I was in the midst of writing a new post when I saw this

The thing about LA is there are a lot of very talented people in our town. Not everyone gets to do the thing they want to do on a global scale but it doesn't make them any less talented. In fact many times they blow your mind with their talent. They just need the right opportunity. And you need to either be there to see it or get some bad phone version of it.

This happened Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl. My friend George just told me about it. I guess it's going viral. A voice teacher was in the audience at a Kristen Chenowith concert when she volunteered to come up on stage and sing a duet with Kristen. It's a part of the show that they ask for a volunteer to sing with Kristen but she's not a plant.

Now I don't know Kristen at all (except I do seem to recall seeing her on an awards show where I thought she was funny and talented). That being said, I love her now and am a huge fan, as I am of this woman, Sarah Horn.

ENJOY!

A Mixed Tape of Sorts

Okay, so when I was growing up we did this thing. We would put together, with very careful love, timing, thoughtfulness and attention, mixed-tapes. Are they mixed or mix? Ah, I'm sure that's answered 1000 times online. And I don't really care.

I called them Mixed Tapes. And actually I didn't have a hyphen. [discuss in the Comments Section but let's move on...] And back in the day, a mixed tape seemed to be, I don't know, just about the most kind, loving and generous gift you could give a friend. When my husband and I first started dating, I remember he gave me a cd with songs he thought I'd like, great songs, stuff I wasn't familiar with and it helped me to get to know him better. I gave him one as well. It was, I guess, a sort of mating ritual. And while we were way past the days when our very lives depended on the value of the mix being appreciated, accepted and admired it was saying something that we wanted to be known and understood by each other in this particular way. We liked one other enough to be vulnerable with music, show off with music, share our music. It was our way of saying, I like you and I want you to get to know me better. And I hope you still think I'm cool after listening to this. Hey maybe even cooler. At the very least, a little more attractive. That would be awesome.

With this blog you know how much I love music. I often tell you what music was playing when I saw something I loved in LA or how hearing a particular song on the radio while driving had a positive effect on my mood [effect/affect -- discuss]. You're in your car SO much in LA and I believe the music you have on hand is EVERYTHING. If you don't have good music it's just -- well, it's deadly.

By the way I have a friend who doesn't listen to ANYTHING when she's in her car and I think I would die.

Anyway, I found a site where I could put many of the songs I've thus far recommended on an online version of a mixed tape. For you. For when you're doing stuff at home or ideally for when you're in your car. In LA. As God intended.

I know there are some omissions. Opine LA's First Car Music Mix is not perfect. Not like The Hastings Tape from when I was in high school. One of my childhood best friends and I would listen to it driving from our hometown to New York City on the nights we'd sneak into clubs (and I'd tell my parents we were just staying at her house and watching movies). I barely remember anything on that mix except for "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys." That's because we knew the tape so well, the timing of it and everything, that if we pressed Play at exactly the right time, there'd be a few songs preceding it but the second we got onto the West Side Highway, that song would start it's quiet, building intriguing notes.

Anyway, this is a compilation of what's been posted up until now. I hope it works and I hope you download the music to play in your car. Damn, I hope you like it. And if you think I'm a little cooler and slightly more attractive after listening to it, that's okay, too. [two o's in that too. I know that for certain].


Enjoy!

The English Beat, Thursday August 15th FREE

The English Beat is performing free as a part of The Twilight Series down at The Santa Monica Pier this Thursday night.

The show starts at 7pm and is hosted by DJ Eric J. Lawrence. To RSVP for this event, click HERE. As for parking info and such, click HERE. Just so you know the municipal lots on 4th & Colorado will help you avoid traffic on your way out. So will going by bike. :) This is an all ages, all free event (sans the parking). It's part of KCRW's Summer Nights Events. To sign up for texting updates, Text SUMMER to 69866.

ENJOY!

A Great Saturday Morning: Discovering Breakfast at Blu Jam

I'm a huge breakfast snob and I really don't like places that overdo it. Those that do so shall go unnamed. Why be a hater? But what I will say is some of the most highly touted breakfast places in LA, the places EVERYONE tells you to go to, are heavy, give you way too much food, and load up on the uber fatty ingredients. Maybe if you're a hungover breakfast goer, you really want to pour it on to cut through the cigs from the night before. But for me, I like places that give the ingredients a chance. And frankly, if everything is about butter, syrup, and creams -- what are they trying to cover up, you know?

