Kite Comic progress

Nearly there...



copyright Karen O'Bryan 2010

Gym Class Heroes

Over the weekend I was invited to go see a free concert put on by the Gym Class Heroes at the U of M during their annual Spring Jam festivities.

It was my first time seeing them, and let me just say, they are freaking awesome live. I would definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance to go to one of their shows.







Check out Travie Mccoy's new single: Billionaire
(and have this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day - but don't worry, it's a good one)

Behind Closed Doors

Check out the photos from the Le'toile fashion party friday night HERE


Photo by Stephen Stephens
Styling by Jahna Peloquin
Clothes by Blacklist Vintage

Imagination Mechanism - Tonight!

I have a habit of posting about events after they've happened, however tonight I'm going to change that..

Imagination Mechanism

An interactive fashion party exploring the creative process!

Join us for a real-time peek inside the creative process of fashion photography! We’ll return once again to the Eitel Building’s gorgeous Rooftop Sky Park on Loring Park for a stylish, interactive mixer that will invite you to play creative director for a day.

Try your hand at designing fashion photo shoot mood boards and story boards with the help of l’étoile and Secrets of the City staff, then watch as l'etoile implements these same processes to create a live fashion photo shoot that will include everything from styling, shooting, retouching, and even editorial layout — all right before your eyes.

Complimentary refreshments will be available, including hot n' tasty apps from Ginger Hop restaurant and even hotter people. And dress to impress: we’ll be giving away multiple pairs of tickets to the Guthrie Theater's production of M. Butterfly to the most “fashion photo ready” attendees! Sponsored by l’étoile magazine, Secrets of the City, Vision Models, Eitel Building City Apartments, Cake Eater Bakery, and Ginger Hop.

7pm-10:30pm / Free

Eitel Building (Rooftop Sky Park)
1367 Willow St
Mpls 55403
www.eitelbuildingcityapartments.com

questions: kate@letoilemagazine.com
www.letoilemagazine.com

Kite Comic

I've been spending a lot of time hanging out with my good friend and local comic artist, Joe Rheault of Dirty Inks for the past couple of weeks and he has inspired me to try my hands at making a comic myself.

I'm not going to ink it like you traditionally would. Instead I've done a series of drawings that I'm going to digitally put into panels and color.

More to come soon..

Coming Soon...

Karen O'Bryan copyright 2010

Artcrank 2010

Saturday night I attended this year's Artcrank at the Shelter Studios in NE.

I happened to just find out about the opening a few days prior thanks to Metro Magazine. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, Artcrank is a bicycle-inspired poster show that started in Minneapolis 3 years ago. Saturday was my first Artcrank, but it certainly wont be the last.











There was a really great turnout for the show. It was kind of amazing to see so many bicycles and posters in one place. We also got to check out the new Nice Ride bikes, which is the new public bike sharing program that is set to launch in Mpls in June.



Don't dispare if you missed the opening, there is still time to check it out! Head down to the One On One Bike before May 1st to see Artcrank in all of it's glory. All of the posters are only $30 and help support Full Cycle, which is a non-profit that gives free bikes to homeless youth and teaches them bicycle maintenance.

There will also be a Des Moines show, which I was amazed to find out about. Good work Des Moines. I'm proud of you.



Event Details
Saturday, May 8 - Saturday, May 29

Instinct Gallery at Des Moines Social Club
1408 Locust St. Des Moines, IA

Stuff White People Like

I was (somewhat) recently introduced to a hilarious blog, Stuff White People Like. (which is also a book) O-M-G- it literally makes me L-O-L every time. According to this man I am possibly the whitest person of all time. I fit into probably 95% of his postings, including this little gem here:

#47 Arts Degrees
"When white people go away to college, they tend to study what are knowns as the Arts. This includes actual Art, English, History, Classics, and Philosophy. These can of course be broken down further into Film, Womyn’s Studies (yes the spelling is correct), Communications, Gender Studies, and so forth. It is important to note that a high percentage of white people also get degrees in Political Science, which is pretty much like arts, and only seems to have the word “science” in it to make white people feel better about themselves.

These degrees enable white people to spend four yeas of their lives reading books, writing papers and feeling great about themselves. It is a known fact that Arts students firmly believe that they are doing you/society a favor by not getting a job and reading Proust. They use this to protest for reduced tuition, more money for the arts, and special reduced student rates on things like bus passes.

But what about the white people who study Science, Engineering or Business? Unless they become doctors, they essentially lose white person status (and can only be regained by working at a non-profit).

So why would white people spend all that time studying and working to get into college if they are just going to read books that they might have read in their free time? Because white people have it made. They can take that degree and easily parlay it into a non profit job, an art gallery job, or work in publishing. If the pay is low, no problem, their parents will happily help out with rent until they magically start making six figures or non-magically turn 40.

White people can also take that degree and go to graduate school (future post) and eventually become a professor or adjunct professor where they will still require parental support.

If they are REALLY ambitious and need to make money, they can take that degree and go to Law School.

But the real reason white people need these degrees is so that they can sound smart at parties. Of course it trickles down to making connections, getting hired, knowing rich people, and so forth. But ultimately it all begins by saying “reading Henry James was the most rewarding part of undergrad.”

Using this to your advantage can be very difficult as attempts to talk about the books they skimmed while hungover can expose you. It is best to say that you were a first generation college student and your parents demanded that you study math, chemistry, economics or computer science. You had to read Joyce on your own."

So if you're bored at work, need a little 'pick me up' or just want to make fun of some white people, go check out the site.

New Find: Sean Hudson

It's been awhile since I've posted work from other illustrators. Check out some really fantastic work by New York based illustrator, Sean Hudson

*all images are from the artist's website