I might get in trouble for this

Project updates!

Dear reader,

On March 13, I wrote you to share about a project I was embarking on. I invited you to a Notion page to watch me build out the idea. If you participated in Process Class, you know that I use Notion nearly every day to help me sort all that I collect, to help synthesize my observations, and to help me plan newsletters, collections, classes, and more. I’ve updated this Notion page quite a bit since then, and today I am divulging where I am in this process.

This week has been a little funny. I feel like if there were a chart of this project I’d be lost somewhere in a plot point in the middle. I’ve gone back and forth with so many questions - what do I want to offer, is it realistic, does it match my visions, is this model even best suited for my idea? It feels like a loop. And I know the answer here is totally dependent on me. Totally dependent on what I need and want from this.

The conclusions I’m coming to, what I want to offer, would probably cause some capital B business folks to shudder. They’d probably advise heavily against it and say it’s not financially viable. They’d ask me to reconsider. To drop it altogether. To not even bother.

I keep checking my conclusions though.

Does this center the heart of my idea?

Does this facilitate and support all the ways I want to work?

Am I overcomplicating things, making them more convoluted than they need?

Is it accessible for both me and you?

Yes, yes, no, yes.

I entertain each thought. I give it the appropriate space to breathe. Check it against my foundation. And I am going to decide anyway.

In the last two years, I’ve done so much work to un-marry myself from the hustle. To unlearn ways of working that didn’t ultimately center me, who I am, and what I need. I used to do things because that’s how they were done. How they were presented. Nearly the only model that was shown.

With the help and support of so many wonderful people, I intentionally began to break things in my business. I started to ask better, more wise, questions. And come to stronger conclusions. I started simplifying and focusing on the things that reflect the entirety of who I am as an artist.

I am building this project to be a container for the ideas that don’t currently have a place in my business, yet are at the heart of what I do. How I love to work. And the type of art I want to share.

If you’ve followed my Notion page, you’ll have seen all the personal updates I’ve made between March 8 and today. In the coming weeks, I’m going to solidify a timeline (+ pick a release date!), build out my sales page, and start writing emails that explain exactly what this project is.

Then I’m going to release it and share this first iteration at a “pay what you’d like” price point (I KNOW, AND YES I WROTE THAT).

I’ve learned this over and over again. Nothing is set in stone. The conclusions I come to today could very well be different months from now. I can evolve. Ideas can evolve. This feels right, right now. This feels like the way forward. This feels like a hell yes.

Talk soon,

Lauren

xx

P.S. I have just 1 spot left to work 1:1 in artist mentorship before I take a break from mentoring this summer. Read more here →

P.P.S. Happy easter <3

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• Currently reading: M Train by Patti Smith

• Currently watching: Gilmore Girls (first time!)

• Currently enjoying: Graincheck on Youtube

Listen to: the latest Viewfinder episode

If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting—I’m Lauren Sauder, an artist, writer, and mentor. If you enjoyed this post, here are a few ways you can connect with me:

• Download the Artist Mixed Tape—a mix of books, playlists, and residencies to provide inspiration and company in the studio.

• Receive letters from me—bi-weekly letters from me about what I’m working through in my creative practice and life.

• Enlist me as your mentor—if you are interested in support and guidance to grow your creative practice.

• Get in touch with me directly—send an email to laurensauderstudio@gmail.com.