Alright everyone, so today I have Lauren Hill with me.
Lauren is my artistic career coach and I'm stoked to have her on because we've been working
together since July and in the past few months I've been able to get a studio job as a designer.
I've figured out some of the mental chaos I've had around my creativity and before Lauren
was coaching she was an art dealer.
So tell me about that Lauren, I would love for you to tell me more about what brought
you to coaching and that career.
Yeah, and I just want to say too that it's been such a gift to get to work with you and
watch you blossom and I feel like every time my clients celebrate things and have major
exciting things happen in their lives and careers, I get to live vicariously through
them.
So it's been an honor and it can be such a privilege to get to work with you.
So thank you.
I studied illustration in college so I'm an artist as well and after college I graduated
and so it was pretty much like a major recession going on.
And so I think a lot of people who can relate, especially if they're like graduating or trying
to find jobs around 2020, you know, similar situation but very different.
That was like the first time I became my own career coach.
I really was like, okay, Googling like how to find a job and what I basically Googled
like what a career coach would do and I became my own coach.
And so I got clear on what my values were, my talents, like how I could pitch myself
to a creative job because I decided I don't want to be an illustrator.
Like that was just not the route that I was going to go at the time and but I wanted to
be in the arts.
And so thankfully, you know, I interviewed for quite a few different jobs but then there
was this Craigslist listing for an art gallery in the Napa Valley where I was living.
I moved back in with parents and they were looking for an intern at the time to work
for free.
And I was like, okay, well, you know, I'm babysitting and I'm just like trying to find something.
Maybe I'll just do this until I find the actual thing, you know?
And so I go into the interview and find out that the owner had been in a bicycle accident
and was in a coma.
And so I was hired right away to work.
I think I worked one day for free and then he passed away and then I was hired full time
and within a couple days I started selling artwork.
Like it just happened so quickly and I had no background in sales.
Well, I worked at, you know, like some clothing stores before that but with only background
in sales.
And it kind of just happened serendipitously.
Of course, like obviously, Adat is very sad.
He was very beloved in the art industry in the valley, in the whole Bay Area because
his gallery had been around for 20 years.
But it was like this weird situation where I just decided to say yes to something even
though, you know, I could have looked at like, oh, this is below me or whatever.
I'm not going to-
Yeah, but I love that you just went for it.
And you know, I've been on Craigslist before too where I'm like looking at job postings
and a lot of times it's like you can get very personal in right away if you just are willing
to show up.
And some of the jobs, like maybe they're not legit, but then others are very legit.
Yeah.
You know, you just never know where those opportunities are going to be.
So it's like, just keep looking.
So that's something that happened really, like me selling art happened so quickly.
And then I ended up, they got a new owner for the gallery and I ended up selling millions
of dollars of artwork during the six years that I worked there and working with artists
all over the world really and collectors all over the world, shipping, you know, 14 foot
sculpture, outdoor sculpture to Mexico and, you know, helping one of my clients in Maui
decide where he was going to place like a bronze sculpture out in his garden, you know,
and like getting to work with celebrities that came in.
I actually, Whoopi Goldberg helps me.
I love it.
She sold a $12,000 sculpture for me basically because you're helping me close that sale
because she came in and I was working with this client and they were all like so excited
that Whoopi Goldberg was in there.
Yeah, I bet.
Like my director was, she was basically, she was working with Whoopi and I was working
with this client and I told them, I was like, you know, cause they were already kind of
on the fence about it and then I was like, what a great story to tell people that when
they come over and they see these ball and jack sculpture, it was like the game ball
and jacks out in their garden.
Like you can, you can be like, yeah, you know, this is the day that Whoopi Goldberg came
in and I got to meet her and you know, like what a great tell people and then that like
sold them right away.
I love it.
Yeah.
Sometimes sales is storytelling and connection and then that really does it for people.
So I have to ask, so it sounds like you sold sculpture, paintings.
Do you have any stories about the artists that you worked with?
