The inside matches the outside

New art coming soon

A colorful art print sits on a black shelf with small books and a candle

Dear reader,

Today’s email was originally written in July for side-b. I’m sharing it today because I’m among piles of new ideas and new work. I don’t necessarily recognize my studio — artwork that introduces a plethora of color, digital techniques, and photography. Yet, I feel right at home. Like everything has led me to this place. Process is so, so good.

On July 25 I wrote to my supporters: This past week, I was sitting on a blanket at the park with my dog gazing at the sky and reflecting. I’ve thought about the new work I am creating a lot lately. I have felt incredibly nervous to share it — here and with my close friends. I want to know why, I want to go deeper.

I think the reason I feel nervous about sharing this art is because it feels new. In some ways, I have let go of the compartments I’ve constructed for myself. I’m doing things I wouldn’t have dared to do just 4 months ago. It feels like I am abandoning a body of work I’ve developed over the last 3 years. And I don’t want to let people down. I don’t want people to say they miss the old work. Or worse, the old me. Perhaps I felt this way in 2021? The last time I can note a shift in my work. Perhaps that is part of growth?

But I can go deeper. There is more to this. Because in every way, my art hasn’t truly changed.

I also feel excited. A wave of creativity I haven’t felt in a long time. Energy. I am actualizing the way I think, the way I feel, the way I process creativity. For the first time, it feels like it all aligns. No pieces of the wheel are missing. I can look at this work and see traces of the way I notice, give attention, collect, and have conversations. It’s like the visual art finally matches the concepts. The inside matches the outside.

Earlier this year, I was kindly confronted by my senior thesis in an old binder I pulled out. Liminal spaces, the built environment, untrustworthy memories(?), the vernacular landscape. I’ll never forget the countless hours I spent in research, the hearty conversations with advisors — the tears, stress, and pride. I am still thinking about these ideas today. Leaning into the process's uncertainty instead of the process's destination. How do I encounter thresholds? What do my landscapes tell me? I’m curious about exploring liminal spaces and documenting the everyday moments I encounter them. My focus is on doing the thing because the thing feels right. Process. An expression of emotion, feeling, being. Because it intrigues me in some way. It tickles my curiosity. A cumulation of how I encounter the world actualized through art.

As I look through the new artwork I have created this summer, I see what’s familiar. I see how my work is cumulating. My ideas are still present, the materials evolving. I’m leaning more and more into myself.

I’d really like to share this new work with you soon. I’m closing in on having enough complete to feel comprehensive. To hold a conversation with you. It’s unlocking even more ideas that I am beginning to work through, and divulging over on side-b.

If you want to learn more about side-b, you can do so here. I am building this space to share how you can find the possibilities of inspiration outside social media. I want to show how you can become a collector of your awareness, curate your thoughts, and be in your process. Come have a look inside everything I do to bring my ideas to life.

Talk soon,

Lauren

P.S. I am currently booking spots for August and September mentorships. Learn more about my month-to-month mentorships here →

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• Currently reading: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

• Currently watching: House of the Dragon

• Currently wanting: this table from Ikea

• Currently browsing: this magazine

Listen to: Resistance, 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 Mixtape—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 a creative interested in support and guidance to grow your creative practice.

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