(Photo by Sandy Carson.)

Meet our most recent #CMugshot, Kate Abel! Kate is a reference librarian at the Austin Central Library, where she loves being involved with the Zine Collection, Seed Library and apl unbound: sin fronteras book bike. She spends her free time biking, gardening, and swimming.

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

Something I’ve been inspired by recently is our partnership with the Central Texas Seed Library and the circulating seed collection that we opened in January on the 6th floor of the Central Library. People can check out up to four seed packets at a time and if they’re successful at growing plants from the seeds, they can bring us new seeds to add to the next generation for people to check out. With this program, we promote sustainability and self-reliance and create a sense of community around gardening in Austin.

What’s one way you feel weird and how does that inspire you?

I’m a little bit weird in that I bike everywhere I go. It’s inspiring because it’s good for human health and for the planet. We hear every day on the news about climate change and declining human health and it’s easy to feel like we can’t possibly overcome these problems as individuals. Biking is a great small step for me to do to personally contribute, be visible and encourage others as well. For anyone who wants to get started with biking, there are a lot of group rides you can join in Austin so that you have fun and feel comfortable traveling on two wheels.

Where do you go to get inspired?

I feel really inspired in my own garden. I love planting seeds and watching the daily growth and all of the changes. It’s wonderful to be able to harvest your own salad or ingredients for a smoothie, and it’s as fresh and local as can be. It just feels so good to nurture the garden and let the garden nurture you.

May’s global theme PRESERVE will be discussed by Brandon Berdoll.

Hosted at Wolf House on Friday, 5/24. Details here.

Say thanks to our partner this month: R/GA!

And extra cheers to our coffee partner: Cuvée Coffee!

Do you want to see your business featured among these amazing companies while feeling the love of our creative community? If you want to help support CreativeMornings/Austin financially or in kind, please email us at austin (at) creative mornings (dot) (com).

May’s global theme is Preserve.

Our Charleston chapter chose this month’s exploration of Preserve and Chris Nickels illustrated the theme.

Thank you to our Global Partners—Mailchimp, Adobe, and WordPress.com—for supporting us.

The beauty in our world deserves to be cherished, sustained, and rediscovered. We share this life, and every day we have the opportunity to act as thoughtful participants in it.

What do we care about? What do we take for granted? Would we miss it if it disappeared?

Preservation begins with asking deep questions and turning our attention to the environment around us.

Marine biologist and explorer Sylvia Earle wrote in her book, The World is Blue, “Should we race to see how quickly we can consume the last tuna, swordfish, and grouper? Or race to see what can be done to protect what remains? For now, there is still a choice.”

Our daily habits are a mirror reflecting back what we truly care about. Our actions are key to protecting the wellbeing of our communities, cities, and planet.

Pause for a moment to notice what is being neglected and take an audit. We can break out of patterns, simplify our lives, and focus on the things that will last a long time.

Together, we can chart a brighter path into the future.

LET’S GO ON A FIELD TRIP!
We’ve got three #CMfieldtrips planned for you this Friday, 5/3.

TALKING BRAND (& BEER) @ BIRDS
Join us at the original Birds Barbershop on South Lamar for an interactive discussion with co-founder, Michael Portman. Learn the origin story behind this Austin-born brand. RSVP

GET EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND YOU @ ATMOSPHERE
Your dog gets you, but does everyone else? Stories matter. Stories get you a seat at the table. Using board games, Mad Libs, and more, Susan O'Connor will help you tell yours. RSVP

THE ART OF THE LETTER @ INDUSTRY PRINT SHOP
Love lettering and typography? Commercial lettering artist and designer Ryan Hamrick will be our expert guide into the basics of hand-lettering and letterform design. RSVP (This FieldTrip was made possible through a partnership with AIGA Austin. It’s the first of four CMATX/AIGA events in 2019!)

Big thanks to our #CMfieldtrips coffee partner: Chameleon Cold Brew.

WANT TO HOST A FIELDTRIP? APPLY HERE.

Want to be one of the first to find out about next month’s FieldTrips? You should subscribe to our newsletter. (Look for the signup button on the right hand side of the page.)

“HEY, WHAT A MINUTE, WHAT ARE FIELDTRIPS?”

#CMfieldtrips are a monthly series of small group discussions, tours, or workshops held to spread the creative magic happening around Austin. Space is limited to facilitate open conversation and new connections, so you must RSVP via our site to attend. Most of our FieldTrips are free, but we may ask for a suggested donation to cover materials for some of them.