Maybe some of the other clients that came in because I know nothing about the gallery
world, but what I am learning is that there are some galleries tucked away away from the
cities in the U S and that that's the case with yours too as a Napa, but there are a
lot of people who buy art in smaller towns.
Yeah.
And because it's a vacation city, vacation town or city, whatever you want to call it,
you know, it's wine country.
So people are traveling there from all over the world.
And so it's a great place.
You know, you're on vacation, you're looking for art, a lot of people have time to look
for art then.
And we, that's actually how, so I worked for Toshin publishing, the art book publisher
after the gallery.
And that's how I had the connection with Toshin is because we sold, actually I was the top
sales person for this Annie Leibowitz book that we, it was at the time it came out for
$2,500.
It was a limited edition art book that came with a stand.
It was, it's called a sumo book.
So it's very large.
It's like the largest book in the world, basically.
It's with a stand, it's signed by Annie, it's a limited edition.
And there were 2,500 when they first came out, they're like $8,000 now.
This gallery I worked for, other than Toshin, we were the largest wholesaler that sold these
books for them.
Like we sold more than any other place in the world.
So it just goes to show you like what kind of clientele are coming in and like the reach
that we had at that gallery, at this small little gallery.
I mean, there was three galleries up and down the valley.
So it's like these groups.
But going back to, and we can talk about Toshin too.
Definitely art books, art publishing.
That's something to think about because now that I'm graphic designing, I love print and
I wish more people asked for print projects and realistically the only people who do are
usually artists or designers, like someone who wants to preserve their work for an archival
purpose.
Yeah.
And you know, art, I mean, books are like, they're never going away.
People will be like, oh, books, you know, like books are dying or whatever.
And I'm like, no, they're not.
Like they're never going away.
They're never going away.
I love books.
I worked at an art library in college and you can put like a whole artist's life's work
in a book and then like do it maybe like a thousand times by different authors.
And there's always going to be like something special to say.
So I love art books.
Yeah.
Especially because you're in design too.
It's like, there's just something so wonderful about seeing things printed.
You know, they're just on the computer.
Exactly.
I love just like throwing my phone somewhere and then going into a corner and looking at
a book.
Yeah.
Or IRL looking at art on the walls too.
Going back to what you were asking about, like the artists that we worked with.
So there's this artist, her name is Kate Salem Friend.
I sold probably, I don't know, like $300,000 worth of her art maybe, maybe more.
Who knows?
But she sold these paintings.
The main thing she sold was around $2,500.
Sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller.
So what dimensions and like what was her subject matter?
I'm curious.
I actually have one of her paintings in my house too.
Oh great.
The average painting I sold of hers was around like 30 inches by 40 inches.
I don't know what they go for now, but it was around like $2,000 to $3,000.
And they sold out.
It was my easiest thing I've ever sold.
And people loved them.
And she, it's so funny, she just signed up for my workshop too, because I'm friends with
her as well.
Oh yeah.
Your portfolio workshop this Thursday.
I signed up too.
I'm excited for it.
Yeah.
And how cool that, you know, she sold millions of colors worth of her paintings.
And she's still, she's signing up for my workshop.
Like, you know, she's still learning.
She's still out there trying to develop her skills on things.
Like she's not above, you know, learning or connection.
That's how, you know, I was talking to my dad about this yesterday.
You know, like realistically you never stop learning because your skillset stops growing
if you're not learning or trying new skills or trying to reframe your work.
And then that is your limiting factor, really.
I mean, that's why people work with coaches too.
It's like, yeah, you can graduate a certain level, but it's like, what's next?
Like let's go.
We'll reach beyond that.
So anyway, going back, I feel like I have so many things to say.
So I love this too, because actually I'm learning so much about you.
So I don't know the coffee or like just what, but I'm, yeah.
So and I think, I feel like this is a different dynamic for us too.
Oh, right.
And I'm like talking your ear off and telling you about my art and adjacent art problems.
When I'm coaching, it's like, it's all about my clients.
Like I really try to keep the focus on them.
