet. I feel genuinely lucky to do what I do, but the lack of financial security that a consistent paycheck offers is one sacrifice I had to make for my craft. I embrace the challenge, and I’ll do whatever it takes. The idea of not being a photographer is much harder to live with.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a photographer?

Probably a musician, or maybe a carpenter. Pretty much anything where I get to work with my hands and solve creative problems.

What has been the most difficult day working/living as a photographer?

There are so many. I recently had a shoot that required me to ride a bike and shoot one-handed while dodging traffic. Oh, and shooting underwater is always difficult. I have a bunch of underwater projects planned for when the weather warms up.

*The photos Patrick shot while riding one-handed through traffic are from St. Pete Shuffle Club’s 2013 ‘Tweed Ride St. Pete’ and can be found on his blog.

What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?

I usually think about my grandfather, who was one of the hardest working gentlemen you would ever meet. He was an Irish immigrant, fought in WWII, and provided for seven kids and a wife. Never once did I see him complain, so neither can I.

Finish these sentences:

I hope to: make my mom proud.
I’ll never: compromise quality.
I love: Sundays.
Sundays are for: love.

Check out the rest of Patrick’s work at patrickstevensmith.com
Or follow his daily photos on Instagram @patrickstevensmith

The photographer and environmental lawyer, Nicole Kibert, also known as Elawgrrl, is the person you want behind you because she’s incredibly encouraging, and the person you want next to you because of her positive attitude and bubbliness. Once you meet her, it isn’t long before you know exactly what she’s about: travel, photography, and her heart and hometown of Tampa flourishing. Here are her words.

What are some of the things you’re sure of now that you weren’t sure of in your twenties?

1. Gratitude – how being grateful about all the splendid people and things in your life brings more goodness your way.

2. Time – My mom was right about how to assess who to spend your time with… If someone or something adds to your life in some way, you should spend time and energy on them. If someone or something is negative, then don’t spend a moment worrying about them or doing stuff you don’t want to do, especially out of some misguided sense of obligation. The only thing we know for certain is that our time here is finite and you should spend it with people who enhance rather than detract from your life.

3. Money – It’s important to consider how financial decisions that you make now will affect you for the rest of your life. Go to the cheapest, best school you can go to… don’t go to graduate school just because you can’t think of anything else to do and definitely make sure that your likely income will support living and school loans after graduation. And, don’t charge it.

4. Do it anyway – The money comment aside, don’t wait to pursue your dreams, no matter what. You don’t want to be that person in their thirties who wishes they had done x, y or z and are now completely bitter about it.

What’s something you’re still not sure of now?

Why I don’t always follow my own advice. Ha.

What’s something you’d like to try out that you haven’t yet?

Music is an integral part of my life but I haven’t written any music yet. I was in a band briefly in college, but I was the not-so-good singer. So, I’m learning guitar and looking forward to trying my hand at writing some music in the near future.

[Click below for the full interview]

What have you been thinking about the most lately?

How to move beyond rhetoric to meaningful solutions, which has two main obstacles.

1. THINK – Social Media is such a tremendous asset, but it encourages sound bites and gut reactions rather than well-reasoned, thought out responses to problems. And, I think we have a lot of problems that have solutions out there – we just need to take the time to develop the best solution. I have a sign in my house that simply implores you to “THINK”, and while this is a simple command, it is actually very challenging to be present in the moment and think about one issue and possible solutions for any amount of time because something interesting could be happening on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram right now. If you’re not careful you end up in a continuous loop of not creating yourself, but rather constantly consuming content or checking if other people are consuming and appreciating the content you posted. An example: if I post a cute photo of my dogs or photo of myself wearing a crown, it will often get 10x the amount of interest as a post about writing to your legislators about a terrible bill for Florida. While it is nice that people like my photos, it would be better for society if more people would engage on interacting with legislators too. The problem is that is much easier to click ‘Like’ on a photo than it is to call your representative or write an email.

2. LONG-TERM DECISION-MAKING – My primary focus is on sustainability which on the surface should appeal to everyone since it balances the needs of the environment, economy and people to make the best decisions about how to develop. Unfortunately, short term decision making is the name of the game for power centers for profits (quarterly reports), politicians (next election) and even for us as individuals. It’s important to recognize when you might be impacting the ability to have the best long term future for yourself and the community by demanding a certain outcome right now. An easy example: It takes a long time to grow a shade tree but someone had to be willing to plant that tree knowing full well they likely wouldn’t live long enough to fully enjoy it themselves.

