Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Imagine real life magic. In a flute. Or rather, in an opera about a magical flute! Seems a little confusing, I know. But in the spirit of trying new things from time to time around here - we share with you the experience of taking in an opera.
“The Magic Flute” is one of the world’s most beloved—and oldest—operas. The production opened with a flourish on a fantastic Friday evening in Vienna on September 30, 1791. It’s a timeless tale of love, purity and discipline triumphing over greed and vengefulness.
The melodies are familiar and the story has stood the test of time. Over 200 years later, we’re still experiencing the magic. Last Saturday night, thanks to the Minnesota Opera, I got to take in “The Magic Flute” via a charming production that evoked from the silent film era.
Throughout the performance, the main characters find strength and guidance in a magical flute. But while experiencing the Minnesota Opera’s rendition, I realized that there much more magic to be found in the tale than in just a fantastical woodwind instrument.
The traveling tour of the show may be making a stop near you, but for now, we share our specific experience here in Minnesota. The Minnesota Opera let audiences find magic in mixing the digital with the timeless. The entire production was accompanied by highly stylized and synchronized hand-drawn animation, which took nearly three years to create. The characters seamlessly (and with impeccable timing) interacted with their digital co-stars. The result was a whimsically visual fairytale setting.
It’s also striking and important to note that this animated wunderscape makes the whole experience much less traditional for people who haven’t considered an opera in the past. If you love a visual delight full of flourish and surprise, this may be the very reason you choose this opera over any other for your first time.
But by far the most magical element of the performance is Mozart’s dazzling score. All of the character, magic and drama from the opera comes from the music. From folk-like tunes to soaring arias in the most dramatic fashion, Mozart’s music has the ability to sweep audiences into a tale so fantastical and wild, it will surely be in performance for the next 200 years, and then some.
To everyone who thought opera was stodgy, antiquated or dull, take a chance and attend a performance. We have a hunch that you’ll find more magic than you may think.
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Photo credit: Dan Norman.
Post by Emma Bauer. Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Alicia Gibb is an artist, an engineer, a rule breaker and a hardware hacker. She’s also the founder of Lunchbox Electronics, a company that creates innovative and playful products with imagination and a hardcore passion for open source hardware. It’s R&D plus art and a healthy dose of geekiness.
And get this: Gibb created Build Upons—LEGO-compatible, light-up bricks. Put us on that pre-order list asap.
In the meantime, check out this stellar lady geek’s Q&A with us!
Q: What was your inspiration for launching Lunchbox Electronics?
A: I decided to start a company to fund my R&D habits and enable me to mass manufacture products. Lunchbox Electronics is an R&D Lab inspired by art and engineering—my two backgrounds. I mostly just wanted to invent things, sometimes artsy, sometimes engineery, and sometimes just plain silly. Having my own company seemed to be the easiest way to accomplish that.
Q: What’s your current favorite Lunchbox Electronics toy?
A: My favorite toy that we manufacture would be our Stop and Go Soldering Kit. It’s a DIY soldering kit that you can keep playing with by integrating it into your existing LEGO sets once you build it.
My favorite “toy” as in favorite piece of equipment at Lunchbox Electronics is definitely the Lulzbot 3D printer.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
A: When I was 5, I dressed up as an engineer for Halloween, when I was 6 I went as a robot. I think I knew at a pretty early age.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: I would take out a minion for a job interview, because I have a lot of manufacturing to do! I would probably order a banana shake for solidarity since minions are into that whole banana thing.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: I would tell my 13-year-old self not to get deterred by a few bad apples out there and trust my gut to go into science - but if I had done that, I might have been too busy being a research scientist at NASA to start my own R&D company. So I guess I would just tell my 13-year-old self that she is awesome!
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Meet Sam Skyler. She’s an artist, creator, geek, and huge fan of kaleidoscopes. She’s currently creating an art book filled with vibrant kaleidoscope deceptions of your favorite geeky characters.
That’s right—you’re favorite geeky characters. The first half of her art book is designed by Skyler; the second half is filled with art chosen by the supporters of her Kickstarter campaign. So go fund a fellow lady geek and see your favorite characters and worlds through the Skyler’s kaleidoscope eye.
Read on to discover how Skyler discovered her passion, her geekiness, and at the same time, her courage.
And be sure to follow her on social! Like her on Facebook, follow her on Instagram, and remember: she’s got that Kickstarter campaign going until November 3.
Q: How did you discover your passion for art?
A: Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to create art. Being able to see colors evolve and transform always captured and held my attention. When I saw my first movie in theaters, which was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, seeing the characters move around and how the backgrounds were painted is what got me hooked on illustration and animation. It was from that moment on that I’ve always wanted to understand and study color, movement and design, and how could I capture those same feelings in all of my artwork.
Q: Where did you find the inspiration to create your Kaleidoscope geeky art book?
