Yes, this may be a grave post, but as artist, I think about death. I don’t think about death necessarily in a depressed or creepy way, just about the thing itself as well as the customs and rituals around it.
I wanted to make my will and pick out my burial ground and headstone. The only thing I really have to leave to anyone is my art (paintings, drawings, prints, and books I’ve made with M). I think I would want my family to pick out what they want and the rest to be donated.
I found family buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Paris, AR and thought that could be a good place – it would connect me to someone and somewhere from a historical perspective. Honestly, I don’t know anyone who actively visits gravesides, so I don’t think it really matters where I’m buried because I don’t think anyone will visit the place.
Here were some family headstones I found.
Like Father – Like Son
These are a little different – I like the last name in relief.
Overall they are pretty general tombstones, except for the Mausoleum!
I looked on Pinterest for headstone ideas – and there were themes of figures, angels, baby angels, pets, etc.
Human figures in a cemetery are creepy.
Pet animal statues are confusing – is it your PET’S grave or a pet on YOUR grave?
Angels make it look Catholic, which is great.
Baby angels are okay, but not my cuppa.
No – I just can’t even imagine this.
I thought a bench would be nice – so people could take a rest when on a stroll.
M and I took the kids for the lunch hour on Friday.
M brought a picnic lunch, and everyone enjoyed the goodies (peanut butter and jelly sandwich, banana, and kettle chips).
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We had to keep a lookout because the geese kept invading our picnic!
The kids found a resting duck on our way into the museum.
Once into the Arkansas Arts Center , we went to Carroll Cloar’s exhibit. The kids seemed very interested in Cloar’s work and when asked how they would describe it, they said “cool.”
Looking at art is a great way to spend the lunch hour!
There was even a kids area – which I thought was “cool.” While Al helped ZZ with the magnets, SS made his own composition.
Two things I learned while viewing art with kids was #1 When holding the two year old, I focused more on colors and shapes because I wasn’t sure what else to point out in the painting.
#2 Going to see art with your kids is a really good thing! Also, people will look at you approvingly and admire your genius family.
M picked me up for lunch and we went to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Carroll Cloar Exhibition. When we first walked into the gallery, it smelled punge. I couldn’t place the smell. It wasn’t until we got to the Carroll Cloar studio installation that I realized the smell was old paper. If you have ever made your own paper and your paper pulp got moldy, you know that smell can be painfully strong. M took a picture of me in front of Cloar’s studio, and I thought I was smiling, but apparently I was just looking at the camera.
There were so many beautiful patterns and colors. The compositions were also very pleasing to look at.
I got inspired and decided to forego house chores and to-do maintenance list (mostly involving my stinky dog Ein) and worked in my studio.
I put in an old black & white movie – The Sky’s the Limit (1943), a romantic musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie – and got to work. At one point, I found myself wishing that Fred Astaire’s name was spelled with an E, like Esterre. I don’t know why.
I finished my chicken painting studies.
I want to do a large landscape painting with chickens in the foreground, so I gessoed over an old painting. It was a failed painting that I never finished.
I always feel super great when I work in my studio. It’s the same feeling when I’m playing music. I feel alive and immersed in the present. I feel awake.
Who are you and what do you do? My name is Lauren Sukany, and when I have an extra bit of time to work, I work on artistic projects.
Why do you do what you do? Making art, music, and writing are processes I use to interpret how I am experiencing life and the others around me. I do this because it’s interesting and the amount of intense focus during the art making process is relaxing.
What art do you most identify with? Paintings. I understand paintings (brush stroke, color, and composition). I respond emotionally to music. I now also have read so many picture books that illustration and the picture book format have become a new space for me to go to in my creative thinking and ideas.
What’s your background? I am from Arkansas. I graduated from an arts/science magnet high school; I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in printmaking from Missouri State University; I received my Master of Arts in painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I have been in a band with my spouse since 2006. I have worked with the Adobe Creative Suite and graphic design in a professional setting since 2010. I have been working on illustrating books and story covers since 2015.
What has been a seminal experience? Participating in daily mass keeps me at peace and open to God’s Will. I also pray for permission and then creativity, inspiration, and the visual idea before starting creative projects.
Explain what you do in 100 words. My process begins with inspiration and the idea or possibility of the project. I develop the idea with research and experience until I have an image or story in mind. I make thumbnail sketches of my ideas and pick one. If writing, I type up a short summary and slowly work on the story over time. I draw and paint on bristol large paper (using gouache, watercolor, and inktense pencils), work with printmaking (linoleum cuts), or use scratchboard. I scan in the finished work on a large bed scanner, clean up any smudges, and put on my artist website lksukany.wixsite.com/artist.