What are you looking for when you photograph?

I seek to capture the essence of a moment in time – the momentary magic. I specialize in live music photography and while music is auditory, the first experience most people have with a band is visual. I seek to capture the essence of live music performances to set the stage for listening to a band or accompanying the first or millionth listen. I posit that only music has the answer.

(Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls at Webster Hall / 9.30.2013. This is an example of a capture of momentary magic when Frank Turner taught 1,400 people how to play air harmonica and they actually all did it simultaneously.)

What’s the last photo you took?

Yay! An easy question… this photo of the silhouette building in Atlanta yesterday afternoon.

It’s part of my 4th ’365 project’. A ’365 project’ is where a photographer captures at least one image a day. My personal ‘365 challenge’ is to capture something every day that isn’t live music photography, but I annotate the photo with illustrative song lyrics. The link to my 2013 ‘365 project’ in progress is here.

What happens to you when your photograph?

I am focused entirely on what I’m capturing… My friends make fun of how completely absorbed I get when I’m shooting. And that singular focus is why I like to have someone nearby when I’m shooting to let me know if someone is going to jump on my head at a show.

I know you’re an avid traveler, too, which is wonderful! What happens to you when you travel? What are the kinds of things you lose yourself in? What about that challenge you?

Traveling is a core part of my life. The best thing about traveling is the realization that people are the same everywhere and that happiness very truly comes from within no matter where you live or what you do. Along the way, you learn about how to do things in different ways and how to be adaptable and resilient. Traveling brings out the happiness in my soul in a way that few other activities do.

Noratus Cemetery, Armenia.

Bone Cathedral - Kostnice Ossuary  Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Getting dive bombed by a seal lion in the Galapagos.

A lovely Tsaatan mother and child, Mongolia.

What is it about Tampa that makes you happy to come home from a trip?

It’s simple – Tampa is home. I’m frequently asked why I don’t live in New York or Austin or some other hipster hot spot and the answer is that nowhere else has the unique attributes that make Tampa an ideal community to foster creativity in an environment with unparalleled beauty. Tampa bay is not perfect by any means, but in the past 10 years that I’ve been back in Tampa, the commitment to community building has grown by leaps and bounds for music, art, bicycling, sustainability, etc. It’s awesome that I have continual conflicts about what to do since there are so many great things happening here. It’s possible to make things happen here and to find people who are willing to help make your dreams a reality. It’s not like that everywhere.

Finish these sentences:

I love: color.
I’m always looking for: new ways to engage and expand my horizons as a lawyer, a photographer and a human.
I often tell myself: do it anyway.
I can’t stand: meanness – just be kind.

I first heard of Cara Livermore, the Rochester-based hand-lettering artist, on Etsy as a featured seller. Upon reading her personal blog, I discovered she not only runs a successful shop on Etsy making and selling hand-lettered and illustrated recipe cards, calendars, grocery lists, and other practical, household-driven paper goods, but is also the design editor of a vegan cookbook and magazine called Chickpea and the creator of the popular Tumblr blog, Hipster Food. She’s incredibly interesting and impressive, and I really enjoyed asking her about what her fantastic projects have taught her, as well as her inspirations and background in Rochester. Here are her words. Enjoy.

When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I never had a specific drive to “be” anything as a kid, but when I pictured myself as an adult, it was always in a creative field. I saw myself as a painter, an architect, an illustrator, an interior designer. I couldn’t see myself today in any other kind of world.

I was reading your blog (which I really enjoy!) and came across a post about the difficulty of putting yourself and your work out in the world. I wanted to ask you what helped you let go and start sharing what you make and have to say?

In truth, I still have a lot of problems with that, especially as my virtual audience grows. (This is one of the biggest reasons I don’t post to hipsterfood as often as I used to – suddenly I feel like my soup recipe might not live up to the standards of over 100,000 followers.) I’ve always been shy and I’ve always had stage fright, but today I find that a passion to share my ideas trumps that timidity. I tell myself that being scared just delays the inevitable, so I might as well show what I’ve got in the best way I can.

Tell me about living in Rochester– you, Chickpea, and your print and hand-lettering work are all based there. What makes it a conducive place to create and do you have any plans to venture into other places?