A: The inspiration to create my Kaleidoscope art book evolved when I was creating designs for my Star Wars 365 art a day series. It’s a project that I started last year on December 18th that will end the day that episode VII come out! I created a few Kaleidoscope designs and people really enjoyed them and asked if I could create new designs of different characters or universes. I loved that idea and realized that it would be wonderful to showcase these designs in a book. I decided to take my dream over to Kickstarter so it could become a collaboration with other people willing to contribute. I’ll be designing the first half of the book, and the second half of the book will be designs voted on by every Kickstarter supporter! It will be fun to see how the book evolves!
And I’m also looking forward to making a few of the designs into a coloring book. Every backer will receive one and I’ll also donate one to a children’s hospital or school to help keep geek culture and the arts alive!
Q: When did you first discover you were geeky?
A: When I was younger, I never really felt like I fit in because I loved different things than all the other girls and was obsessed with animation, Star Wars, and other sci-fi and nerdy fandoms. When it came time to enter high school, I ended up switching schools so I could be in the airbrushing, art and animation classes. It was there that I received an amazing foundation of the arts and animation. Many of my peers had these same passions and it was wonderful to be in a community that was positive and supported one another.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Good question! I think it would be really fun to take Buzz Lightyear and go to the Mad Hatter’s tea part from Alice in Wonderland and celebrate everyone’s unbirthdays! And then go dancing! Who knew Buzz had such amazing dance moves until Toy Story 3!
Q: What would you tell your 13 year old self?
A: I would tell my 13 year old self that following your dreams is one of the hardest and most difficult things you will ever go through. But it will also be the most rewarding because of the lessons you will learn and the people you will meet along the way. Create the work that makes your heart happy and never let others tell you that you can’t love something, be something, or achieve your dreams. When you put time, energy and love, into anything that you create, and you find the courage to share that with the world, that is when you’ll connect with people who want to be connected to you. And also brace yourself, you will see multiple new Star Wars movies in your lifetime! So be proud of the things you love.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
You’ve already met the creators and writers of the new webcomic, “Fashion Forward,” sisters Shawnelle and Shawnee Gibbs. Catch up on their Lady Geek(s) of the Week feature here. Now, get introduced to Linda Chung, interior page artist, and JM Tolman, the cover artist.
Together, these ladies bring the story of a young, time-traveling fashion designer to life. Read on and get to know them!
Q: What drew you to Fashion Forward as an artist?
Linda: It’s comics about fashion!
And time traveling! But mainly, fashion! I love looking at
fashion and how things are designed so it just clicked for me. When I met
the creators/writers Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs, they were such an
enthusiastic and creative pair. The storyline was great and so I jumped
into it. With Fashion Forward, it was definitely a new and different thing for
me to draw–kinda like trying a new and different fashion style. It was
exciting as an artist.
Q: What was your process for creating the art pages for Fashion Forward?
Linda: The process starts with the writers giving me the text, layout, and loose description for a set of pages and then I create them using photoshop on my Cintiq. There were reference images of fashion and people that they sent me and I would also look up. It was a fun challenge for me to incorporate them throughout the comics. The most enjoyable part was getting to finalize the sketches! It’s such a delight to look back on the pages and see it all come together.
Q: What did you consider when creating the cover for the inaugural issue of Fashion Forward?
JM: For covers, I always start off with four rough sketches, each illustrating a different idea. Once one idea is chosen, I do a slightly more refined sketch with four color variations. After the final rough is chosen, I move onto the inking stage, which is entirely digital.
Finally, after the inks are done and approved, I color the piece, which is my favorite part. I love playing around with color!
Q: A little bird told us that you two know each other from art school. Was it serendipitous collaborating with an old friend?
JM: I did! We even graduated at the same time. And it was very much a serendipitous thing- while I did read the story before I drew the sketches for the first cover, I didn’t realize who the interior artist was until much later. It was a pleasant surprise!
Q: What do you want readers to take away from your art?
Linda: As an artist, I would love it if readers can immerse themselves in the world I created and travel through it fluidly. I love telling a story visually. On a deeper level, I hope readers understand that fashion, like art, is unique and different for everybody, and there are many ways to enjoy it and share it with the world.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
JM: There was no discovery, unless you count the first time I heard the word. When, at the age of four, you drag a Godzilla figure everywhere you go and your hero is Princess Leia, it is very, very hard to deny that you are a geek. I didn’t even try, heh.
Linda: Sometimes I’m still rediscovering my geekiness! There are so many new and amazing things to geek over. The first recollection would probably be in middle school when I watched a lot of anime and made fanart and cosplayed. I thought it was something that everybody liked and did for a hobby, and I hung out with people who enjoyed the same throughout high school. Looking back now, what I thought was cool and popular was considered “geeky” and not widely acknowledged.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
