CreativeMornings/Indianapolis @creativemorningsindianapolis - Tumblr Blog

Indy LGBTQ+ Organizations and Resources

3.31.23

Indy LGBTQ+ Organizations Present at the Event:

As we continue to see queer youth in Indiana targeted, we recognize many organizations are providing essential resources and care to those youth directly each and every day. We are grateful to those organizations for the work they are doing daily to ensure the safety and well-being of the youngest queer Hoosiers is a priority and grateful they will be present on Friday, March 31st to share resources and tangible ways to support their organizations.

Indiana Youth Group

Trinity Haven

ACLU of Indiana

Indy Pride Volunteer

Indy Pride Sponsorships

Indianapolis LGBTQ+ Organizations for Resources & Support:

Indianapolis is home to highly impactful and long-standing impactful LGBTQ+ organizations; organizations that provide essential healthcare resources, including HIV and STI prevention services, create safe spaces for community building, amplify the queer creative community, deliver mutual aid, and create accessibility for mental health resources. These are just a few organizations that fight for LGBTQ+ Hoosiers every single day. While the needs of these organizations vary, connecting and learning about meaningful ways to support them is one of the most tangible ways to demonstrate authentic allyship in this moment and beyond.

No Questions Asked Food Pantry - Select NQA from the drop-down list

BU Wellness

Trans Solutions

Gender Nexus

Damien Center

Shalom Health

Indy Gay Market

Mailing List

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!

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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.

What do you do during the week? During the week I work as a senior designer at Section 127, a creative agency in downtown Indy. I spend my free time doing personal and freelance design work, collecting records, and eating Mexican food. What’s your go-to breakfast place in Indy? I’m still pretty new to Indy, so still exploring spots, but Love Handle’s biscuits and gravy are pretty untouchable. What’s your favorite CreativeMornings talk (Indy, or beyond) so far? Andy J. Miller’s talk “Creatives are the Hidden Gems of Society” from Louisville. It was one of the first talks that made me love CreativeMornings and one I keep going back to. 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? In a lot of ways the poster is similar to my typical style, using simplified shapes and a minimal color palette inspired by the traditions of print design. I often use texturing and detail in my work, but it can become a crutch. So with this poster, I tried to communicate the month’s themes of death and “Audience Takes the Stage” in a clean way. The process was as simple as doing a rough sketch of elements and then jumping into Adobe Illustrator to illustrate the elements and find the balance. If money wasn’t an issue, what’s a creative project you’d like to pursue? If money wasn’t an issue, I think I’d start a record label to help independent bands get their music out into the world.

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

6/17 Recap - Broken with Elle Roberts

June 17th, 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.

Rena Barraclough

What’s your day job? Communications Lead for BCforward. Currently under contract at a 140 year old global pharmaceutical company.

What’s your favorite breakfast food? French toast, lots of sugar-free syrup (cut calories where you can)

Where would you stop on a free afternoon in Indy? Mass Ave.

What’s something you’ve been inspired by lately? The Bible inspires me every day and I love how inspired I am during springtime in Indiana.

In the spirit of March's theme Change, what is the most recent change you’ve experienced in your professional life? The most recent change I've experienced in my professional life was being assigned to a new role in my contract position. Originally, the role in which I served morphed into a more technical than creative role. I was like a fish out of water and am thankful I will now be focusing more on creative communication. Happy Girl!

Connect with Rena!

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3/25 Recap - Change with Michael Bricker

On March 25th, bright and early, Indianapolis heard from Michael Bricker of People For Urban Progress on this month’s topic of change.

This month, we saw a lot of new faces, which we L O V E. Bring your friends and tell them it’s okay to miss a few hours of work on Friday morning once a month- we love seeing this #CMIndy family grow.

We were hosted at the beautiful Grand Hall at Union Station, which we learned was the perfect location for a talk about “change.” The Grand Hall has been many things in its time; a railroad station, a marketplace, an event space, a restaurant. What better way to accentuate Indy’s ability to handle change than to be hosted in a historically repurposed facility? We <3 you, Union Station.

With a crazy good breakfast (parfaits and donuts and green juice!? yes, please) from our partners at Yelp Indy and Market District Carmel, we were fueled to hear what the founder of PUP had to say about Indianapolis and Change.

The difference between forced change and planned change can seem exponentially different but in the end, they both yield progress. So embrace them both. Focus yields progress, and progress yields focus.

“To make change you have to leave the room. You have to stand up, walk out, and make it happen. Force it or plan for it, it doesn't matter - you have to climb the stairs. Progress doesn't happen inside behind a computer, no one's telling stories about how great their email is.” PUP’s work exists in the physical world- meaningful products, upcycling, repurposing, and creating new projects throughout the city. Their work embodies the idea that “we should think of ourselves as citizens, not consumers.”

“Idea does not equal impact. If you want to make change, you have to start with action.” In Indy, it can be hard to get caught up in the idea of things without taking action. Michael reminded us just how important it is to dedicate your time and resources to ideas that you truly believe can come to life, and stick with that. Ideas are great, but action is greater.

Always be looking forward, and embrace those changes that are thrown (or handed) to you as opportunities. “And I now believe it takes just two people to change the world: Someone to ask ‘Do you think this is crazy?’ and someone to say ‘Yes, let's keep going.’”

Keep going, Indy, and until next month,

CM/Indianapolis

If you missed the talk, click here to watch.

Click here for photos of the event.

And here for our follow-up podcast with Michael.

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

Jon McClure

What's your day job?

Co-founder and Designer at Co-motion (and account manager/production artist/new business director/...)

What's your favorite breakfast food? The-Omelette-You-Can't-Refuse from Cafe Patachou

Where would you stop on a free afternoon in Indy? Anything along Mass. Ave, especially Ralston's (pulled pork sandwich) or Bakersfield (guac & chips).

What's something you've been inspired by lately? The founding of our new company, Co-motion. Also, working alongside my incredibly talented wife, Stacey McClure.

In the spirit of February's theme Ethics, are their specific professional guidelines you follow and why? To me, it's as simple as treating others as you would want to be treated.

Connect with Jon!

Creative Mornings | Twitter | Instagram | Website

Want to be a part of our awesome volunteer team? We’d love to have you! All you have to do is fill out our volunteer survey and we’ll get in touch

Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes of Creative Brunch by Ben Poenisch for free.

Listen to this month’s speaker Andrea Hunley answer questions that were asked by the audience and via twitter. Be sure to subscribe for monthly podcasts!

Stephanie Haines

What's your day job?

Director of Artist Programs at Arts for Learning; I work to find new artists across Indiana to collaborate with our programs that support creativity in learning. What's your favorite breakfast food? Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Every Sunday I participate in the ancient ritual known as Pancake Sunday.

Where would you stop on a free afternoon in Indy? I'd walk the cultural trail through Fountain Square to see what's new and definitely make a stop at Calvin Fletcher's coffee shop.

What's something you've been inspired by lately? This cheeky nonprofit blog http://nonprofitwithballs.com/ ; Anything Nina Simon http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/; and the work of my friends over at Exodus Refugee Immigration http://www.exodusrefugee.org/

In the spirit of December's theme Time, what activity makes you feel like time has slowed down? Talking with my grandparents always gives me the same feeling as when I was 7 years old. I'm young, and they are old; I know so little, and they know so much. Time will always stand still in that relationship.

Connect with Stephanie!

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