More and more I’m finding that this is a great city to live in. There’s a thriving handmade/small business community here and plenty of places to go out on a photoshoot. The people here are wonderful and supportive. We have the #1 farmer’s market in the country, which I would miss immensely if I left. I’m also currently working with a group to start up a retail space for artists and crafters and it’s energizing, both creatively and personally. Plus, my house came with a darkroom and a garden. I don’t think I plan on moving any time soon.

[Click below for the full interview]

What inspirations make their way into your cooking and lettering?

Getting away from the computer helps me find inspiration and spurs me to be creative. At the farmer’s market I get excited to cook, just from being around all sorts of people and amazing fresh produce. Ideas start to form when I go to get some bread and hot chocolate in the winter, listening in to conversations around me, watching the view of the city street. I try to keep my concepts simple and refreshing, just like my environment I get inspired in.

Can you remember the first thing you ever cooked?

Yes, vividly! I think I was maybe 10 or 12 years old. I spent an entire day with my dad chopping vegetables, grinding spices, and cooking over a hot stove. When it came time to eat, it was the greatest meal I’d ever had. He really taught me that day that working hard for something made the end result that much more satisfying.

What about the first time you realized how much you enjoyed illustrating and lettering?

In middle school, I drew Sailor Moon scenes; in high school I took every drawing class I could; in college I concentrated on illustration & drawing. Drawing has always felt natural to me, more tactile than painting and less frustrating than sculpture. In figure drawing classes I fell in love with line work, and I became really good at line sensitivity, which translates directly to my lettering work now. I’m still learning lettering but I’m loving it!

What made you realize you could take these hobbies, become very good at them, and turn them into what you do for a living?

All of this actually happened over a long period of time. Some things don’t make money, some do – I keep those that do and over time, I found myself making a living on it. I knew the paper goods and lettering would work because I built the products over a year or two, getting feedback from local shows and improving over time. Chickpea only started because people kept messaging us saying they’d buy hipsterfood’s future cookbook. Hipsterfood took years of hard work to get its audience and helped me immensely in improving my own skills in the process.

Three things working on Chickpea has taught you?

1. Getting help from others takes some stress off you and gets more people invested in what you’re doing. This creates a sort of chain reaction of interest and gets your work out in the eyes of others.

2. It’s really important to put yourself out there and push your boundaries if you want to stay successful. It’s the difference between landing a big retail contract and sitting on your butt feeling sorry for yourself.

3. Always over-estimate when it comes to time (deadlines, shipping dates) and money (pricing & materials). We learned this one the hard way.

Two things building a business on Etsy has taught you?

1. Image is everything. This includes not only photos and branding, but also how you treat customers and how you speak in public (twitter/tumblr/etc). A cohesive (and interesting!) image can set you apart from the sea of similar creators.

And on that note, you can set yourself apart by just speaking in your own voice. I stick to creating in the way I like, not what “sells” the best. I could photograph on white backgrounds, come up with some slick design for the magazine, but then my work would look just like everyone else. People want my work because it doesn’t look like something else they already have.

2. Stop worrying and just work. Keep working and working, even when you don’t want to.

One thing you hope to get better at this year?

I’m starting to get into a routine, which is exciting to me. After years of not being sure what will come next, stability is what I’m craving. So I hope I can find a good balance and settle into a routine this year, that way I won’t have to worry so much about the statuses of everything I’m doing at all times.

What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?

I ask myself if this terrible thing will really matter in five years – usually, it won’t. I’ve lived my share of worst-case-scenarios, so now I know that I can handle a lot and eventually it does get better, no matter how difficult it seems at the beginning.

Finish these sentences:

I love: hours-long sunday brunches
I’m not a fan of: bureaucratic work
I’m looking for: balance
I’ll never: stop trying

Josh Sullivan and I exchanged emails over the years related to the zines we both were working on at the time. It was only last year that I met Josh face to face at a Can’t Do It show at St. Pete’s Local 662. Today, I’m proud to call him my friend. He’s thoughtful, kind, and has an abundance of fun stories to share. Here are his words.

How is school going and what are you studying?


For the longest time, I was completely adamant about never going to college. I was also really in opposition about the idea of ever going to an art school. On my first day of high school, I told myself: “Ok, this is it. There will be these four years and then I can be done with school.” I wasn’t challenged and I hated wasting time in school while I could be spending every waking minute drawing comics. When everyone took their SAT’s, I sat in the back of the class and drew. In my teens, I started getting paid to design flyers for local punk shows so I worked on those in school as opposed to doing my work.