And of course I, you know, share different things that would be relevant, but yeah.
I remember you saying that you did graduate during a recession and actually that was like
something that really gave me buy-in with you because I was like, the economy is probably
the worst it's been for me in a minute.
And I just like needed help like focusing and hunkering down.
And so I actually really respect it when like people start their careers doing like hard
times and find their values.
So that's just a little note.
Yeah.
And it's like, that's just, you know, we can talk about mental traps, right?
Like is one of the traps.
You can look for proof of why things aren't going to work for you, or you can look for
proof for how things are going to work for you.
Why they're going to work for you.
And that's just a distraction.
That's just an excuse.
You can focus on the recession is at the worst.
Like there's not many jobs or you can choose to believe that there's a job out there for
me.
There's a job is out there for me and I can find it if I put myself out there.
Yeah.
And so much of art when making an art career, I found at least is like taking the bread
crumbs for connection and meeting people in real life.
When I started designing, it was during the pandemic really.
And that was a spooky time for me because I can actually look back four years ago and
I remember that it was peak pandemic.
No one was really allowed to work in person.
And I was like, okay, well, it's just me and my laptop.
I better start firing off emails if I'm going to find a job.
And eventually I did find one, but you know, it's like, since times have changed, it's
nice to actually connect in person, still have the opportunity to connect with people
like you in a zoom capacity and then kind of get the best of both worlds.
Yeah.
But not to backtrack a little bit too much.
I know you were about to tell me a story.
I want to hear it.
Yeah.
So Kate Taylor, right?
So she paints with oil and gold leaf.
And so she literally has a portfolio that shine like it glitz in the sunlight because
she uses gold and people just were so drawn.
Her fastest selling paintings were the birch tree paintings.
So there's birch trees and then there's gold leaf.
And she does this really beautiful Tiffany blue color in the background.
Like so many people love those paintings and she does some other styles too, mostly nature.
You know, she grew up in rural California and like around nature and like the countryside
and stuff.
So that's where her inspiration is drawn from.
But she just, you know, she tapped into something that really works and it took time.
Like I knew her when she was doing a different style and then like right when she shifted
her style and it began to sell a little bit more.
So it was really interesting to watch that progression happen too.
And so as you're creating artwork, you know, it does take some time, some time to really
figure out what your style is and then like, you know, what is authentic to you?
What feels exciting and natural?
And then at the same time, like, well, what's going to sell?
Like what do people connect with you and connect with your art, like the inner and the outer?
Because you can't ignore that, right?
Like, and I think I see a lot of artists, early career, I remember where there was a
lot of people pursuing arts around me, around graduation, we would sell like illustrations,
t-shirts.
And, you know, I think sometimes people think kind of black and white and they're like,
I either go like sell my own work and it can be really like identity based though, like
identity based work I think can sometimes be hard to sell because it's like, how is
someone supposed to really connect with something that's so deeply personal to you?
But then also it's like, how do you balance the fact that you're an artist and you probably
do this work because you have like certain values and like a story that you want to imbue
in your work.
Yeah, and that's what, you know, you can, if you believe so deeply in that personal
work and you believe that it's sellable and you want to go out and sell it, like that's,
that is possible too.
Like you can get those people that connect with it.
And it's like, I always go back to this story that I heard about this TikToker selling farts
in a jar for $1,000.
I never heard of this.
It says farts in a jar.
Yeah.
And it's like, okay, this girl could sell farts in a jar for $1,000.
Like you can sell whatever you want to, you know, like if you believe in something and
you figure you can like your outbates and make it just like believe in it so much and,
and the value of it and the worthiness of it and the intrigue of it, it's like you can
go out and sell it.
Yeah.
I think you have to really believe it though, and just stand behind it.
And that's part of it.
Yeah.
Confidence.
Yeah.
So at that moment, you decided to become a career coach for other people.
Yeah.
So I was working at Toshin.
I was a wholesale prep for them.
So I sold their art books up and down the West Coast.
