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

Lauren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

The creative path began for me specifically in the 7th grade, I remember habitually avoiding what library hours were supposed to be used for and immersed myself in a wide ruled notebook to sketch mostly fashion illustrations. Upon entering High School I signed up for any art class I could and found myself naturally drawn to anything that challenged my limits and potential as a creative. My Sophomore year I enrolled in Beauty School and little did I know then as a child and teenager how all of these ardent interests would propel me into a life built on creativity. Beyond High School, as an adult, Hairdressing became my main profession. As a stylist, this required 100% of my creativity every day and working with other women in general has become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Throughout my almost 20 years of hairdressing to date, I dabbled with painting, drawing and writing, whilist keeping most of the creations to myself as well as anything I could get my hands on to repurpose or DIY.
Fast forward to the year of the Pandemic, and like many others I was furloughed from the consistent life I’d known and pushed into a state of epidemic unknown. The simple tasks of wanting to keep my mind and body busy throughout the day, as many other things were going on personally at the time, I was cleaning out my closet and found an extra large sterilite tub of old art supplies I’d forgotten about for many years. In that moment I got lost in this plastic treasure box and challenged myself yet again to dream and wonder, what if I were to do the uncomfortable thing? Put my work and stories out there for the world to see.
As much as I’d like to think there is a one time moment of knowing that you will pursue a direction professionally , I feel it’s all these little moments that add up to a bigger picture of the creative life choosing you.

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

Originally from the Chicago area, a 3rd generation artist and daughter of a sculptural and automotive welder. Growing up my father and my cousin who did a lot of drawing, Jamie, were my biggest inspirations. My love and early development for art and design started in grade school with fashion illustrations. As I grew, I studied a variety of art practices for about two years before entering beauty school. As an abstract, figurative and literary artist most of my work provokes emotion of the unspoken or not spoken enough on. The notion that art is a vibrational messenger to those who need it most, including myself is something I incorporate into every piece. Claiming and integrating our rawness and vulnerability is the main subject of my work seen in figures, the elements and florals. Inevitably, as I grow with the seasons of life, my work and subjects may follow suit.
I prefer to speak on things gently because the rest of this life thing can be difficult enough, though, some things in this life cannot be said gently. A large portion of my work speaking on my own experiences as a woman, of trauma, abuse, devistation, survival, love, loss and healing from a literary sense to a visual representation and integrating many stories that other women have shared with me from professional hairdressing of almost 20 years.
I’ve contunued to pursue what gives me grace and time. My mission is to invite difficult and uncomfortable conversation amongst yourself and with each others long after my images are hung on a wall. To add another lens, more compassion, more awareness of the horrors, joys and complex range of what it means to be alive.
What I’m most proud of are my abilities as a multifaceted artist to express with any tool and medium while still having established recognizable work. Beginning to share more of my inner world for all to see on Instagram in 2020, without much support, furloughed from my hairdressing career, supporting a child on my own, e-learing and with health issues, I kept going. I kept going despite all the things that could have kept me from creating all together.
My work spans across the Chicagoland area and I’m currently represented by Celestial Art Curation in Hinsdale, Illinois and Wayward Arts Gallery in Chicago, Illinois.

My future plans with art are to continue exploring myself and all the ways I want to create. Your story is your power, creativity and freelance writing has been a labyrinth of self discovery I’ve been fluidly churning in since a young age and at the center of this has grounded my core self. I’m not one that believes we’ll have one purposeful endeavor. We’ll have many while we’re here. My journey now is having the courage to share my personal experiences and pay that forward to the next person that may need to hear it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Returning home to the parts of myself that have more to say besides “I’m just a mom.” As much as motherhood has given me more to ponder and create on behalf of – She is only a piece of me. The mission of my work is to invite a different dialogue within myself and extended that notion in depth to my viewers. Life has dealt it’s fair share of things for me to overcome and the most recent was the loss of 7 women in 3 years. One of which, in September of 2022, was my best friend of over 10 years. She was the older sister I never had and my biggest fan. She encouraged me to never quit on my creative journey. One of her dreams was to public speak after healing from metastatic breast cancer. She is a driving force that still lives on in my process and outcome. We forget how the little is often so bright. Making art has been this healing visionary light in my life that consistently fills my cup.Fim

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspects for me are in the process of making work itself and the community you build over something that hadn’t existed before. Creating work that lives on long after I am gone to speak up for and on behalf of some women of this era is profoundly and humbling. Women that have felt comfortable enough to share their stories with my heart and mind inspire me deeply and I will remember all of them forever.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pomlostudio.square.site/
• Instagram: Instagram.com/piecesofme_art
• TikTok: @piecesofmeart