I finally bit the bullet and have been going to school for the past year. I absolutely love it and it’s been fantastic learning new things and meeting a bunch of new people in the process. I’m working my way towards a major in Meteorology, since one of my first loves was the weather. My loves went chronologically in this order, it was: Trains, dinosaurs, weather, Nintendo, comic books, The Simpsons, music, the opposite sex, silent films and painting. I’m completely fascinated by the weather and I’m constantly looking at radars and data. During hurricane season, I closely watch everything from a storm’s inception to the last advisory the National Hurricane Center puts out. I always told myself that if I didn’t make it in the world of comics, I’d want to become a meteorologist so that’s the dream I’m currently chasing.

[Click below for the full interview]

What have you been drawing lately?

Absolutely nothing. I don’t remember when the last time was that I drew. I’m disgusted with myself that I’m not making any art anymore. I’m proud that I’m concentrating so heavily on school, but it’s pretty stupid to consider myself an artist when I’m not making any art. Part of me hopes that when I get back into the swing of things, I’ll create some really spectacular art, but then the logical part of me knows that I’m getting rusty and not advancing in any way since I’m single-handedly killing my own craft.



Were you born and raised in St. Petersburg? What are some of your favorite spots in St. Pete?


I grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. I really don’t like that place at all, but I do love St. Pete. I moved down here when I turned 18 and I’m so glad that I did. St. Pete has such spectacular art and music scenes and I’m really lucky to be involved in both of them. Our waterfront parks are beautiful, the layout of our city is magnificent, and we have a tremendous amount of great people all huddled together on our little peninsula. The Globe Coffee Lounge will always be the greatest place to have existed in St. Pete, even though it closed a little over a year ago. It’s been a while since I saw a show there, but The State Theatre holds a warm place in my heart. My band’s early goal was to play a show at The State and we ended up playing there a total of ten times. The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club is one of the city’s jewels and playing shuffleboard is so much fun. Other favorites for me include: Daddy Kool Records, The Emerald Bar, Mastry’s and the Museum of Fine Arts.



Ten things and people who inspire you:



1. Howard Stern
I’m a huge Howard Stern fan and I listen to him almost every day and for many hours on end. He is the greatest interviewer to ever live and I can’t believe some of the things he is able to cull from the people he talks to. I’ve been intrigued by him for half of my life and his show is the greatest form of entertainment that I enjoy. I got to see him work his magic last year when America’s Got Talent was filming in St. Pete and a week later, I called in to his show. I couldn’t believe I was talking to one of my idols while millions of people got to hear me make a fool of myself on the air.

There are a lot of preconceptions about Howard, but most people haven’t taken the time to actually listen to what he has to say. There is no other person alive who is able to be so real, either with who they are or by the way they act as an artist. Nothing makes me laugh harder than his show and I’d be hard-pressed to find something remotely close to matching its superiority.



2. Evan Dorkin 

If it wasn’t for Evan, I probably would have never pursued drawing comics. His work is, without a doubt, the best comic book material ever produced. From Milk & Cheese to Hectic Planet and everything else he has ever done, I appreciate how funny and how fantastic of an artist Evan Dorkin is. Getting to meet him and hang out with him and his wife, Sarah, at the Small Press Expo back in 2003 is still one of the most cherished moments of my life.


3. Buster Keaton

I’ve studied the films of Buster Keaton so much that I started picking up on some of his mannerisms and they carried over to how I act in public. Forget Chaplin and forget Lloyd, Keaton was the true innovative silent film comedian. I can watch something with him in it every day and never get tired of it. Films of his are approaching 100 years old and they’re still better than most of the movies being put out today.

4. Ivan Brunetti
Holy shit, when I discovered Ivan Brunetti’s comic book Schizo, I was blown away. I was at a point where I still would look at the newspaper comics every so often but would be absolutely aghast at how dumb they all were. Calvin & Hobbes had ended a few years prior and nothing would ever hold a candle to it. So, when I saw Brunetti’s jab at traditional four-panel comics by making his own as repulsive and oft-kilter as possible, I knew that I had found a new motivating influence. His book Haw! was the reason I pretty much concentrated on making one-panel cartoons for many years.



