2022 Surf Art Calendar
December
“Manhattan Beach North”
By: Emilie Rogondino
STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE
On this day in October 2021, instead of going home with her normal Wednesday MBMS carpool, I picked Emilie up from school and took her to get a Covid test that afternoon. She was planning to go see the band Machine Gun Kelly at the Greek Theater with her mom on Friday, and she needed a negative test to get into the show. After the test, we had 45 minutes until we received the results back, so I took her to see if we could get a picture for the Surf Art Calendar as our print deadline was looming. We parked next to the Starbucks on Manhattan Beach Blvd, one of her favorite spots downtown to hang out with friends, and walked down to the Manhattan Beach pier.
Walking towards the pier, I asked her to take pictures that had meaning to her. So, as we approached the beach she took shots of the waves and surfers in the water, a shot down the railing of the pier with the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the pier in focus and then she took this shot of the beach facing North with the lifeguard truck and tower in the foreground and Santa Monica in the distance. I picked this image because I felt it represented her transition in the last year from going to school in Los Angeles which faces North of the pier, to the South Bay (Manhattan Beach) where she started middle school this year at MBMS.
PERSONAL CONNECTION
All I can say is that she’s growing up too fast. I am beyond proud of this little bugger for doing well in school, excelling at soccer and for navigating the perils of middle school.
ARTIST BIO
Emilie Rogondino is a 12 year old girl who loves to play soccer for her club team Santa Monica Surf, hang out with friends, and spend time at the beach. She’s in the 6th Grade at Manhattan Beach Middle School. She also enjoys travel, making Tik-Tok videos and taking photos of her daily adventures. If not in class or on the soccer field, Emilie can be found exploring the town with her friends on their electric bikes.
