Meet the Spring 2023 intern class! Icah, Jaclyn, and Mikaela are a power trio who are ready to take the spring 2023 season by storm. With focuses in Photography, Writing, and Graphic Design, this rockstar team has big dreams for PATTERN and the all ambition to achieve them. Keep an eye out for their upcoming projects and fresh faces at PATTERN events!
Icah Watkins
Hometown: Avon, Indiana
School: Herron School of Art and Design
PATTERN Focus: Graphic Design
Instagram: @theicahverse
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
Probably Prince because we’d definitely have pancakes for lunch. I think we would get along.
What song is your anthem right now?
My favorite band is Tennis. Their genre is dream pop; definitely has a bit of a 60’s influence. They have a song right now called “One Night” with the Valet—it is just beautiful and dreamy and I am very excited for their new album to be fully released.
What do you want to get out of this internship?
I want a space to collaborate with other people who might have skills and ideas that I don’t have. I’m really excited to connect with the community and experience more of the diversity it has to offer. I also want to sharpen up my graphic design skills and get a better understanding of what the actual working world will be like.
What is a strength of yours? A weakness?
I would say being able to shift gears really quickly, thinking on my toes and thinking in unconventional and creative ways. I have ADHD and I’ve realized over the last few years that it can be an asset sometimes, because I’m able to hop from thing to thing quickly. A weakness of mine is that I tend to get in my own way because of anxiety. Sometimes I let the little voice in my head lead me a little bit too much and so I want to challenge that little guy up there and work on accepting the idea that I am worthy of good things and that I am capable of achieving anything I set my mind to.
What’s a goal you want to accomplish before the end of the year?
This semester I’m taking a sculpture class, and I would really like to do a large-scale install of some of my work before my time is up at school. Also, my drag family puts on a huge carnival every year, so I would like to elevate my performance art and bring something special and memorable to that event.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to push my performance art to the next level and begin traveling to showcase my work. I would definitely like to be freelancing full-time. I also hope I’m still on the path of taking care of my mental and physical health.
Jaclyn Fulscher
Hometown: LaGrange, Illinois
School: Butler University
PATTERN Focus: Writing
Instagram: @jaclynfulscher
Do you have any key memories of moments from your childhood where you knew writing was something you wanted to pursue?
I remember when I was in seventh grade, I had this English teacher who would read over my work, and she would look at me and go, “You are insane.” She would always rave about my work and always talk about it because I wrote pretty dark stories as a kid. She would be like, “I can’t believe some girl in a little butterfly dress wrote this.” I would say she’s the first person who really believed in me and my writing.
Who inspires you creatively?
Honestly, I would say not necessarily a person, but music. Music is my biggest motivator when writing creative fiction. I definitely pull from that. And when I work on things like short writing or books, I make playlists.
Do you have a secret talent?
I can make trumpet noises with my mouth by, like, putting my teeth against my lips.
What’s an album you’ve been enjoying lately?
Oh, that’s tough. I hate to say this, but Taylor Swift’s Midnights, only because there’s been so much raving about it. I’m not a huge Taylor Swift fan, but that’s just the most recent thing that’s going on.
If you could be any animal, what would it be?
A butterfly. Once I went to this German immersion camp, and at the end, this counselor gave a bunch of people in our group our superlatives, and he said I was like a butterfly because I seem to kind of just flutter through life.
Mikaela Helane
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
School: Columbia College Chicago Graduate
PATTERN Focus: Photography & Writing
Instagram: @mikaelahelane
What is one place that you would consider a hidden gem of Indy?
Lux & Ivy. It’s a really cute little boutique.
If you could be a photographer in a fantasy novel, which novel would that be?
Any of Cassandra Clare’s books; I would love to join her universe.
What piece of advice has been the most impactful in building your skills as a photographer?
All of my professors told me over and over to take every critique with a grain of salt because art is so subjective, and each person you encounter is going to like or dislike different things. I think coming to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like or appreciate your art helps to get you in the mindset of still pursuing it and focusing more on yourself, and less on what other people are going to think about what you’re creating.
What are you looking forward to the most in your PATTERN Spring 2023 internship?
I am looking forward to doing more fashion editorials. I love creating editorials and the conception process and figuring out what lighting is going to be used and how fashion is going to go along with that as well. I love everything about the editorial process.
If you could wear only one pattern for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Houndstooth. Or plaid. I’m a big plaid and houndstooth girl.