5. Time
If time wasn’t something we had to measure, I’d probably get a lot more done. When I’m running out of time, I do tend to get so much more accomplished – like it is for most people. I’m the worst at being timely with something and that never used to be the case. I need to get back into making deadlines for myself because time, either lack of it or it just passing by too fast, is a huge reason I even get anything done these days. 



6. Sleep
When I was a kid, I would never sleep. I would stay up all night and read comics and draw. A lot of times nowadays, I stay up all night and run on very little sleep, but then it catches up to me and I sleep an inordinate amount of time, going into something that resembles a coma. I’m inspired by sleep because I do have some fantastic dreams that sometimes correlate into some piece of art. But, I’m really inspired by sleep because I don’t want to go to bed and I’ll fight my hardest to not pass out if I still have something unfinished. When I’m running on no sleep, I have some ridiculous ideas going through my mind, so I’ve probably made some decent art that way, too.



7. Bill Hicks

I’ve just recently spent time analyzing what Bill Hicks had to say. What a fucking genius he was! He spoke with such earnest honesty that it makes me strive to tell people like it is. Like the kind of person Howard Stern is, I gravitate towards people who are so true to themselves. Bill Hicks lived such a short life, but he said more poignant things than most people will ever have the balls to say. 


8. Bill Murray
I also started concentrating on the comedic genius of Bill Murray and I just love his supposed blasé attitude towards everything. He seems to be pretty comfortable with the person he is and when he pops up every so often (either in a movie or at someone’s party), he’ll let everyone know how much of a badass he is just by being there. I would give anything to act like him and to just not give a shit. 



9. Stuart Andrews
Stu has been my best friend since we met on the first day of 1st grade in 1987. Our first mutual memory is defacing a Transformers coloring book and laughing at how we made it appear that all of the robots were drinking beer. We’ve basically been causing trouble ever since. A huge chunk of what I would grow to appreciate in life is because of Stu. In 2nd grade, we were listening to N.W.A., Public Enemy and Too Short while everyone else was listening to New Kids on the Block. In 3rd grade, it was Anthrax and in 4th grade, we were listening to Biz Markie. I’m still so shocked that I was getting such a musical lesson from Stu, who just always happened to have the craziest stuff to listen to. Eventually, it turned into The Dead Milkmen, Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, and more. But, it was when he said to me as we pulled up to the comic shop that I worked at in high school, “Hey, I bought this CD. You’ve got to hear this song on it.” That turned out to be “Carry On” by The Skolars (Telegraph). It was ska and good ska, at that. I then realized that I had heard another song by them played on a local radio program. Even though I was aware of ska and was starting to get into it as the country was becoming more and more receptive of it, this moment is what really solidified it for me. I became completely obsessed with it, which eventually led me to singing in a ska band that is celebrating ten years of existence this year.

Artistically, we’ve always bounced our respective works off each other. We’ve done art shows together where both sets of our work looks completely different, but they somehow mesh real well together. He’s been a huge inspiration to try to get better and he is one of the greatest artists I will ever know. 



10. The desire to do something that will excite me, entertain me, and enthrall me.
I used to churn out so many comics and paintings. I never let anything get in my way and I couldn’t believe the output that I had. Then, in 2006, a series of events really blindsided me and coupled with a feeling of being burnt out, I stopped doing what I loved the most – making comics. There was a short reprieve when I successfully booked a two-week tour for my band, Can’t Do It, but things weren’t as good as they used to be. I didn’t have it in me to continue the grueling pace that I was constantly on. The mind is just as much of a creativity-killer as it is an idea-maker.

I do make comics every once in a while but it is nowhere like the heyday of my incredible production of them. When I do draw something and it makes me laugh or makes me excited, I’m glad that I can still have those reactions. Recently, with my band, we started making new music and that took me back ten years ago when we were first starting. I will always appreciate the energy release that comes along with jumping around on stage and singing songs that I somehow wrote lyrics for. Being able to make music with those guys has definitely been a savior when things aren’t always so happy.



What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in creating your comics and art?

When I was around 15, my mom told me that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with my comics. That made me pretty upset but it was probably a huge motivator on getting so much accomplished with my creativity. My mom is now a huge supporter of whatever I do and I can just imagine that she thought I was going to end up penniless and in a ditch because I was fixated on drawing stupid little humor strips. My dad was always a big supporter of whatever I did so it was a little disheartening to have each parent telling me opposing things about my art.