I sold them to places like Nordstrom and Pottery Barn and Rage.
I sold them to the museums.
So I got to go visit, you know, all the LA museums, the Getty, LACMA, the Broad, and
then I would go up to San Francisco and Seattle and go to the museums up there and sell the
books and the bookstores.
So it was such a fun job too.
I got to like, trap and connect with like all of these cool stores.
But I also felt like there was a limit.
There was a limit to like how much I could make.
There was a limit to like how much I was growing in that job.
There was a limit to like the creativity that I could have.
And I was, I always knew from a young age that I was going to have a big platform.
Like I just saw myself either, you know, speaking on stages or publishing books or like, you
know, selling art to like millions of people.
I just feel like I'm made for something large, larger.
And so I was like trying to figure out and the same thing happens when I wanted to move
to LA from the art, from the gallery job.
That was another time.
It's a whole nother story that I wouldn't get into, but that was another time that I
became my own career coach again and it was a whole journey that I went on to find this
job in LA.
So this time around I was like, okay, I know I want to have my own business.
I want to like, I just didn't know what I wanted to do exactly though.
So first I was like, maybe I want to be a travel blogger.
And then I was like, oh, maybe I want to be an art agent, like an artist agent.
So I was like dabbling in a couple of those things.
And then I was really into personal development as well.
I got sober 10 years ago and so health and wellness and like personal development is
very inspiring and something I'm passionate about.
So I was like, oh, maybe I want to do health coaching, help people with health.
So that's actually how I got into coaching is I did a health coaching certification through
Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
And I started coaching people for free.
And then through that, people started coming to me for their life purpose and like of the
career side of things.
And I was like, oh, wait, actually, like my gift is I have this whole background in art
and like these really interesting careers that I've created for myself.
And I know I've always been about my life's purpose and like getting closer to that with
every step that I take.
Maybe I can help people with that.
And then that's how I kind of transformed into career coaching creatives.
Wow.
I love that.
Yeah.
It's very purpose and mission driven.
I didn't think you were going to coach artists at first.
You know, the artist agent idea was like the closest to that.
But that was still me selling their art.
I could also see you as a travel blogger, by the way.
I kind of giggled because I was like, I love that.
Who wouldn't want to be a travel blogger?
That's like one of my little dreams.
And sometimes I just pretend to be one just because it's fun.
Yeah.
And so sorry, you did you just take on a client who was an artist and then it happened?
Or did you decide?
And you know, I think the I remember this girl that I it was right around.
Sometimes I can't remember what came first.
I was doing free coaching.
And so I was also doing free consultation.
And I think it was oh, it was right around.
So I went from health coaching to life coaching to being like a spiritual healer.
Because I was like, I'm really spirituality too.
And I did this really like woo woo.
Like meditation, tarot card pulling.
Yeah.
And like some people don't really know about right around that point, I was doing some
consultations and I remember this exact girl that I spoke with and she was coming to me
about her life's purpose.
And there was just a click and it was like she's a creative as well.
And she was like in between jobs or something.
And there was just this like spark of like, oh wait, and I was working with a career coach
at the time too.
And I remember thinking, I will I don't want to copy my coach.
Like she's a career coach, then I'm just like her.
And then I talked to her about it.
And she's like, no, Lauren, like you're, that's you're such a different coach anyway, because
you're coaching for creatives.
Like that's such a need that, you know, artists and creative people, they that's it's so needed
out there.
Like that's so perfect for you, you know, and that was when I shifted and started selling
my career coaching for creative package.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I'm glad he's which because that means I got to work with you.
I feel like everything always plays out in somewhat of a divine timing or maybe it's
kismet.
Maybe it's a little bit of both.
Yeah, actually, you know, too, while we're on this topic is, you know, I'm curious as
well during our time together so far, like, what do you feel like has been your biggest
transformation?
Like, what is there anything that you're proud of, or anything that's really shifted in you
since we started working together?
Yeah, I think okay, so I was someone who really knew that like, I needed to put myself out
there in order to get clients and new work.
