Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura (aka Lawwrie) Lorenzo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Laura (aka Lawwrie), looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
Since a young age, I felt this need to constantly create stuff. I draw, I paint, I took ceramic classes, I did jewellery…later on with cameras and computer: photography, video editing, storytelling… all sorts of creative stuff. I had no limits to what I could explore.
I always knew my career had to be related to Art & Design. I could dream and imagine myself travelling the world and doing what I love.
As time went by, puberty, insecurities, obstacles came in and that changed everything. It reached a point in my life where I was all frustrated, how was it possible I was not doing what I always knew I wanted? So if it’s not that… What I am suppose to do? Who am I then?
When you are a kid with hopes and dreams, no one tells you that you will have to deal with lots of problems. And that’s how the journey within began, and so that lead me to return to my true creative nature in ways I never expected.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
As a young kid, I felt this strong need to create and explore with all types of materials and methods. So when I had to choose a career to study, I felt Graphic Design (or I like to call it Visual Communication) was the right choice for me.
In London (where I studied) the education structure was very different from Spain, specially in Art & Design degrees. They had a broader approach, and that helped me a lot in having an open mind when creating.
For many years after that degree, I felt frustrated, confused and powerless about my own creative path. Insecurities and obstacles didn’t let me see my own potential. So I went deeper into personal development and spirituality, that helped me to come out of that state and that has influenced my personal work deeply.
During those struggled years, I didn’t do anything related to what I studied, I had a job as a receptionist in a hair salon and I couldn’t stop working because I had to pay my bills. I didn’t have much time to create, so in 2016 I finally bought an iPad, and with that I could start to experiment again on my way to work. I started doing lettering art that reflected what I was going through, my own thoughts or maybe a quote of a song that made me think about a situation differently…etc.
That was the spark I needed to slowly believe in myself again. I moved to Madrid looking for an internship as a designer. I found one in a small Marketing Agency called ‘El despacho de Kotler’ and after 3 months I was working there full time. After one year, I moved back to London, kept working online with them plus doing freelance work. Few months later got fired, kept the freelance work running, plus being a part-time receptionist again. Then the pandemic came, I found time to do some creative personal projects like a YouTube channel, I did a lot of yoga and meditated.
I knew I had to make some changes if I wanted to keep growing. During the third lockdown I travelled to Mexico to visit some friends, and I was amazed by what this country had to offer me as a creative and all the introspective tools that had. So I left everything in Europe to embark on a new adventure. Since then, I’ve been doing full time freelance work: murals, graphic design, pattern design for a bikini brand, festival flyers, events decorations, lettering boards, creativity workshops, selling my prints, stickers and I recently made an oracle card deck with a selection of my lettering artworks since 2016.
I am starting to find a great purpose behind what I do, how I can be of service of others. The Creativity Workshops work as a therapy and helps people identify those creative blockages that don’t allow us to show our authentic artistic expression. I feel I have a lot to offer on this, I already have another very introspective workshop on the making. The oracle deck cards also work as a way to know more oneself and helps people to find clarity and guidance when they need it.
I enjoy working with clients that give me that type of creative freedom, that trust in my vision, but specially clients that want a good impact in people’s live in one way or another. So for me the ethical and conscious sides are very important when selecting.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Being afraid of doing things wrong. That kind of belief hold me for so many years. It got me into a never ending circle, and the only way to come out was doing the thing you were afraid: doing things wrong.
On the way to success, there is a lot of failure, but we are taught differently. Because in reality everyone is afraid of everything, so the projections keeps reflecting into each other. That’s why it’s very important to work in getting to know yourself, and realizing all the lies we’ve been told but I specially that we kept telling ourselves.
That’s why in my Creativity Workshops I encourage a lot of making mistakes and that nothing you do it’s right or wrong, it’s just part of it, integrating those things as part of the process. For me there is no success without it, as we are here to fully experience life, if you miss those parts you are missing part of life as well.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Realizing that your art impacts people, it’s the most rewarding. When you are a kid, you just express yourself because that’s who you are, and you enjoy that. But when you grow up, you start to question if doing what you do makes any sense in the world. When I do my own personal projects like the workshops, the murals, selling my art… it’s always a challenge, because my greatest desires and dreams come from fighting my fears. Specially the fear of purpose, I guess. So when someone posts in their social media: ‘I had a bad day, and suddenly I saw this mural that had these messages, and then I remember of my own light and power…’ It makes you understand that your gifts have value more than for yourself, that you have a greater purpose, that you become of service to others, and it really makes sense.
Contact Info:
- Website: lawwrie.com
- Instagram: lawwrie
- Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/laura-lorenzo-29074467
Image Credits
Workshop: Laura Mar Ruiz Event Decorations: Paf Photography Learning mural: Laura Mar Ruiz Rest of the pictures: Lawwrie