The Blu Jam Cafe on Melrose between Martel and Fuller is a good, hearty, delicious, non-gloppy breakfast that uses fresh, high-quality ingredients. Meaning: You don't have to take a nap afterwards.

I'm an eavesdropper. That guy was telling them about his China trip. One more fact: he ordered the cornflake encrusted French Toast and man, it looked GOOD.

First off, can I just say, there is now, finally, a very cool service-oriented generation. For a good decade you'd go to many a restaurant and feel as if you were pissing off the people who work there by simply showing up for your reservation. They didn't want their jobs - and they were hard jobs, to be sure - but they kind of let you know they were too good for it. There's a FANTASTIC trend now toward amazingly good service. This is in spades at Blu Jam.

The Host Desk/Front Desk People were super nice, funny, on it and adorable. Loved these guys. And I'm sure had we arrived 20 minutes after we did we would have had a very long wait, but we had about 15 minutes and then were seated. This was shortly before 10am on a Saturday. Here's the other thing: very realistic seating expectations were set by the front desk. And they had our number and texted us when our table was ready so we didn't have to stand right in front of them whipping our heads around every time one of them would duck out from behind their "podium." Actually what we did was take the host's suggestion and went to their bar to get an ice coffee while we waited. It was pretty delicious and right after we ordered it, we were seated.

Norwegian Eggs Benedict at Blu Jam

This is what I chose: The Large and In Charge Norwegian Eggs Benedict with Dill Hollandaise, Spinach and Salmon. In NYC, on the Upper West Side, me and my friend Allison used to go to a place that called this dish Eggs Benny. Allison, if you read this blog please remind me the name of that restaurant joint! Anyway, Blu Jam's version was just as fantastic. And they had a little chive on it that added a light mellow onion touch. Though I could have had potatoes, I ordered the fruit. Considering I was having the Hollandaise I thought on some level I must be healthy. It's always a gamble. I've gotten so hosed with choosing fruit in the past because have you ever noticed when you order fruit in lieu of potatoes they give you pretty much every piece of fruit you don't normally eat and none of it is ripe? It's like hard, freezing cold melon varieties and if you're really unlucky you get some rind thrown in. Well, this was Farmer's Market fresh: Strawberries, grapes, pineapple, blueberries... tart and sweet and at the end of the day, I didn't just feel healthy, I felt respected.

Homemade Granola, Blu Jam

My husband got the granola which has like about 50 ingredients in it (almonds, coconut, flax seed, raisins, you name it). It was so freakin delicious. One of the best granolas in any restaurant I've ever eaten. They gave him a scoop of yogurt (you can get milk) and it was clearly not enough. So they gave him another scoop and I believe they did that free of charge. So nice of them.

French Press Coffee, Blu Jam style

At Blu Jam I had two cups of this Costa Rican (they have a different type daily). Super yummy, edgy, perfect. I could marry it. I'm beginning to think my relationship with coffee is in the unhealthy area. You know what I mean? I love it as if I can't live without it. And by the way, I can't. I might have to soon start to look at my coffee situation. Some day. We quit things in the order they kill us, right? And you know seriously, if I was killed by coffee it wouldn't be the worse thing. I'd certainly die energetically.

TD and our waiter

Doesn't that look like "the film's director" in the background? Or like I captured the image of a ghost? I know. But listen, I just want to say "hi" to our waiter because he was on it, sweet and nice, AND he had on that awesome vintage Yankees shirt (which he got in New Jersey 5 years ago) and I just want to say I had a shirt VERY SIMILAR when I was growing up. Though I have no current particular allegiance to The Yankees (I like both The Yankees and The Mets no matter what's happening or where they are in the running) I will say, seeing this shirt brought back good memories of evenings in The Bronx with my dad and made me like the restaurant more.

Afterwards, we ducked into the American Vintage which is on the same block but I decided I needed to get going. I was heading to Silverlake for a hair consultation (oh my God, it's out. I'm planning on cheating on my hair stylist. Did I already tell you?) and so on my way to my car I ran across this guy:

He had parked his brown Mercedes (sorry Adco, I didn't get a good picture of that and it was a very cool looking coche) and set up a tripod and started taking a video of himself dancing in front of this wall of graffiti:

Your body's on time and your mind is appealing

I asked him if he was the artist and he said no and then took off. God bless him.

Moving east towards my Consultation to Cheat Appointment in Silverlake, I had one final fantastic moment to my morning...