I definitely have a strange sense of humor and my comics haven’t been for everyone. There have been times where the jokes are not taken well at all and some people think I’m crazy. I can’t tell a joke in a conversation to save my life but I used to be pretty good at expressing them in comic form. At times, I’ve had on my list of stuff to do: “Write comedy”. I don’t know how to start, though, which is ridiculous.

The biggest challenge to my art is that I just don’t know what I’m doing. I haven’t really had any formal training and it definitely shows in how limited I am at drawing or painting. I’d like to really dig myself into learning more about art and writing and just become better at expressing myself with pictures, painting or prose.

What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?

While out running recently, I kept saying out loud “Get fucking better”. At that moment, I meant to be a better student because I wasn’t concentrating the most on my schoolwork but as soon as I did buckle down, I felt a lot better and started learning a ton more. It also meant, though, I needed to be better at managing my time. I hate being an adult. I hate having roadblocks put up for what I want to do just because I have to make sure I’m able to pay for the necessities of life. I’m making myself go to school so I can get into a field I enjoy and not be stuck at my stupid job I have right now that refuses to give anyone a raise. I do take naps, though, when I’m having a bad day. They’re a good way to clear the air and clear my mind.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and more jaded or if I’m tired of the same old shit, but I am not as happy as I used to be. I started going to school because I felt like I wasn’t using my time wisely on my art and I wanted to force myself to get smarter. But, now that I’m in school, I just want to make art. I want to concentrate on art and see what kind of amazing things I can churn out. But, all of my free time goes to school or sleep. If I got to do art on my own terms and didn’t take every stupid commission job or put my stuff in every dumb art show, it would be incredible. I actually stopped taking commissions because people are the worst to deal with.

Kurt Vonnegut once wrote “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” I sometimes think to myself that I don’t always have to appear to think everything is funny for the sake of others. At times, I hide behind humor just to make sure I don’t outwardly show how melancholy it is at times. In certain settings, a different persona overtakes me and I feel like I have to entertain everyone. This may be me overcompensating since I had been quite shy for many years of my life. No one ever sets you up for the disparity you go through in your 20’s, coming out of your teenage years, but when I turned 30 last year, it kind of made all of those stupid thoughts of growing older a little more moot. Just because you aren’t a kid anymore, that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy life. And if you never get back what you once had, at least you had it and at least you got to experience it.

Life will never be easy and for the ones who think it is, they’re just a bunch of liars. I’m proud of myself for accomplishing so much in such little time. I have to remind myself, though, that I didn’t achieve those things by being lazy. I have worked hard and I do work hard to make things a little easier on myself in the long run.


If we could no longer live on the planet Earth and were relocating to another planet, what five essences would you take with you? (Anything attached to a sense. A certain smell, sight or sound)



1. The euphoria of being in love. Every time I tell myself that I should just concentrate on scholastic duties or art, some little thing pops into my head and it makes me long for someone to share in life’s little experiences. When a girl smiles at me, I get completely discombobulated, too, because it doesn’t happen that often.


2. The thrift store smells and factory smells attached to my dad’s clothing. My dad died back in 2006 and I made sure to save some of his clothes. I have them stored away and whenever I bring them out, it has his scent on them and it immediately makes me feel like he’s right there. The jacket I have of his, he probably never washed but I’m glad he didn’t because it’s one tangible thing I can hold onto that invokes the feelings of having him around. 



3. The runner’s high. I wish I ran more because it really does make me feel better and accomplishing some ridiculous personal record makes me so happy when it happens. I used to run every day and I lost 20 lbs. in the process but I eventually overdid it and fucked up my legs a few times. But, I now know not to run like a lunatic anymore – it’s just laziness that keeps me from going out there too often.



4. The ability to make someone laugh. This is the single biggest reason why I made humor comics – I wanted to make someone happy by way of pictures and jokes. The world is so fucked up and everything is such a struggle, but if I can just make a single moment of someone’s life a little bit better, it is so rewarding.


5. The feeling you get when you hear a great song for the first time. It doesn’t even have to be a particular genre or band, but nothing beats having a cadre of excellent music at your disposal. I make it a point to always track down new stuff to listen to, and I’m so glad I do, because I come across some fantastic work thanks to the Internet. 



So recently you’ve been thinking a lot about your traveling around the U.S. in 2009 because of your presentation in The Travelogues. What’s next for you?

