Where I’m Headed Now
I felt confident about leaving the programs where I did when I left ArtWorks in August 2022. I hired amazing artists to lead the future cohorts of interns and I know they will carry the programs to their full potential. ArtWorks has since received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the environmental arts program. This is the first NEA grant since the organization’s inception in 2000, and an incredible national funding accomplishment for an organization of its size. It’s really wonderful to know things are heading in a positive direction with an arts program that’s very near and dear to my heart.
Since I went full-time with my own art practice, I’ve felt such a strong pull towards the recycled and natural materials and eco subject matter that the teens covered in the environmental arts programs. This urge began in small doses during quarantine in 2020 and has gradually grown until now, as I now find myself dedicating more time to my arts practice than I ever have. There has been a lot of experimentation with reimagined tools and supplies.
Photos and video are from COVID quarantine — May 2020. I had a particularly challenging work meeting, during which we were trying to damage control programming in light of the pandemic. I closed out Zoom at the end of the meeting, immediately went into our front yard with some watered down paint and a hardboard panel, and splattered every inch of it out of anger and frustration. I’d never thrown that kind of emotion at a piece of art before and it felt amazing. My husband and I took daily walks during quarantine because we were losing our minds inside (can you relate?) and I collected a lot of natural materials, which I then glued to my splatter painting. I consider this the true beginning of Calla Terra.
This is the farthest cry possible from the art I’ve been creating for about a decade under the project that I simply refer to as “Lauren Zens Art.” The style I’ve developed there is strictly colorful abstract patterns and geometric compositions. It’s very, very meticulous and precise (read: perfectionistic) with calculated measurements and crisp lines, almost like a digital rendering. You can read more about it in my artist statement.
A couple months after officially becoming a full-time artist, something I imagined only happening — maybe — after retirement
A former coworker of mine, who witnessed my rather frantic and anxious energy in my last job — so much passion and drive, yet too much on my plate — noted that perhaps entering the full-time freelance world removed some of that rigidity. She observed that I seemed more calm and that perhaps this new style was a release of the control that I was trying to maintain over my life when I was managing so much with my job, art practice, grad school, finances, mental health, and overall wellbeing. It really brought me so much comfort to hear that, because I was disappointed with myself for quitting my job, then suddenly being drawn to a completely new creative endeavor. That was absolutely not the plan, but her suggestion that maybe this really is part of the journey (the plan) gave me a much needed shift in perspective.
I’m now finding reclaimed and recycled items, as well as found materials from nature, strewn about my studio. I’m mixing things into my paint (sand, powder lemonade mix, grout), laying things under my paint (dryer sheets, toilet paper, rubber cabinet liners) and adhering things over my paint (glass, pine needles, shredded plastic milk jugs).
First time gluing used dryer sheets to a hardboard panel
I’ve also started exploring the world of nontoxic natural media by slowly learning to make paint using sustainably made pigments, including from fruits, plants, and soils, and trying new types of nontoxic paint binders like walnut oil, gum arabic, and plant-based acrylic. I’m finding it’s inevitable that, for the time being while I learn this world of homemade paint, I’ll need to use some of the Golden and Liquitex acrylic paints that I’ve been using for many years. (Luckily, both brands have low and no toxicity, respectively.) So, to follow my sustainability objective with Calla Terra, I’m exploring ways in which I can dispose of my acrylic paints more sustainably. (I’m trying to take the advice I’ve read from many artists who have transitioned to natural materials that doing so gradually is key to keep from becoming overwhelmed with new supplies.)
In terms of composition and subject matter, my work under “Lauren Zens Art” is often recognized for being very bright and colorful. With Calla Terra, I’ve been drawn to only blues, greens, browns, and neutral colors. I’ve also never been one for making representational, symbolic artwork, but with Calla Terra, these have almost organically inserted itself into my creations. To read more about this, visit my post about “Miasma,” my piece that incorporates powder lemonade mix and PET and HDPE plastics.
Additionally, with my geometric works, I have titled my pieces with completely made-up words (or really, non-words); this is mostly because there is really no symbolism behind them, so I don’t have many ideas when it comes to titles. When I was coming up with the moniker “Calla Terra,” I was feeling inspired to learn about Greek gods, goddesses, dieties, and other divine beings, particularly those related to nature and the planet. Mythology and folklore has always been an interest of mine, but I’ve never really delved into it. I’m now titling my pieces with the name of these icons because it adds a layer to the representation that I’m uncovering in my creations.
This new direction — Calla Terra — is so incredibly exciting and I’m so grateful to the community partners and youth I met through ArtWorks who inspired me to reach this new level of my practice. Please feel free to follow my journey into sustainable art-making and community engagement on my blog, and to learn a little more about me and my art, visit my about page.
Happy to have you here!