And I think the way I approached my creative career previously in the past five years is
just like put out a ton of offers, like learn along the way.
And in that process, I discovered that there were a lot of things that I was pretty good
at and I could handle the client side no matter what because those are just, you know, relationship
skills like communicating and learning what other people need and how you can provide
for them in your visual work.
But I think in that process, I kind of abandoned myself and my personal values and creativity.
I like lost touch with like what actually worked for me, like what was going to be supportive.
Also there's just certain things that I used to do for money like selling TikToks, which
I literally could not do anymore because the market had changed.
And even if I pitched myself, it just wasn't coming through.
And I was like forced to reckon with the fact that like, there are a lot of things I used
to do with money.
But if I get real with myself, like I don't particularly enjoy doing user experience design
for tech companies, for example.
Like I don't want to do that.
And I think even just in our first session, I told you I wanted to work with musicians,
podcasters, writers, live event specialists.
And like those were truly the creatives that I cared about whose work like I felt could
be supported by my work.
And I think I was just like so embarrassed of even like admitting that before, even though
there's nothing embarrassing about it.
I think I was just like afraid and constantly like in this state of like, oh, like I'm not
ready for it.
I'll get there eventually.
But when I logically I thought about it, it's like, well, I've been designing professionally
for definitely over five years at this point now, like maybe even like a decade if you
count some of like the earlier work I did, even though it wasn't full time.
It's like how many more decades am I going to wait until I start doing what I want?
And it was like this old model too from school where like even as like an urban studies undergraduate
when I was like learning about city planning, they didn't let us do city planning until
like my senior year.
So it's like you had to wait four years and to do the thing that you wanted to do.
It was like all this like foundational learning beforehand.
And I don't know, I think like what I'm starting to learn about myself and also creative careers
is that sometimes you kind of just have to like try it.
You have to like take little risks, find people who are willing to like take that risk with
you.
So I guess to answer your question, like I have a little bit more faith in myself now
to take some of those risks forward because I got like so scared and like comfortable
making money and a career and a path that worked for me monetarily, but like literally
no other ways like spiritually in myself's fulfillment category.
I was like burnt out.
I could not do it anymore.
Yeah.
And you know, that spiritual piece, it's like even if you don't believe in God or you feel
like you know, you're not a spiritual person, it still understands that spiritual piece
in different terms.
Like if you, you know, there's something magical about nature, right?
The seasons and that when you stare off at a tree and you witness the wind blow the leaves
around, like even as I'm saying that, I feel magic.
You know, when you think about a sunset at the beach and like all the beauty of like
the clouds, pink sun, you know, like the different vibrations of color peeking through, you know,
there's something magical about that, whether it's spiritual, whether it's, you know, science,
nature, creating this magic, it's a feeling.
And like when you tap into that feeling more often, it is, you know, it's something that
you can align yourself with.
Yeah.
And like, you know, it was, I think it was Mary Kate and Ashley that said, I heard them
on an interview one time and they were like, if you do something that you're passionate
about wholeheartedly and you're so passionate about it, that you work hard and you work
harder because you're so passionate about it, the money will come.
And yes, that might be kind of like a privileged thing to say too, because some people are
struggling and like they're just trying to make ends meet, but you can still decide where
you put your time and energy and build a bridge to get there.
Maybe it might take you longer because you have kids that you provide for, or, you know,
you don't have the privilege of like living with your parents or your parents have never
supported you or, you know, maybe it's, you know, all these other things, but you can
still put some time and energy aside to decide to take the time to go inward and be like,
okay, what do I really enjoy?
What am I passionate about?
What am I good at?
And ask yourself those questions.
And that's really what, you know, my job is to to help guide people through that because
a lot of times it's hard to ask yourself those questions.
We pull that information out of you.
You're usually, you're not the most introspective person or never done it before, you know?
So yeah, that's so good.
And I think this is important to talk about because here's the thing, like I'm not someone
with a very privileged background.
Yeah, I agree with you.