When I finished my trip, it took another two years to finish the accompanying ‘zines. I worked really hard on them and people kept asking what I was going to do next. My first response was that I was going to finish the books, but then I also said that I wanted to travel internationally. After I did finish the ‘zines, it was such a huge relief. In total, I had spent almost four years on “Fifty-Two Friends” from the inception of the idea, to planning, to the trip, and then editing everything that I wrote. I’ve been contemplating studying abroad because I want to get the hell out of here for a little bit. I realized the other day that I haven’t even left Tampa Bay in almost two years. I’m a traveler that is doing a piss-poor job at traveling. Another thought that goes through my head from time to time is doing another trip like the one I did in 2009 where I stay a week with someone different. But, this time, I might not confine myself to a set stay and I would definitely not worry about making ‘zines and trying to chronicle everything. Maybe I’ll do a tenth-anniversary tour and see how many people from the original trip would be willing to put me up again and then see how many new people would take me in.


If you could sum up your experiences in 2009 in one sentence, what would it be? 

I took a life-changing trip in the span of a year that made me realize I no longer had to be scared of the world.

Here is an interview with Mitzi Gordon of Bluebird Books. Treat it like a podcast– hit ‘play’, go about your daily activities, and take in Mitzi’s fantastic insight and stories of how the Bluebird Bus came to be, the positive changes in Tampa’s art community, overcoming challenges, and a few of Bluebird’s brightest moments since its creation two years ago. I enjoyed being able to ask the questions I’ve been dying to ask Mitzi since I met her last summer– I hope you enjoy listening to her answers as much as I did.

Brenna Erickson is sassy, giving, thrifty, smart and independent. I met her in 2010 on a study abroad trip in London. She was wearing pink tights and shared her vinegar-covered chips with me. Along with the aforementioned, she’s incredibly driven and is currently working on her fourth feature film. These are her words.

Hey, hey Brenna! In my presentation for The Travelogues (event series I put on where people shared travel stories) about studying abroad in England, I talked a bit about going to the Raindance Film Festival and ringing up pain au chocolat as rolls at Sainsbury’s with you. What are some of your favorite memories from studying abroad and completing your internship? What are some of the things you think the trip taught you?

1. Interns are free labor, which actually made me pretty jaded about the arts industry, even though I don’t think I should have been surprised. I watched other interns volunteer 40hr weeks without getting paid a penny and companies either not being abe to hire them on, or just not bothering to tell them that they weren’t going to hire them on.

2. I learned up close and personal the ‘American’ quirks that people complain about, traveling in Barcelona with my parents was funny in a cringing sort of way. My Dad’s ‘small talk’ in Spanish was pretty hilarious. Even though he took me out for Sangria at a dessert bar, which was really sweet. We also got tapas at a bar and I think I ate a duckling.

3. One of my favorite memories was going out to a bar in Sterling, Scotland where the bottom level of the bar had traditional music and a Ceilidh dance, and upstairs there was an indie-rock band from London. It was such a delightful mix of old and new all in a smoky Scottish bar.

[Click below for the full interview]

4. I think the most impressive story that I have is working the after-party of the 2011 British Independent film awards. After a long weekend of filling all the swag bags with the most ridiculous assortment of things, from an alternate score for the original ‘King Kong’ film, to ‘Black Swan’ promo postcards, to an energy drink called ‘Pussy’, we got to attend the after-party of the BIFA awards. We worked the coat check in shifts, which meant that we drank a lot of free champagne, and then walked around talking to movie stars, or just brushing past them without recognizing them. There were a lot of double takes for me as I recognized Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Mulligan, Liam Neeson and others. It was a lot of fun.

When did you figure out you wanted to be a producer? Who or what has helped you build a path to guide you?

The funny thing about that is that I recently realized that I am not actually a producer. What I do is called “Production Manager”. Producers fund the films that they produce and consult along the way.
What I do is a mix of “Assistant Director” and “Production Manager” with a dash of everything else thrown in. I do a lot of the organization of making the film happen and figure out logistics. I help manage and find locations, costumes, props, actors, hep setup meetings and set schedules. I keep in contact with everyone as constantly as possible and go on location scouting missions. I do a lot of writing, revising, and input on scripts. I help with hair and make-up. I do a good portion of the catering generally. I help set up car pools, and give rides to people. I make sure we have everything we need before we leave, and set lists, deadlines, etc. That’s just the stuff that I do on set.

