We love to divide things into categories of two.  Tall or short. Hot or cold. Liberal or conservative. And then there’s creative, or not. 

That one’s simply not true. Everyone has something they want to see come to life. Everyone has a vision of something they’d love to create that doesn’t exist… yet.

18 years ago, Chris Dykes started tracking his habits on an Excel spreadsheet. In the course of the next 18 years, Chris quit his job and co-founded an app-building business, Clear Blue Design. With this new company at his disposal, Chris looked at his spreadsheet - which he was still using every day - and came to the conclusion there had to be a better way. 

That’s when Chris and his team created the app, Ever Better. Subscribers choose what they want to improve - fitness, finances, or whatever they want -  and the app gives them a way to measure their personal growth. 

When it comes to being creative, not everyone gets their foot in the door right away.  Claudine Diamond, owner of Blue Lotus Visions, didn’t find her passion until a little later in life. In 2010, she started teaching herself how to paint with acrylics, then oils, then watercolor and now, 15 years later, she’s landed on mixed media.

Claudine works with botanical materials, some found in her own garden, that she transfers onto paper using a gel plate and acrylic paint. 

Through her company, Claudine is building a community of artists. Together they host call-to-artist parties where they collaborate on singular pieces of art with upwards of six artists creating one piece. 

In a world where art can provoke several emotions, Claudine prides herself on making art that makes people happy.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

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