Saturday Morning Car Porn

While listening to "Blue Monday" - Saturdays seem to be 80's satellite radio time - I came across this particularly wonderful car and wanted to share it with you. By the way, Stir Crazy is a fun place for a cup of joe. It's on Melrose & Orange in Hollywood. It's a good writing cafe, you know what I mean? A place you can get a cup of java and plant it for awhile.

Anyway, after "Blue Monday" it was time to admit it. Morning was almost over. I was leaving the magical world and going into my day. So I put Paul's Boutique into the CD player (the mix by DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot and DJ Food) and drove off to Silverlake.

Here's a link to that mix: 3 DJ Mix of Paul's Boutique. Super worth it. Great car music.

All in all, a most relaxing delicious sunny and enjoyable morning in a long while.

To recap: If you got a hankering for a really good breakfast, fresh ingredients, good service, strong and tasty coffee, trust me on this: Blu Jam Cafe. If you want to see some guy dancing in front of a great wall, go right behind the building in the alleyway of Martel, south of Melrose. If the need for good music in your car is required on a sunny Saturday, I recommend New Order's Blue Monday and the 3 DJ mix of Paul's Boutique. If you want a cup of coffee to write in your diary about your caffeine addiction, check out Stir Crazy Cafe in Hollywood.

No matter what, get in your car, open the windows, and turn on your music. It's a beautiful day.

ENJOY!

Blu Jam Cafe is located at 7371 Melrose Avenue, between Martel & Fuller. 323-951-9191. They also just opened a second location in Sherman Oaks on Ventura between Kester and Sepulveda. They're open 7 days a week, 8 - 4pm. It's my understanding they don't take reservations. Also, the head chef and co-owner, Kamil Majer, is a sommelier. There is an array of carefully selected wines and beer, for those of you who partake. Street parking available. I've never been to the Sherman Oaks location so I can't speak to that but as for the Melrose spot, don't go when you're hungry. Be prepared to wait!

Homey Stuff for Hip People: Clover and some other cool places on Rowena

LA works in strips or blocks. If there are at least 3 decent things to see, do or visit on a block, I will go back. One of those blocks, despite the city's best efforts to make everyone stay far away, is the section of Silverlake on Rowena between Fletcher and Hyperion.

The city seems to always be doing some construction on at least one little stretch of this area if not more than a little stretch. Meaning there's traffic. There! I said it. Traffic.

And yet... if you're parking and walking around, who the hell cares?

Because there is good reason to park

My favorite thing in Clover: Cast Iron Dog Coat Hooks. On sale for $16.

Owned by an adorable couple with impeccable taste (Nicole & Danny), what really stands out about Clover is it has some of the most unique, tasteful and wonderful home furnishings, decor, knick knacks and tchotchkes in the city**. Whatever you find here not only serves as great gifts for others but also really nice treats for your very fine self.  I kind of think of it as high-endy type stuff for low-endy type pocketbook owners like myself.

Michael Revil Madjus Deer Mugs.

Above: Rustic, modern designs by Michael Revil Madjus,just $20 per mug.

Adorable little earrings. No brainer gift op.

This is why I always end up at this place. They have this array of cute little earrings that are usually just about 12 to 14 bucks and I always wear them and someone always notices. They're good staple earrings.

Eyeglasses Porn.

My uncle always does this. He buys glasses at CVS or wherever that hopefully fits his prescription. I find this to be totally insane. I would never do this. That being said, these glasses are super cute and pretty inexpensive. They range from the late teens to about 35 bucks.

Birdie Man Plates by Donna Wilson. $37.

I think these are so cute! Makes me want to hug a plate. And as you can see, they also seem to like cakes here. In fact, much that you'll see is homey, fun, cute-- ergo good wedding gift choices. And good buys for domesticats who like to entertain.

$8 per spoon. Talisman Designs.

The book, the spoon and the not pictured vintage-inspired aprons... all combine to make a nice trio of goodies that go together. Perfect for the hip and happening cook; gay, straight, male, female. If I left anyone out, I'm sorry.

Luscious and rich colors for the kitchen. Reminds me of California's Mexican roots. Each cup is 11 bucks and the vase is $45.

Below are these snazzy purses. I call them Barbie Purses.

I had a long, lovely conversation this past weekend where I bonded with a woman over our love for perfumes and the blessings and deficits our having sensitive shnozzes...