And this might be a controversial statement, but I think at times if you get good at struggling
and just white-knuckling your way through work, the struggle doesn't really stop.
Like it's kind of a mentality.
Like I got to a point where I was like taking on so much work, but I was still struggling
and I was like afraid, even though from the outside it looked pretty good.
It did not feel good.
I'd never learned how to make it feel good because that was just kind of like my modus
operandi.
That's like how I did things, you know?
I kind of like used my own pain and parent sob stories in order to like get through things.
And then on another note, I love Mary Kay and Ashley.
I love them so much.
But also one thing I love about them is there's all these quotes online about how when they
were younger, their dad would always tell them like, no is a full sentence.
Like if there's anything you don't feel comfortable doing, especially like as child actors, like
you just say no and like don't let people push you.
And I think that's kind of protective as well.
It's like you want to be doing the things that actually feel aligned.
But also at times, like if you do things that aren't aligned, I do think there is like a
risk.
I do think there's a risk for artists.
Yeah.
I think what I love is that you hit on that struggle mentality, like it's energetic.
It's like it's so hard to get out of that sometimes, that victim mentality when it feels
so real.
And it is, you know, like pain, difficulties, they are real and they are painful and they
create wounds too that sometimes, you know, just end up building up so much fear, so much
resentment, so much self doubt and we can stay stuck in that, you know, that victim
mentality that woe is me and struggle and you know, me having like being an addict and
having alcoholism.
Like I was fully in this destructive struggle that I did not know how to get out of and
it was so painful.
And like I thought, I was like, what is wrong with me?
Like why can't I control my drinking?
Like why, why do I keep fucking shit up?
Like why do I put myself in these dangerous situations?
And I could have very easily stayed in that stuck cycle and just been like continuing
to drink through all the negativity that I had been creating, like these dangerous situations
and the trauma and the this and the that.
But then for some reason I woke up and I realized like, oh, I need help.
I can't do this alone.
Like why am I trying to do this alone?
And I had to like humble myself to be like, okay, how can I get help?
I need to reach out for help.
And it was very scary.
It's like a very, you know, and I think that happens with people in their careers too and
like hiring a coach, any type of support, right?
Whether it's a life coach or, you know, a weight coach or...
People I think they think that they should be able to do it on their own.
And I don't know what it is.
Maybe it's like that messaging where it's like, oh, you should just be able to do this
by yourself, but I think that's such a pervasive misconception.
It's like no one does anything alone actually.
Yeah, we need each other.
Yeah.
So it's like in realizing like you, you know, what you want is available.
Okay.
If that was a possibility, what would you need to get it?
Maybe you need help.
Where can I look for help?
You know?
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, I think it's important to kind of talk about some of these vulnerable moments along
the way because we're human and you know, I've been talking to some of my friends who
I think are so dedicated.
And I think one thing that I have been kind of pondering lately is how addiction and art
can be a dedication in two different ways.
Like maybe like we show devotion in our habits and in our art practices and it doesn't really
matter what kind of background you come from.
There is like a repeated action that usually leads to a result.
And if you can't like recognize like the patterns or like coach yourself by yourself to get
to a place where you need to be like recognizing you need help is valid.
Yeah.
And we all have like these blinds, you know, we can't really see sometimes it takes an
objective viewer to see and to help us comprehend.
And so that's what, you know, recovery like 12 step programs, things like that.
Like that's why it's so helpful for addicts and you know, there's many different programs
out there like debtors anonymous.
There's, you know, anxiety anonymous.
There's there's overeaters anonymous.
I mean, like that's so there's so many there's so much free help out there for those sort
of things as well.
And then coaching, you know, when you're making a an investment and a monetary transaction.
Yeah.
You're also holding yourself to like there's something in that as well.
You're like, OK, well, I just paid this dollar amount.
So now I better work for it.
You know, that's me.
Yeah.
You want it to pay off.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
No, I think like it's personal buy in.
There's like something psychological about it.
Yeah.
