Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 3, No. 27 - July 8, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Huber’s Hiccups..................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals.................................4,6
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
75˚/62˚
Saturday
Sunny
73˚/61˚
Sunday
Sunny
72˚/61˚
Lawndale Tribune
AND lAwNDAle News
Hawthorne Press Tribune
Featuring the Weekly Newspapers of Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale
Celebrating the Life and Legacy
of Long Time Band Director
Mr. Conrad Hutchinson is retiring after forty-four years of service. He was recognized by Mayor James T. Butts Jr. and members of the community. Round of applause for Mr. Hutchinson who spent his life
spreading the joy of music to the students of Inglewood High School. Photo courtesy City of Inglewood.
South Bay’s Natalie Strong Attempts
to “Create Gold out of Every Day.”
By Duane Plank
Communicate with El Segundo resident
Natalie Strong, who serves as the cities Arts and
Cultural Advisory Council vice-chairperson,
and her return email features the motivating
tagline “create gold out of every day.”
So, what does that mean? Strong is a child
of the evil empire a tad bit south, Manhattan
Beach (just kidding, Plank spent his formative
years in MB, which at one-time was
a quaint little beach town), an attendee of
the Chadwick School up in the Peninsula,
and a USC collegiate grad who spent some
schooling time in Kent, England, a year she
said was “amazing.”
Instead of encapsulating her living life
to the fullest philosophies, let us let Strong
have center stage. In her own words, we
will let Strong tell you about her motivating
philosophies. “Attempting to create gold out
of every day” is my artistic philosophy,” she
said. “The Alchemists (her email handle
starts with alchemist) were trying to make
gold out of lead, and though they never succeeded,
they never stopped believing that it
could be done. Pens and Paints and Paper
are my lead, and whether or not I make
gold out of them, I will never stop trying. I
will never stop believing that it is possible.”
If you want to view some of her artistic
renderings, you can access them through her
Instagram account.
Continued Strong: “My hashtag #letthemfindmeworking
is another idea that I live
by. When inspiration hits, when the Muses
visit, if I am working, then I am open to
receive that inspiration. Maybe what I am
working on today is nothing special, but you
never know. If the Muses visit, let them find
me working.”
On settling in El Segundo, Strong said that
“the thing I like best about (El Segundo)
is the scale. It is a place that is built and
operates on an individual human scale. One
person can make a difference; leave a mark.
It is possible to feel at least like you know
everyone. I can walk anywhere that I might
need to go. It is possible to be familiar with
all of it. It’s a knowable place.”
Someone who has met and associated
with Strong in our “knowable place” is
Josette Murphy. Murphy is the owner of
About Space Interiors in town, and she has
collaborated with Strong multiple times to
showcase Natalie’s artistic renderings during
the always popular Art Walk, which, if the
chips fall in the right direction, will resume
this year in late August.
Murphy has known Strong for eight or so
years, with their friendship starting when the
mom’s shepherded their kids to-and-from
school. Murphy said that their paths have
crossed in many ways. “We are both artists,
in different media,” Murphy said, noting that
her artistic design specialties include fabric
and tile and paint and appliances and lumber,
while Strong specializes in “fiber arts,” but
she also “paints and draws, and does all sorts
of other things.”
Murphy said that their shared interest
in artistic projects had led her to commission
Strong to design not only “a beautiful
custom quilt for my own house,” but also
pieces for Murphy’s clients, including
embroidered and painted items. Murphy
has also hosted Strong’s work during prior
Art Walks.
“We are kindred spirits,” Murphy said.
“Natalie cares so much,” noting her work
for the El Segundo library and the arts and
El Segundo’s Natalie Strong. Photo provided by Natalie Strong.
cultural committee. “She does it with her
whole heart, with a passion for promoting
art in all of its forms. She is definitely a
voice of art in town.”
As previously noted, Strong was a Manhattan
Beach gal who attended Chadwick,
moved for an awhile to Hermosa Beach, and
settled in El Segundo with husband Richard.
He just happened to be recently profiled in
the Herald. Why land in El Segundo?
Strong cited the strength of the El Segundo
Unified School District, as well as
El Segundo being touted as a good place
to raise her children. And is a city located
close to her day job, which she has plied
for nearly two decades, as she runs her
father’s dental office in Manhattan Beach.
Strong said that her proximity to her
workplace, as well as her proximity to
her boss (her dad), has allowed her to work
a schedule that not only has provided the
opportunity to attend her children’s events,
See Natalie Strong, page 5