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The argyle academy是由Mike Lowery创办的一所学院，只要你是怪兽小孩就有资格入读。里面的学员包括叫Lionel的吸血猫，叫Marcus的木乃伊，叫Matthew的章鱼，叫Tyson的小鸟，叫Patrick的吸血鬼，叫Joshua的狼人……Mike每天的工作就是调教这班怪兽小孩，并制作出一系列手工产品，除了插画外，还有杯子、卡、T-shirt、手提包等，手工产品的所得收入都投入到怪兽学院的发展中。

Mike Lowery是一个活跃在华盛顿的艺术家，他的作品曾刊于在《Print Magazine》, 《Readymade》, 《Little Engines》,《the Washington Post》，他曾经到中国参加过”Replacement” Chinese Contemporary Gallery, Beijing, China的展览，参展的是一条“Let’s Never Even Die”的短片。当提到他第一次到中国的经历，Mike就兴奋不已。

http://argyleacademy.com/

Photos from: Mike Lowery

Monday | 农历十月初三
In USA, Foodoll meets Mike. The Argyle Academy was founded by Mike as an outlet for his handmade cards, shirts and books with Lionel the Vampire Cat and his friends.

Foodoll: “Sometimes I like coffee, but sometimes I hate it.”
Mike: “Why? Coffee is my favorite.”
Foodoll: “Because I think it’s unhealthy drink although it taste good.”
Mike: “Well, I think I drink too much coffee.”
我想，我喝得太多咖啡了。

Odds and ends are the great materials
Actually, my wife Rachel does most of the cooking. She likes trying new recipes, which I really appreciate. I mostly cook small snacks, like toast and coffee. I drink a lot of coffee. Probably too much.
One night my wife couldn’t find anything to eat, so I just started throwing odds and ends together and it turned out great.

Coffee is Mike’s favorite
My favorite thing to make is coffee in my French press coffee maker. I buy imported Mexican coffee beans from Goya because it’s very inexpensive, but still delicious. I like to get the dark, espresso roast because it gives the brew a stronger taste. I never, ever use a coffee machine because coffee machines burn the coffee.  I like the process of boiling the water over the stove and I like the feeling of pressing the grounds to the bottom of the press.

Mike’s favor meals
Breakfast: I usually wake up around 11, because I go to bed somewhere between 4 and 6 in the morning. So, I’ll eat a cheese danish, or scrambled eggs. Sometimes I’ll skip breakfast and eat a light lunch instead.
Lunch: Lately I haven’t been eating a lot for lunch. If I do eat, I’ll have something simple like soup, or a quesadilla.
Dinner: Dinner is in my wife’s hands. She makes a different dish almost every night! Some of my favorites so far are pork chops with cumin, anything curried, chili, and balsamic chicken.

Mike: “I’m a huge fan of traditional Indian and Chinese food.”
Foodoll: “I like all food from different places, but my mood affect my taste.”
Mike: “Oh, I’m a hungry man, if no food, I have no idea.”
我是传统印度菜与中国菜的狂热粉丝。

I’ve mentioned that I like coffee a lot, but I’m also a huge fan of traditional Indian and Chinese food. We just got back from a show I had in Beijing.
That was our first time in China. And I’ve never had such good food in my life. Everywhere we went we just ordered the chef’s favorite foods, which was a good decision, because we ate like royalty.

Eating plays a big role because I’m always hungry. A lot of my drawings and comics tend to deal with that weakness that’s programmed into me.

Mike’s favorite creative stages
I have two favorite stages in the creative process. The first is the most important, it’s the moment when everything you’ve been working on or thinking about comes together and you realize that what you’re doing is new and it looks exactly the way you want it to.  It’s the moment that you realize that you’re making something that is really excellent. My second favorite part is getting paid.

Mike’ s daily schedule
10-11am: Wake up, check email while I eat breakfast.
12 - 6pm: Run errands (buy supplies, etc), work on freelance projects, nap, book keeping stuff for argyle academy. (answer emails, update blog, make calls)
6 - 10pm :  Spend time with wife, eat dinner, watch some TV or go out Together.
10pm - 4am: Work on illustrations, paintings, music and other projects.
4am-11am: Sleepy time

Mike’s next plan
Right now I’m working day and night (literally) on the Argyle Academy. We’re hoping to really start putting out a lot of new products soon with the kids from the site. 

以上访问已刊登于《Affa hands and minds cultzine》first issue