And it's definitely better than the calendar notification that maybe you ignore all the
time like me, you know, calling myself out at times, switching gears a little bit.
So I know that this Thursday you have a portfolio workshop.
And for those of us who can attend, I will be attending, but by the time this podcast
comes out, it'll be over already.
So could you give us a little bit of a teaser for that workshop?
Yeah, I'll probably be running the workshop in the next probably sometime in November
or December.
If it comes out by two, feel free to reach out to me on social media about it or, you
know, send me an email.
And what is your social media, by the way?
Yeah, it's curated slash.
It's like curating art and then slash like jumping into a pool and making a slash.
Yes.
So curated slash and that's what my website is to curated.com and you can email me or
send me a message if you want to sign up for the next round of the workshop.
But it's six simple steps to building a portfolio that shines.
And through this we'll be actually exploring like the mental traps that people fall into
when they are trying to create artwork, not only like, you know, what happens is like
the over consumption where you're like on this consumption mode of like, oh, I need
to like learn all the time and find inspiration.
And then that stops you from actually getting started.
So if you're the type of person who wants to make art, but like you're not even making
art yet because then this, that the workshop would be for you.
Or if you're the type of person who is making art, but it's just not consistent, right?
Like, so maybe you're, you get, you have too many ideas, you get all of these ideas and
you start working on something, but then you get, you have that like shiny carrot syndrome
where you get distracted and you're like, oh, but maybe I should be working on this
instead.
And then you don't finish the project or you you've overwhelmed and self doubt come up
and you're like, I just don't know if this is good enough.
So then you distract yourself with online shopping or, you know, going out and buying
a million supplies because you're like, maybe I need more supplies.
So if like, and just, I want to like normalize all of these things too.
This is very often I see these things in myself, like I am not immune to these things and I
see this with my clients as well.
So it's like figuring out, I'm not only going to tell you and share like what a portfolio
that shines is so you can attract during customers and clients and create raving fans and sell
your work, but I'm also going to shine a light on like what gets in the way of you actually
showing up consistently and building that portfolio.
So it's going to be like such an incredible workshop and so much value.
I think it'll be a lot of fun.
I'm excited.
You're going to be there too.
We've done work personally one-on-one, like, and so you've kind of seen it in like you
experience some of the tools I'll be teaching and already been working on your portfolio
as we speak pretty much.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And oh my gosh, the portfolio is a never ending project and yeah, healing my relationship
with my portfolio as we speak.
So yeah, it'll be great just to kind of like take some notes, hear your tips and I am reframing
my work a little bit and recently I've also been taking out text only ads on I Love Creatives.
I wanted to tell you about this because I just wrote some like silly one-liners that
will be up this week and we'll see how those do because this is me shooting my shot, you
know, just like trying to figure out along the way.
Oh yeah, yeah, you gotta shoot your shot over and over and over.
It never stops.
And you have to find ways that feel fun and good to you and yeah, like whatever works.
It's supposed to be fun.
Yeah.
Okay, so last 10 minutes I have with you, I would love to ask you about your art and
you know, if you want to talk about the paintings you're working on, I love your art style.
So I would love to hear from you describe your work.
Yeah.
Okay, so just like all my clients, I struggle with the same things because I'm a creative
and I have so many different ideas, so many different projects I want to work on all the
time and I have my hands on a lot of different things.
So I'm not only a career coach for artists and creatives, but I also teach art classes.
So I work for a nonprofit, it's called the Vic James Center and it's actually Vic James
was my good friend younger brother who died from an overdose.
And so she named the nonprofit after him and we actually go into a lot, we have a lot of
different partnerships within West Los Angeles and we help young people who are struggling
with substance use disorder.
So I teach art classes at rehabs, at a sober living, and then I'm going back into this
place called Safe Place for Youth.
It's an access center for people who don't have a place to live or looking for housing
young people under the age of 25 and there's a recording studio there, they have art supply,
they have free food, there's a closet that they can get clothing.
It's so cool.
