Sharon Ann Lee’s Muse Is David Bowie

The Maker City LA Co-Founder Climbed Up to the Hollywood Sign Before She Was 10 Years Old

Sharon Ann Lee is the co-founder of Maker City LA, a workplace for artists and entrepreneurs throughout Los Angeles. Before she participated in a discussion about the future of creativity in Los Angeles, she talked about her creative routine, legalizing pot, and transcendental love poetry.

Q:

What’s one of your earliest memories of making something?


A:

My mom worked as a seamstress downtown. So I think I probably sewed something, like a ’70s collar attached to some hideous vest.


Q:

How did you get in trouble as a kid?


A:

I was an unsupervised latchkey kid. My friends and I used to come to the [La Brea] Tar Pits, and just cruise around. We climbed up to the Hollywood sign when I was like 9 years old.


Q:

What’s your favorite use of public space in Los Angeles?


A:

An unexpected gathering—CicLAvia, a flash mob. I like events that mix places and communities.


Q:

Do you have a favorite magazine?


A:

I think there aren’t many good magazines anymore. They’re all petrified. I like ClickHole and the Onion. There’s an art to satire.


Q:

What’s the best thing to do in Claremont, California, where you got your undergraduate degree?


A:

Afghan patties and eggs at Walter’s Restaurant. I have been known to drive out there just for them.


Q:

If you could legalize one crime, which would it be?


A:

Legalize pot, for sure. Most scientists would say that if alcohol and pot were discovered at the same time, they’d have banned alcohol instead.


Q:

What’s one thing youth culture understands today that everyone else doesn’t?


A:

This is true for any part of youth culture at any time: They don’t know that they should be jaded yet. As a result, there’s this lovely openness and sense of experimentation. It’s like when you’re a tourist—it gives you an open mind. When you’re young, you don’t think you know everything yet.


Q:

What’s one piece of art that’s personally important to you?


A:

The discography of David Bowie. He was my muse when I was in high school. I loved how courageous he was. My parents wanted me to be a good Asian student, but I could still have a wild mind.


Q:

You wrote about “transcendental love poetry” for your undergraduate thesis. What is that, and why do you like it?


A:

In the Transcendental movement, you can choose your path to transcendence. Some poets explored love as something that can transport you to that ecstatic state. I’ve always loved poetry, and I think love is the most important energy in the universe.


Q:

What helps you get creative?


A:

I have a whole system. First, I go exploring: I go outside of my normal patterns of where I drive, where I eat. Then I go do some physical activity where I don’t have to think much, like spinning. And then I go to a Korean spa. It’s an ongoing process—you can’t get it all done in one day.


Q:

If you had to learn a new musical instrument, which would you choose?


A:

Electric guitar. My daughter’s taking it right now.


*Photo by Aaron Salcido.