Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Liou.
Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It was a pretty organic start: I was walking through Target one day, shopping for a birthday gift for my boyfriend. I had absolutely no idea what to get, so I went straight for the craft isle (hand-made items are usually a welcome gift). Lo and behold, some wood slices caught my eye. I love the earthy, warm feeling a piece of wood brings, so I grabbed an impromptu four slabs. I was very keen on the idea of using the sharpness of geometric abstractions to contrast the organic nature of the wood, so I started with a series of geometric animals.
At some point, I was inspired to create a deer with the tag line “BUCK YOU” underneath. I was in love with it but decided I wanted to spread some of the joy. AKA, I wanted to sell it! I was still in college, so I listed it on our “thrift shop” Facebook community, and someone took it home with them within the week! Thus, the (current day) spirit of laulaupaints was born.
Fun fact: My Instagram account was originally just created to organize my art pics and encourage me to art more. Its purpose still pretty much the same, actually…..the only change is that you can now DM me to take home some of the pieces 😉 haha.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s never easy; I’m not doing this full time, and arranging time between work, school and other responsibilities has always been a struggle. I also feel the pressure to “brand”, as I see many artists on Instagram do, but naturally, my interests jump from one place to the next. If you take a look on my Instagram account, I have gone from wood burning to paintings of clothes, with portraits and pressed flowers thrown in between. I know my aesthetic, but my focus does not stand still. This, coupled with time constraints, makes creating a branded account difficult. I am OK with this because my initial approach to my art was fun, but part of me always wonders how much farther I can take my designs in the business sense. I’ve hung in coffee shops with some success, but I would love to have a real Etsy account and/or find a permanent venue.
Please tell us about Laulaupaints.
I work a lot on wood rounds. I love exploring the pairing of materials/textures, and wood rounds are such a beautiful base. This is what lead me to resining pressed flowers onto wood rounds, which is one of my latest fascinations. I press all the flowers myself, to get the length/styles I want.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I’m not sure; this has all been a huge learning experience, and (not to sound cheesy) each lesson I’ve appreciated. I do my crafty/artsy things on the side, so all of the experiences that came with hanging in coffee shops, listing 1 item on Etsy that never got views, renting a table at a craft market, etc. were all great, no matter the outcome. To have the luxury of mingling in the creative community& NOT staring at my computer all day(as I do at my day job) is a blessing.
Image Credit:
Chormologue Photography, me
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