So I'm going to be teaching a creative writing class again there.
I started last week.
So only am I doing that.
And then of course I have my art, right?
It's like I have to ask myself the same questions I ask my client.
Like what is most important to you for right now?
Of all these passions, all these desires, all these ideas, if you could narrow it down
to the top three things that are important to you, like how do you prioritize right now
versus later?
And so I do have a big vision for my art, but right now I'm really focused on like there's
something within me that feels like coaching is the priority.
I want to help millions of artists make money with their creative pursuits.
Like that is, it is such a deep desire for me.
And like, that's why I'm so passionate about the work that I do because like we need creative
people, we need artists.
I mean, our world's so interesting and entertaining and beautiful to live in, you know, and there
is, there is money out there to be made by creative.
So with that said, I do have a big vision for my art, but I feel like it's probably
going to be a little bit later in my career.
Maybe the next 10 years I'll be more of that, but I do, I love pastel, paint pastel colors.
And so I paint cakes.
So I paint, I use wash and acrylic paint to paint cake, paintings of cakes.
And there are a lot of pastel colors.
I'm actually working on one right now that has like more of a, what's the, when you use
one color and then shades of it.
Monochrome.
Yeah.
Love it.
Yeah.
And so I'm doing like a monochrome painting right now with metallic white.
That's going to be the highlight.
And I've also, I love toys.
So it's like a very naive kind of colors and I've done Barbie paintings and other toys
and things too.
And then cake up cakes and desserts and all of those things.
So that's what, that's what I love to paint.
I've sold some of them and, but it's kind of right now it's just fun for me.
And I'm just doing it for myself.
I do see later on it forming into something bigger.
Definitely.
Absolutely.
And you're so Mr. Shin driven.
I love hearing about the work that you're doing with the nonprofit and teaching.
I think it's just so, there's something like, okay, humbling is not the only word for it,
but I think it really nurtures my inner child and my inner creative when I'm teaching someone
else a skill.
It helps me recognize how much I've grown and how much there is to impart just with
the time that I've spent learning something.
Like being able to tell someone like, you're doing a great job.
Yeah.
And like it is hard sometimes, you know, it feels very reflective.
And I think there's some value in working with other people.
I think that's like, obviously you do it a ton, but I sometimes see people and even in
my own life get into the cycle of just like, oh, it's me, my work.
And I don't know, it's kind of like hiding your light under a bush sometimes when you're
not interacting with others.
Yeah.
And I agree with Pointe too, because this is part of 12 step recovery is like being
of service to others and being used like that.
There's something really healing that happens when you get out of yourself and into service
and you show up for people around you, whether it's volunteering, whether it's working.
Like if you're ever going through grief or like a difficult time or you're very inward
focused on your problems, like a great way to shift that energy is like, how can I help
someone out?
What do I do to go out into the world or call a friend or, you know, whatever it is to be
of service and like get out of my head.
Right.
And it's awkward sometimes too, especially if you're really processing through like grief
specifically.
But in those times, like we've talked about this whole episode is like we need each other.
We need other people.
It's so important to have community and to interact with others and what better way to
like be there for someone else, get out of yourself.
And like that is so rewarding.
It's like, it's something, there's something magical that happens in that too.
When you're like, oh my gosh, like I just helped them so much.
You know, like look at what I've done.
It just shifts the energy.
I love it.
Amazing.
Well, Lauren, thank you so much.
Is there anything else you want to touch on before we end the podcast today?
You know, not really, but I just, I, I'm so grateful.
Like I said earlier too, to get to, you know, work with you.
You are, you're such an inspiration.
You're so talented.
You're so hardworking.
And you know, I just, I'm excited to see what else is possible for you.
You can't see it right now, but I'm smiling really big.
You can see it, but the audience can't.
So yeah.
All right.
Thank you so much.
And here, Lauren, thank you for being on the podcast.
And for anyone who wants to connect with Lauren, I'll put her info in the show notes.
Yeah.
Thank you for joining us on the pool party.