We recently connected with Amanda Lawson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I don’t wonder about a regular job, I make my self remember. I came back to art after working to help support my family and after being told by others that sometimes you “just have to be practical”. However, on occasion I think to myself that a regular 8-5 job would be easier. I get tied up in drama or distracted from my goals and work and feel lost in the sea of doubt that plagues some of us.

Sometimes when I’m frustrated with how things are going with my work, I make myself think back to life before I returned to my art. I worked at a public health clinic in rural Oklahoma for ten years as a front desk clerk. I was the first person someone saw as they came in for services and often people coming into our office were not in the best of places either physically or emotionally. I was regularly needing to diffuse stressful situations and misconceptions and it took a toll on my heart. The wave of people’s needs felt relentless and the desperation of other’s situations was heart rending on the worst of days. I remember the good times, watching children grow and prosper and the harder times, like COVID. I had almost zero time to work creatively, to the point that I really only sketched on post it notes around information I needed to remember or pass on. I left public health in late 2020 and healthcare entirely in 2021 and what I took away from that time was that everyone, struggles whether it’s seen or hidden. Everyone has lows and needs help sometimes, that it is ok to ask for help. That sometimes the highs and lows happen at the same time and people need support for both, and people, myself included, don’t have to be alone at either end of things. Happiness isn’t necessarily my goal, peace is and I am more peace-filled when I’m painting regularly. I’m so grateful for where I am and what I’m doing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a deeply private person and struggle with putting myself forward. Growing up moving around yet with deep rural roots, there was always a dichotomy between town and home and I feel like while it’s not exactly obvious in my work, it’s underlying structure. Much of the concepts in my work has a very between two places theme: Town and home, Mythology and real, Choctaw and not, Abstract and less so. Even if they aren’t explicit in imagery or anything else, the torn between ideas and places feeling is underlying in most things I produce. We can be the peace or the storm and sometimes we are both.

I started painting in high school but had always been one of the kids that drew in class and had drawings everywhere, since I was small. The women in my family are all very creative and encouraging even though I’m the only painter. I was always making something with my hands as a child and the need and desire to continue to do so has never changed. I studied studio art in college and had planned on getting my masters until life changed and my mother passed away which led to my career in public health in a round about way.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

People that aren’t in the creative field should realize that art is attainable. That you don’t have to buy “artwork” from a box store but that artists are everywhere and often more affordable than you think. That supporting an artist can be as small as following their socials, buying a small thing they’ve made or as large as buying the largest painting they’ve ever made. Sometimes support looks like talking about someone’s art to another of your friends because connections and community are the biggest resource creatives have. Showing up to events they are participating in or sharing those events with other friends and acquaintances is one very nice way to support your creative friends.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist is painting something that someone wants to have in their home, on their walls. I recently had several pieces purchased by the Choctaw Cultural Center and while it was entirely unexpected, I found that to be deeply fulfilling to think that the selection committee found my work to be interesting enough to make it into their permanent collection. Really any time a person or group connects with my message or images is what it’s all about for me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @amanda.dw.lawsonart

Image Credits

Amanda Lawson