(Each month, we give folks who were on the waitlist of our most recent talk a two-hour head start to register. And then they open up to the rest of our #CMATX community.)

(Photo by Manny Pandya)

Meet our most recent #CMugshot, Andrea Flores! Andrea is a doctoral student researching how Latinx populations in the United States use social media to organize politically and socially.

Prior to UT, she worked in visual effects and animation at Disney, WB Animation and Digital Domain. She’s a board member of Techquería, a national non-profit organization that works to increase the visibility of Latinx in tech, and helped organize the first Startup Weekend: Latinx in Tech Edition.

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

I’m insanely inspired by my Techquería Slack community and the discussions I have with other board members. We’re focused on creating meaningful partnerships for our members and our Latinx community overall: whether that’s local Latinx vendors to provide food at our meetups or highlighting Latinx talent at major tech companies, our goal is to show that we’re here and doing some really awesome things.

It’s exciting to be at a point in my life where I have a space where other people look like me. I’ve found a community finally. In the Slack community, there’s somebody there all the time who gets it. It’s helpful for people younger than me who can grow up with this and for the people who are older who finally have it. We want everybody at the table.

What’s one way you feel like you’re weird and how does that inspire you?

I have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. I’ve been surprised with how much I can apply this knowledge to my research. With everything you’re taking in, you never know what’s going to connect back to your work.

Where do you go to get inspired?

My grandparents’ house is my place, my safe place, it’s where everybody gathers. It’s community and warmth and home.

When I’m traveling, it’s bookstores and museums. I have to leave extra room in my suitcase when I go on trips because I always come back with five more books!

Connect with Andrea

CM Profile | Twitter | Instagram

 

April’s global theme INCLUSIVE will be discussed by K. Solomon Masala.

Hosted by Region 13 on Friday, 4/19. Details here.

Say thanks to our partners this month USAA and frog! 

And special thanks to this month’s breakfast partner, Taco Deli for stepping up with their delicious goodness. 

And extra cheers to our coffee partner: Cuvée Coffee!

Do you want to see your business featured among these amazing companies while feeling the love of our creative community? If you want to help support CreativeMornings/Austin financially or in kind, please email us at austin (at) creative mornings (dot) (com).

Can’t get enough of #CMFieldTrips? We’ve got a BONUS one planned for you this month! 

Come join us on a tour behind the scenes of I AM THIS, an immersive VR experience, part of Guayakí Yerba Mate’s month long event series in Austin this April - Come To Life: Austin. RSVP here. 

WANT TO HOST A FIELDTRIP? APPLY HERE.

Want to be one of the first to find out about next month’s FieldTrips? You should subscribe to our newsletter. (Look for the signup button on the right hand side of the page.)

“HEY, WHAT A MINUTE, WHAT ARE FIELDTRIPS?”

#CMfieldtrips are a monthly series of small group discussions, tours, or workshops held to spread the creative magic happening around Austin. Space is limited to facilitate open conversation and new connections, so you must RSVP via our site to attend. Most of our FieldTrips are free, but we may ask for a suggested donation to cover materials for some of them.
(Each month, we give folks who were on the waitlist of our most recent talk a two-hour head start to register. And then they open up to the rest of our #CMATX community.)

Let’s go on a field trip!

We’ve got three #CMfieldtrips planned for you this Friday, 4/5. 

Play With Lasers at MakeATX

Join us at MakeATX, a laser cutting studio in the heart of the art scene in East Austin. During our workshop, each FieldTripper will make a small custom project. RSVP.

Collaborative Songwriting: Write a Song with an Industry Pro

Join us at Reset at Nightcap for a workshop led by Mark Epstein, musician and founder of Buildsong. Write a song with your fellow morning people. Musical ability is not required. RSVP. 

Movement Learning: An Intro to the Feldenkrais Method®

Join practitioner Michelle Drerup at Myo to to learn how to break your movement habits. Together, we’ll experience the Feldenkrais approach to wiring and rewiring your brain for learning, refining, adapting, and innovating. RSVP. 

Big thanks to our #CMfieldtrips coffee partner: Chameleon Cold Brew.

Want to host a FieldTrip? Apply here.

Want to be one of the first to find out about next month’s FieldTrips? You should subscribe to our newsletter. (Look for the signup button on the right hand side of the page.)