Tokyo Milk Perfumes. $33 a bottle. 

These perfumes (pictured above) are great buys and they're awesome. My favorite is Kabuki, Number 9. 33 buckaroos.

Clover's sort of this rockin little find, you know? But like I said, I go back if there are at least 3 things about a stretch I like. So let me continue...

If you walk a little ways west down the same side of the street, set back from the sidewalk you'll find the ever so lovely and peaceful Raven Spa.

Heaven awaits at The Raven Spa, Silverlake

It's been FOREVER since I've gone but seriously if you have a little coin to splurge, DO IT. You walk in and it's like walking into another country. The sidewalk seems SO far away.

Zoning out seems not to be optional

Nikom is my favorite masseuse here - he is amazing. And yet I have a feeling whomever you choose, you won't be disappointed. Pure bliss.

And just a little further down (closer to Hyperion) is a new-ish cafe. I think it's been there for about 2 1/2 years now. The Broome Street General Store. Very cute. They have little gifts and such as well. A bit of a higher price point but really nice stuff. And yet all I care about is...

And these little hand-made pies. YUM.

Rowena is a full little shopping/self-care/nourishment stretch. Slightly annoying due to the 100 year long street construction, but so worth it. I think/bet/hope they're almost done with all that mishegoss soon but in the meantime, there's good reason to park it and hang out.

Clover is located at 2756 Rowena Avenue, LA, CA 90039. Their hours are Mon-Sat, 10-7. Sundays they're open 12-6. There's free parking available behind the store. And by the way: While I didn't make a big deal of it, there are very nice clothes for both men and women at Clover. This includes a very complete and nice array of high-end style jeans from makers like Paige and Citizens for Humanity. You can pick up a pair of sweats there too, which I often do, for under 20 bucks.

The Raven is located at 2910 Rowena Avenue, LA, CA 90039. Their hours are Daily from 10-9. Call 323-644-0240 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but they can't guarantee an opening. Traditional Thai Massages start at $70. The Custom, where you sort of design your massage with your therapist, is $100 for 1 hour. And the Rock Star is $185 for 2 hours and combines a whole slew of services. It's a real nice treat. There's metered parking available on Rowena.

Broome Street General Store is located at 2912 Rowena Avenue, LA, CA 90039. Check their website for hours, as it changes between Summer and Winter. There is outdoor seating.

ENJOY!

**I'm embarrassed to write the words knick knacks and tchotchkes. I feel so strange and conservative and like if you didn't know me, you'd think I was always walking around with a bun and sensible heels. But I did it because that's what those things are and they're the right words.

People in LA Inspiring Me Today

WHO: Olivia Barratier

FROM: Paris, France

CURRENTLY RESIDES: Los Feliz, California

WHO INSPIRES HER: Hieronymus Bosch, Goya, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Turner, Kandinsky. Current artists include Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Gabhann Dunne (an old classmate).

WHAT DOES SHE DO THAT INSPIRES ME?: Creates amazing photo-art that makes me feel happy.

Olivia Barratier in Los Feliz. Photo by Gen Max Photography.

I love seeing art in LA. Often I see it when I'm driving (like the mural on the wall of a CVS in Hollywood on Western - have you seen that? Kind of fantastic). But every now and again I take myself to a museum or gallery or L.A.'s downtown art walk to get a more intimate art fix.

On one of those occasions I came across Olivia Barratier's work at The Robert Reynold's Gallery. That evening was her very first public show and it was captivating. Upon gazing at her work I felt happy... exhilarated.... Fascinated.

The combination of words and images and painting, all layered and blended into and on top of one another brought to mind how we could be looking at anything -- something beautiful, something industrial, something familiar, something exotic -- and be thinking of so many things -- feeling so many emotions at the same time. It's the true state of ambivalence - a word that gets a bad rap. It actually is pretty amazing. Essentially it means the coexistence of opposing feelings. The second definition can be the shmoopy one about indecisiveness. It's the first definition that I'm into - it aptly describes how people really are most of the time. If we can accept ambivalence, we are able to relax much more and understand ourselves better. But that's rare. Usually we're told if x is happening then you should have y feeling. Yet have you ever felt moved and happy but also like you might cry? That's what I'm talking about. And that's what I see in Olivia's art.

The many images, strange colors produced, the realistic qualities juxtaposed against the magical elements, can make one feel as if Olivia Barratier has gotten inside your thought process and put a frame around it. What a remarkable thing it is when an artist is truly able to express the mind's process in the visual.