Off of set, I manage the money, help facilitate the post-production process and try to keep in touch with everyone. I don’t do all of this myself, I am part of a team and we divide up tasks. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get anywhere near the amount that I needed to get done. I work a full time job in addition to doing all the movie stuff and trying have a small social life.

If you weren’t producing films, what would you be doing?

Ha, it’s funny that you ask that. I am actually planning on going to school to become a chiropractor next year. So hopefully, I can be working as a doctor in the next few years. But that particular adventure will take me to San Francisco, so it depends which love comes out on top there. Maybe I’ll find a bunch of film gigs out there, but maybe not. It just depends. Minneapolis actually doesn’t have much in the way of film production jobs, so whatever we make we kind of have to fuel ourselves. Which is great as a hobby, but doesn’t work out great as a career, because, as it turns out, filmmaking is very expensive and time consuming. Even if it is really, really fun.

What is something you’re excited about for your upcoming film project, “The Untitled South Carolina Movie’?

Well, it is now graced with the fabulous working title of ‘Her Tragedy’, which will change again once we decide what a good title that doesn’t sound completely stupid is. I’m pretty excited for everything about this film. It’s one of the first scripts in a few years that I was a large part of the writing process on. We team-wrote the script, and have been revising it ever since. I’m really excited for the team we have to work with. We are collaborating with a very talented team from South Carolina who will be driving up to be part of the project. We have a 2nd camera person, which is cool. We have a for-real costume designer, and a real art director who is taking on some of the other production manager tasks. And I am really excited to work with the cast that we ended up with. We have exactly the cast we need and want. And each one of them is smart and talented. They really bring the script to life and have been so much fun to work with. It’s really been an amazing experience.

What is going to be difficult about it?

Right now, there are a few things I am worried about. Right now, we are a few days into our crowd sourcing campaign on Indie Gogo and I am really worried we aren’t going to meet our goal. We have set kind of a high budget for ourselves, but in the perspective of Hollywood films it is so, so, so small and we are hoping that if everyone we know gives $5 to the project, that we can make it into something really great. So, we are doing everything we can to get the word out, and try to raise some money for our project. We have been lucky so far that we have made 10% of our budget, but there’s a long way to go and not that many people have contributed yet. I really hope that changes in the next few days and we can start pulling some weight with awareness on the internet.

The other thing I’m a little nervous about is the film. It’s a drama, which I’ve never shot before. This film was originally supposed to be a short, but apparently, Vanessa and I can’t write a short film to save our lives. I think this is because we like character-driven stories, so we always want to go more indepth with exploring the human condition. So, I hope we can get everything communicated that we want to in the film. I feel like it’s an ambitious project, but we’ll get it done, one way or the other.

Can you tell me the story behind the name of yours and Vanessa’s production company, Oxford Comma Films?

Well, Vanessa and I are big grammar nerds and we wanted to have a name that both nerds and the arts community could appreciate. We threw around a few different names and decided on the Oxford Comma because it seemed both a little nerdy and a little sophisticated. Also, theoretically it made for an easy logo. Do you know what an oxford comma is? the oxford comma.

(The cast and crew of Oxford Comma Films’ most recent feature, ‘He Gave Her His Phone’)

What are you looking to accomplish in the next year?

I’m trying to finish all my outstanding films and move to a new city.

Five years?

Become a Doctor of Chiropractic! And find a career path that I love.

How has Minneapolis been treating you?

I love Minneapolis. It’s such a fun city. It feels like a bunch of small towns put together, and I feel really lucky to have had the experiences and made the friends that I have here (even though we imported a few of them from Wisconsin). So far, I’ve had a really rich 5+ years here. Plus, we have a killer community. love all the co-ops, theaters, farmer’s markets, thrift stores, bands and local breweries around it. It sounds really hipster, but it really does feel like a small community.

Is Seattle still on the horizon?

Eventually, the West Coast is more immediate, and if I can get to the coast, maybe then I’ll migrate north to Washington.

If you like what I had to say, please take a look at our Indie Gogo page, give what you can, and help spread the word!

Photo by Radko Keleman Photography

Photo by Radko Keleman Photography

Photo by Radko Keleman Photography

Photo by Radko Keleman Photography

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Thank you, Cafe Hey!