“Hey, what a minute, what are FieldTrips?”

#CMfieldtrips are a monthly series of small group discussions, tours, or workshops held to spread the creative magic happening around Austin. Space is limited to facilitate open conversation and new connections, so you must RSVP via our site to attend. Most of our FieldTrips are free, but we may ask for a suggested donation to cover materials for some of them.

(Each month, we give folks who were on the waitlist of our most recent talk a two-hour head start to register. And then they open up to the rest of our #CMATX community.)

Our global theme for April is inclusive! It was chosen by our Grand Rapids chapter, illustrated by Libby VanderPloeg, and is presented by WordPress.com.

When different people come into our lives, they bring gifts.

We can blend the best of our wisdom with the best of theirs. We can teach and learn from each other to produce closer circles that foster community and commit to diversity.

People who include with intention, raise their hand to do the work of embracing what is unfamiliar.

Inclusion is an attitude to consciously be open to ideas that come from outside of our settled ways of thinking or feeling. It’s about making a decision that comes from a place of love, of caring for others.

When you place inclusivity at the center of how you live, it has great power to heal, elevate new voices, and change the narrative of who belongs. As diversity advocate Vernā Myers once said, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

CycleMornings: Sunday Cruises

Join us for some moderate, fun bicycle rides in reparation for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS.

Never more than 15 miles, each ride will end with either a breakfast taco or a breakfast beer! Come explore the neighborhoods of Austin with us and get to know your CreativeMorning neighbors a little bit more!

3/31 East Side Cruise – 12 miles Click here to Register

Easy training; Boggy Creek Trail Ride

Meet-up 8:00; ride-out at 8:30
Friends & Allies Brewery
979 Springdale Rd #124, Austin, TX 78702

Head out for an easy fun ride starting and ending at Friends & Allies Brewery. We will ride through the east Boggy Creek Trail which, is a designated bike trail through the woods! After our ride you are free to leave or welcome to join us for an tasty brew at Friends & Allies. 4/14 TBA

Join our team to stay tuned for when and where these rides will be!

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Hill Country Ride for AID’s Joyride Schedule:

Join a Hill Country Joyride and meet new friends from Austin also gearing up for the ride on April 27. These rides will be organized and run by HCRA directly.

3/31 Martindale Ride – 38 miles

Moderate to difficult hill training; The seven sisters will get you ready for ride day

Meet-up 8:00; ride-out at 8:30
Three Rivers Community Church
206 Main St, Martindale, TX 78655

Click here for a pdf of the route, here for access to a MapMyRide file, and here to download a .tcx file (in beta) of the route.

Click here for the Facebook event - a great way to stay in touch for updates, changes due to weather, etc.

4/7 Barton Springs Dip  – 12 or 29 miles

Easy to moderate; 12 and 29 mile routes.

Meet-up at 8:00; ride-out at 8:30
Barton Springs Pool, South Entrance
800 Azie Morton Road, 78704

Click here to check out the official RidewithGPS account - It’ll have all of the latest routes, and downloadable map data for the software of your choice. Accept no substitutes!

Click here for the Facebook event - a great way to stay in touch for updates, changes due to weather, etc.

4/13 Georgetown Cruise – 29 or 41 miles

Moderate; open roads with a few rolling hills

Meet-up 8:00; ride-out at 8:30
Williamson County Annex
301 SE Inner Loop, (at Sneed Dr.), Georgetown 78626

Click here to check out the official RidewithGPS account - It’ll have all of the latest routes, and downloadable map data for the software of your choice. Accept no substitutes!

Click here for the Facebook event - a great way to stay in touch for updates, changes due to weather, etc.

4/20 Mount Gainor Scenic Tour – 20 or 44 miles

Beautiful ride that is most indicative of HCRA

Moderate; open road with rolling hills; SAG & Pit Stop provided

Meet-up 8:00; ride-out at 8:30
Dripping Springs Independent School
501 W. Mercer Street, Dripping Springs 78620

Click here to check out the official RidewithGPS account - It’ll have all of the latest routes, and downloadable map data for the software of your choice. Accept no substitutes!

Click here for the Facebook event - a great way to stay in touch for updates, changes due to weather, etc.

4/27 RIDE DAY!! 13, 26, 45, 65, and 90+ mile routes! Let’s do this!

Click here to join the team or support our fundraising efforts.