And she loves L.A.

Being so awestruck by Olivia's art, I decided to ask her how she composed her work. Below is an excerpt from that interview Olivia granted me at her home studio in Los Feliz, this past June.

CG: As you know I’m not an artist and I’m not really in the art world - I’m just a normal person. So I don’t understand how your art works - and it fascinated me when I was at the art show. I’m amazed at how you do these combinations of different things. Tell me a little how it works.

Olivia: To start with I was trained as a photographer so a lot of what I do is photography. But I’m also a painter. So what I do is that I used to work for 10 years in the dark room and I always worked with negatives or transparencies so I would overlay negatives and work with layers and what I’ve developed over the years is I continue to work with film – the medium of film – I also work with digital photography - but what I’m doing is I’m blending what I do in paint with the photos. I’m painting over the negatives and painting over the photos. I’ll either use it as a layer or re-digitize it to work it again into layers. So effectively those images that you see, they’re the result of layering of negatives like they’re all the photos that I take: Layers and Paint.

Layers and Paint from Olivia Barratier

CG: And when you take a photo, how long do you wait before you decide what you'll do with it? Do you let it settle in and then start?

Olivia: I wait 6 months to a year before I actually work with a particular image... You see something, you have an emotional reaction. I think that’s what entices us to take a picture or paint. It’s like we see the world around us and we feel an emotion when we see something and we’re trying to capture that emotion. And I think you know capturing it - I think if we leave time in between going back to that emotion and seeing that image again I think personally for me I feel I need some time to see it with a you know [a] fresh mind or a fresh eye and then I react to it again.

CG: I was just wondering how does LA itself inspire you?

Olivia: Well enormously. I mean I made a very big decision to move here. I was working and living at the time in Montreal and I came here working on a film - and I had come for a couple of days and literally the minute I landed I was like This is it. This is where I want to be. I felt it in everything: All the senses. The light, the smell... everything. What I feel about the city is so strong. The elements that I believe are strongest for me in LA are the architecture and nature. It's a harmony and a confrontation. It's a lot of different things. How nature comes from every crack and grows and is so luscious and huge. The architecture-- the way the light hits everything. How everything is so contrasting. I really feel hugely influenced by Los Angeles. But I really realized that since I've been here I've taken so many photos and I've done illustration and I've been working creatively, that I see the time lapse. I see that now I'm really ready to give the forms and images to how I feel about LA. It's a process. I think everything's a process. And personally for me it takes time.  

CG: Do you feel in a weird way because of your evolution and where you are in your life-- that has a lot to do with it?

Olivia: Yeah. Definitely. Because I think when you start a journey or when you embark on a journey I think at the beginning there’s always that time where all the things that you were used to are gone. You know, all the kind of - I don’t know how you call them in English but.. like buoys in the sea. They are your markings -- the things you’re used to, you suddenly lose those for a moment. You’re in a completely new environment with new people in a new country. I mean it’s a big change. And during that change I think there’s a period where you – I don’t know how to say – you go through your own journey at that point. You know, everything is kind of... different. And either you’re on the outside or you’re on the inside. Like processing all that information. So I think definitely for me there was a long period of gestation. I don’t know what the word is. But period of where creatively I was accumulating and maybe not yet giving it its form.

CG: It needed maturation.

Olivia: Yes.  

Below is the film Olivia saw at 15 that convinced her one day she would live in LA. It was her destiny.

    .

Olivia was born in Paris and grew up in an amazing family. When her parents met her mother was a dancer from England and her father was an AD. They fell for one another while working on Jacques Demy's "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort." 

CG: I was reading your Timeline. And I was like Okay, this person’s born into the coolest family in the coolest place. Like I’m from this boring suburb in Westchester, New York, and I was like “Why did I get that shaft?” But I guess I was just curious like do you feel similarities from where you came from to where you are now? In terms of your environment, social life, family?

Olivia: Well LA is absolutely the opposite of Paris. I mean it couldn’t be more different. Paris and LA are miles away from one another. Really in every sense. I mean every sense. In every sense. The air, the sky -- everything is totally different there. But I think now that I found in me my home -- then all of my past, and my family and all of that now makes 1. Now it’s all coming together. 

From Olivia's Timeline on her website, I learned a bit about her trajectory. Being in a Jacques Demy film as a young girl, taking her first photographs in NYC as a teenager visiting the states, fleeing to Ireland moments before she was supposed to attend University in France, studying art in Dublin, learning about photo retouching in advertising, doing her first post work for John Boorman.

