Archive for September, 2015

Laurenmary is a bright, colorful, and creative artist who brings tons of life and sunshine to the BBP site!  Located in Birmingham, Alabama, Lauren is an award-winning artist and interior designer.  Take a look at what she has to say:

BBP: Describe your art in 5 words or less!
Lauren: Simple, retro, colorful, minimalist, fun

BBP: Name an artist or person that inspires your art and why!
Lauren: My nieces and nephews are my greatest inspiration. There seems to be a new one to spoil almost every year (I have two in Japan and seven here in the States, with one on the way)! I’m always thinking of what would look cute hanging in their rooms.

BBP: Did you go to school for art or are you primarily self-taught?
Lauren: A healthy balance of both

BBP: When did you start designing/creating?  Was there a particular event that inspired you to pursue it further?
Lauren: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t designing/creating. I suppose I really became enamored with design as a career when I lived in Europe as an adolescent. We traveled a lot, and with about 50 or so fine-art museum visits, a trip to the Bauhaus was all it took. I was never a skilled illustrator, so to see that simple, minimalist shapes and forms were considered “art” for the first time gave me goose bumps.

BBP: How has your style changed since you started?
Lauren: In the beginning, as most of us probably are, I was all over the place experimenting – not really having a style because I hadn’t honed in on it yet. I do know, however, that simplicity, minimalism and proportion have always been my cornerstones.

BBP: Where is the coolest place you’ve visited?
Lauren: Japan – I was there for two weeks traveling with my Pops. At the end of the trip, my brother was married on Aoshima Island at the Aoshima-jinja shrine. I really enjoyed experiencing life in that culture – especially since they are into simplicity, minimalism and finding beauty in function.

BBP: Do you have a particular spot or place where you create most of your art?
Lauren: I work and physically design in my studio out of our home, but I think I create mostly in my head and occasionally I will have creative sessions while I’m sleeping, then wake up and get it “on paper”.

BBP: Do you have any kids or pets?
Lauren: We have two cats that we rescued when they were about a week old, Spencer and Baker. We had to syringe feed them and keep them on a heating pad for a while as kittens. It was nowhere close to true parenting, but we feel like they’re our kids!

BBP: Growing up, were your parents into or involved in art?
Lauren: My Pops has crazy amazing handwriting, which certainly influenced my love for typography. He also builds furniture and structures, like meandering decks/stairs, trellises, gazebos, etc. My Mommella is a very talented illustrator and painter – when she lets you see her work, she’s a bit shy with her talent. She was a teacher before she retired and we always had arts and crafts in the summer.

BBP: What were your favorite hobbies as a kid?
Lauren: Anything art or design related. I remember once taking everything out of a board game box and setting it all up to look exactly like the photo on the cover – that was my idea of fun! My Christmas and Birthday presents were always geared toward design or architecture. I also was active in any kind of sports.

BBP: What’s your favorite story to tell about your childhood?
Lauren: Although both accidental, I broke my brother’s nose during a snowball fight; then that summer hacked him with a shovel creating a nice eyebrow scar – you could say I’m responsible for the handsome man he is today!

BBP: What did your room look like growing up? 
Lauren: A disaster zone! As most creatives will tell you – an un-kept room is a sign of a well-kept mind.
Once I got into feng shui, though, it was a masterpiece of placement and chi!

BBP: Who is your favorite famous person (current or historical) and why?
Lauren: Frank Lloyd Wright. I believe that on some level, we all aspire to change the world, and this man did just that with his architecture, design and concepts. He was the first to literally open doors by creating the “open concept” way of living we see now in all contemporary home architecture. He truly changed how we live.

BBP: Who would you want with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?
Lauren: My husband, of course! He would keep things fun and we would probably be just fine staying stranded!

BBP: What is one thing that you’ve never tried, but would like to?
Lauren: Flying a plane

BBP: Do you prefer to swim in a pool, ocean, or lake?
Lauren: Since I’m a literal person, I would say pool for swimming, but I prefer to be at the lake or shore.

BBP: If you couldn’t be an artist, what would you do instead?
Lauren: Architecture, no question.