Meet Lauren Miller | Artist, Teacher and Healer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
My end goal is to be able to continue making and sharing my work the rest of my life. Professionally I would like to be known for my immersive art and for sharing knowledge in workshop settings. Creating more financial stability combining selling work and sharing my knowledge in workshops.

I’m very much hoping to continue expanding my reach and to be able to afford to focus solely on art and healing art in my practice. I’m also hoping to find a gallery to work with and I also hope to travel for teaching opportunities teaching new cultures and people and continuing to learn and expand my knowledge for the rest of my career. Mostly I hope I am still curious and passionate about the work which I think means to continue learning and sharing!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I am a strong believer that nothing worthwhile comes easily and that is true about my journey with work. While I dabbled in art young it was an elective pottery class in college that passionately brought me back to art. I changed majors and started my journey in art.

It was graduate school that forever changed me and helped me grow into the person I am today. Putting so much of myself into my practice was a real gift, but when I finished I couldn’t feel my hands. So much pain from repetitive movements like pinching and pulling, but I was strongly drawn to delve into yoga, reiki, massage, sound healing along with a deep dive into looking at meridian lines in our body and studying acupressure points. This pain was an important part of my artistic journey as I began to make tools to work on myself with acupressure. The tools have evolved and changed over time with each new series I learn how to hone their healing potential.

Within a few more years the miracle of my lifetime, my son. Another huge milestone. I remember looking around at my plants and wondering what to do. Then the idea was born for my vertical planters. My sculptures became the functional planters I needed so I continue to create and it feel useful.

Another few years pass and my dear mother was in hospice when a girlfriend announced she had breast cancer. My reaction was to learn to infuse and create a radiation cream from a recipe in a book I picked up from a fantastic herbalist based in the Hudson valley. It worked to great success. This both healed me and her in ways that only nature can. Nowadays find me in my gardens growing from seed, harvesting, drying, infusing and creating small batch botanicals.

All of the hardest crossroads of my life brought me to innovative solutions in my art practice so all hardships I believe can be huge motivators in the studio. Finding creative solutions has been empowering for me personally and professionally.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend visit for a week we would probably split time between my rural home and Columbus. Spending time in my home, gardens and studio then adventures in Columbus checking out contrast therapy, practicing yoga at local studios, music halls, art venue and hiking local parks.

For Yoga I would want to hit up wildroot yoga, my favorite studio in town for hot classic and head over to sweathouz for contrast hot/cold therapy with there amazing vitamin c shower and hit joyas for lunch.

I would love to share some of my favorite places to go like ladybird bar and Chapmans for a chic night on the town followed by a performance at one of our great venues.

Would love to share my favorite dive bar, the one and only dicks den for some amazing local jazz music and invigorating conversations with some of the coolest cats in town. There is so much great local live music so it really depends on the week but consistent great music!

I would love to track down an Interesting performance and are an exhibition. There is so much fun to do, so really it would depend on when they came but always a lot to do in the growing community of Columbus! A balance between rest and culture would be what I would share.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Tom Adair, my beloved mentor and friend who showed up to every single meeting and critique during graduate school. You taught me more than art but how to think of life.

Website: http://www.mobileapp.app/to/DlFVeJj?ref=cl

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehealerstoolmaker/profilecard/?igsh=MWxwczk3dDJvNnpzeg==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/6QXWx4jR6RbJWYXH/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Photographer Abby Reilly~frame the people

Courtney Love Thacker owner/stylist of Ceremony Salons

Shot of Lauren harvesting mugwort courtesy of their partner Nate Anders