We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Lowe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve known since a very young age that I wanted to pursue art as a career. My earliest memories are of being an over active child that was hard to deal with. I took great solace in art. At the age of three I vividly remember art being one of the things that helped me sit still and focus. I’ve always had an overactive imagination and within art there was a freedom and stability I couldn’t find with anything else. I knew from that time forward that I wanted to find a way to make my art my living when I became older.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In my early twenties I began attending college and earned an associates degree in art. I tried a number of internships and could never find anything I did to be something I was truly passionate about. Although it was all classified artistic I yearned for the freedom to do art the way I wanted to. In 2019 I decided to start selling my paintings. I felt I’d wasted so much time and that if I waited any longer that I’d never have another chance. I decided to open an etsy shop and sold a few paintings. Though it was exciting to sell my art for what it was I still felt there could be more. My father saw this and started taking me on trips to the art district in CLT, NODA. We found a gallery willing to sell my art and I had the chance to meet many other artists who eventually became part of my network. Opportunities began to arise. Since then I’ve taken part in galleries, art auctions, festivals, murals, and met the most wonderful of people. I still sell art through etsy but art, for me, has now become so much more than that.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist, for me, is just having the ability to create and have that be my work. It’s something I’ve always held close to my heart and to have that be what I do everyday is one of the greatest blessings I’ve ever experienced. However! One of the other great things I’ve been able to experience is the appreciation of my art. To have others appreciate and love what I do often has me very emotional. There is no better feeling than to have someone look at my art and understand the time and dedication that went into it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something very vital I had to unlearn was second guessing my abilities. I still struggle with confidence in my art to this day.. HOWEVER! I have come to a point in my life where I’m willing to try and take any artistic opportunity. I find many artists have this issue, the unwillingness to share because they fear their art is not enough. I started sharing my art, seriously, the year before the pandemic and though it brought many challenges I’m extremely grateful for that point in my life. I was no longer afraid to share.. I was afraid I’d shared too late. So, I encourage all artists to share and to share now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DrippyDropShop?ref=dashboard-header
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayatequinn/
• Other: https://lowecreativity.blogspot.com

Image Credits
Lauren Lowe