CG: Yeah, it seems like you really went through a journey. When I was reading that timeline I just thought you have kind of gone through a truly adventurous life. And it seemed like some of it was just age, time, friends -- but I got this feeling you were always pursuing art. There was this thing in you. Do you feel that way?

Olivia: Well, exactly. When you were talking about being born into the family I was born in which is it’s a wonderful experience but I could have stayed in Paris and worked in the film industry with my family. So I think the fact that I didn’t do that and I made a very conscious choice – I went to art school in Dublin and then continued- I really was seeking my path. Even if I wasn’t aware of it I think creatively I’ve just I’ve never for one second stopped creating. It’s like something that I do all the time. But I think I needed to do it - it needed to be unique to my own, I think.

One of Olivia's Diary pieces. Photo by Gen Max Photography.

CG: Your own experience -- your own life.

Olivia: Yeah.

CG: About Dublin -that's when you first started to potentially play around with negatives?

Olivia: Yeah, exactly. When I arrived in Dublin it was after the Baccaulerate France so I was 19 and basically because I was supposed to go to University in France which obviously I didn’t go to.  I worked for a year to get into this art school... I lived in a house with a lot of musicians and there were some friends who would come over - I spent like the whole year basically creating my portfolio. Actually those are the two friends. (points to a photograph) They’re the people who taught me everything. Jeff and Gordie.

CG: When you say they taught you everything, what do you mean?

Olivia: Well basically every couple of evenings they would come around to the house – which like was a house where every night there would be 50 or 100 people and parties it was like on 3 levels. And every couple of nights they’d arrive. And you know no one ever slept in the house. Like everyone would stay up all night. So I would always be drawing. So Jeff for example, he’s like a guru of graphic design and photo retouching. He’s incredible. And Gordon is a photographer.  So they would come every couple of evenings. And Jeff would maybe arrive with maybe three rotring pens or a paper pad or Gordie would arrive with a roll of film. And Jeff would say to me Okay with that drawing do something like a CD cover or a t-shirt and they would both give me these kind of projects. They had gone to that university that I was applying to and they were working in this incredible advertising studio so they kind of were mentors. They helped me to structure my ideas; to have a kind of a project. And Jeff’s father had a printing press and Jeff would always bring me some kind of art material. He then one night took one of my drawings and scanned it into the computer and spent all night doing a book cover. So I physically saw one of my drawings become this incredible graphic image he put into a book cover. It was just really completely inspiring. So then the night I graduated they both said to me, At 8 o’clock tomorrow morning you’re gonna be at the studio. You’re starting your work experience. The studio was a photographer’s studio. 5 photographers worked there. Jeff was the main re-toucher. And I worked in that studio for 6 years and that’s where the negative – all of that came to be.

CG: So cool. That must have been so much fun.

Olivia: It was incredible. I worked so hard and I had the most fun. It was really, really amazing.

CG: And it seems actually on that topic, I was just curious, because you seem to – and I don’t know if this is the right interpretation but – you seem to wear a lot of hats. When I was looking at your site, you genuinely are skilled in so many different elements. There are a lot of different things that you can do and that being said, and knowing that you’ve been trained in so many different things and you know how to use anything from Avid to After Effects to Photo Shop I’m just curious is there some identity that you have like where you sort of know or feel that you fit into a category or is there no category and you don’t even worry about that kind of stuff?

Olivia: No, I don’t think there’s a category. Because I remember when I went to an interview for one of those courses previous to that university and they said to me, But what do you do? Because I was presenting different stuff and I was just like, If you’re a creative person, you’re a creative person, like you don’t have to be one thing. And I think people do have a tendency to want someone to be one thing and think that if they do one thing, they’re very good at it.  But I think if you’re creative all of these whether it’s paint or cameras or Photoshop or programs, they’re all different tools. They all serve the means of creation and expression.

CG: There was something that you wrote on that site, that I feel like you said something like Now that I have all the tools and know how to use them… It was almost like “Now I don’t even have anything in my way. Like I can fully express how I want to express.” Is that accurate?

Olivia: Yeah, it is.

Olivia Barratier photographed in her studio in June by Gen Max, Photographer.

WHEN ASKED WHAT SHE SEES FOR HER FUTURE: 

"I have a million billion images to create."