By Chanda Temple
When things got tough, Atlanta artist Lauren Lane turned to painting.
Through strokes of vibrant oranges, greens and blues, she painted through the worries and pains of family health challenges, a difficult workload and the self doubt of “Is my art good enough.”
Never one to break, she placed her trust in God. And He delivered.
Atlanta artist Lauren Lane said this piece was inspired by Joseph from the Bible and his multi-colored coat. She’s at Magic City Art Connection 2024 at Sloss Furnaces. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
“I was like, ‘Yo, this is something that I really love to do, regardless of if people connect with it or not,’ “ she said. “This is something I have to do because this is something He put inside me. So, I had to get to a place where I was willing to be a contribution instead of it being perfect or needing people to validate me.”
One of the pieces by artist Lauren Lane. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
After taking an eight-year sabbatical from painting, she returned to it in 2023. She calls her first piece, “Embrace the Wait.” It features a woman in a blue head wrap and bold gold earrings. It reminds her of how bamboo grows: it takes several years for bamboo to take root before it produces. And that is how life can be, too.
“I needed time to create in my own private area to show (my art) to other people,” she said.
There is also a large painting of a woman in a multi-colored coat, which was inspired by Joseph and his multi-colored cloak from the Bible. Like Joseph, Lane was going through a difficult time, and she wanted to create something to help people realize that there is beauty even in the midst of struggle. She calls the painting “Inner Peace.”
“You can find peace that transcends understanding if you are willing to trust the process,” she said. “I created these because I believe that our people needed more work that is empowering and images that make us feel good and make us joyful.”
Lane and her colorful paintings and prints will be on display this weekend at Magic City Art Connection at Sloss Furnaces. She’s in the middle of the row that leads to the Welcome Center in the back at Sloss.
Admisson is $15.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 pm
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.