We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Jane recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

This year I published my first children’s book The Good Witches’ Kitchen.

Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Shortly after college, I relocated to Charleston, South Carolina.

I started painting from my home and connected with local art broker Hayley Price, owner of the Scouted Studio. She represents all of my original work. My most recent work focuses on the bungalow babes is a series of large and medium scale canvas paintings of woman on the beaches, landscapes, and oceans.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A recent pivot in my career as an artist is the release of my children’s book The Good Witches’ Kitchen. I am the author and illustrator of the book and it has been the most amazing journey.

Each page of the book’s illustrations were created by hand with acrylic paint, paper on cavas. The illustrations were then scanned for the book.

My experience and passion as a preschool teacher and artist, lead me to writing and illustrating a children’s picture book. I have seen first hand the power of learning through creative story telling.
The Witches’ Kitchen tells the story of Linus and Laney, a brother and sister duo that capture the hearts of the reader right away. The pair embarks on a journey to The Witches’ Kitchen, a restaurant owned by three good witches Tess, Lucy and Grace. The Witches’ Kitchen is open for one night only on December, 24th and serves a spectacular feast. The wait staff is neither witch nor child, but tigers, bats, ostriches, penguins, and ligers. They serve drinks with their paws, tails, feathers and fins! The two return home to tell the tail of the The Witches’ Kitchen and the wonderful magic they had seen.
This book will appeal to educators and families alike. The story is adaptive to theme curriculum study within a classroom setting. The characters create delightful classroom bulletins, artwork, and handwriting projects. Mixed into the irresistible story of Linus and Laney’s journey to The Witches’ Kitchen is advance vocabulary, and rhyming.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Setting goals for me as an artist isn’t always about simply painting more, but setting goals that help me grow my skills, knowledge, and connections with art. I found that taking classes with artists uniquely feeds my creativity. If I am ever feeling stuck creatively I seek out an intro to figure drawing class on the basics to give me a fresh perspective. I always leave remembering why art is part of my soul and creative fiber.      

Contact Info:

• Website: Thegoodwitcheskitchen.com
• Instagram: Artbylaurenjane
• Other: Artbylaurenjane.com Thescountedstudio.com

Image Credits
Taken myself.