How do you work? I work with a to-do list and deadlines. I work at my old 36×72” Mayline solid oak drafting table with gray vyco covered top that we got from the Heroes of Faith comic series illustrators Jerry and Faith McCullough in 2007. It is my art studio. I work quickly and in shorter sessions because I usually don’t have much uninterrupted time.
How has your practice changed over time? Because of time constraints, I procrastinate less and work in quickly drying media. I work smaller because of storage issues. I don’t put as much pressure on myself to produce work as I did in the past. I’m much more introverted with my work and have little to no visibility in the local fine art communities.
What work do you most enjoy doing? I think I am a printmaker at heart, so I really enjoy series of things (writing and completing a series of songs to go in an album, creating a theme for a series of paintings or drawings, etc.). I also get a lot of satisfaction from finishing a project. It feels so tidy.
What themes do you pursue? Figures, family life, and making the mundane of daily life extraordinary or whimsical or at least interesting. I don’t think I even think about doing this. I just see people and I imagine more there, and that is what I render – that possibility. I have been working more with dance and ballet themes because of the copious amounts of time in the dance studio since 2024.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood? Swimming underwater. Being thirsty. Swinging high and looking at my feet. Picking scabs on my knees. Moving my tongue around in my mouth and making repetitive sounds. Shivering and seeing my breath on a brisk morning, but not feeling cold. Thinking the cartoon people were tiny and lived in the tv set. “Where did they go when we turned it off?” I wanted to know.
What’s your scariest experience? Being hit by a speeding truck while stopped at a red light with a baby and a toddler in the backseat was absolutely jarring. Five C-Sections were all different levels of scary, and all ER visits and hospital stays with little kids is sad scary.
What’s your favorite artwork? Wayne Thiebaud paintings of cakes
What role does the artist have in society? To make art. To be sifted. And if they are at the right place at the right time, they get to be one of THE artists.
What is integral to the work of an artist? Living a fine line between routine and spontaneity. The art has to be inspired in order to contain the essence of the thing once the idea or portrayal is interpreted by the artist.
Artist Interview 2014 (pre-kids)
Who are you and what do you do? My name is Lauren Sukany. I work as a professional during the day and then I go home and work in my studio. I am an artist and I mostly paint, draw, and print.
Why do you do what you do? I am a creative person who uses art, writing, and music to make sense of the world.
What art do you most identify with? Paintings. I understand paintings (brush stroke, color, and composition). I also respond emotionally to music.
What’s your background? I am from Arkansas. I graduated from an arts/science magnet high school; I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in printmaking from Missouri State University; I received my Master of Arts in painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I have been in a band with my spouse since 2006. I have worked with the Adobe Creative Suite and graphic design in a professional setting since 2010.
What has been a seminal experience? Responding to God’s calling for me – salvation and living in His will.
Explain what you do in 100 words. I paint on canvas (oil and acrylics), draw (charcoal, graphite, ink, colored pencil), work with printmaking (etchings, drypoint, woodcuts, linoleum cuts, monoprinting, lithography), papermaking, work with fabrics, play music (vocals, guitar, banjo, bass guitar, drums, accordion, concertina, cello, melodica, glockenspiel, piano), work in graphic design and layout (adobe creative suite), and I also write short stories. My process begins with research and experience. Once inspired, I sketch or write my ideas and work with the appropriate medium to complete the work. Upon completion, I photograph and document the work. I place on my website and social media.
How do you work? I work with a to-do list and deadlines.
How has your practice changed over time? I am less concerned with “being deep” or creating something “no one has ever seen or experienced before” and am able to focus on what I want to accomplish in the studio in what period of time (day, week, month).
What work do you most enjoy doing? I think I am a printmaker at heart, so I really enjoy series of things (writing and completing a series of songs to go in an album, creating a theme for a series of paintings or drawings, etc.).
What themes do you pursue? Figures, daily life, making the mundane of daily life extraordinary or whimsical or at least interesting. I don’t think I even think about doing this. I just see people talking and I imagine that there is more there, and that is what I render – their “secret” selves.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood? Straightening my mothers shoes. Coloring at my grandmothers house. Coloring in my aunts basement in St. Louis. I remember crying a lot.
What’s your scariest experience? I am a parasominiac, so that can be very frightening at times.
What’s your favorite artwork? I have a deck of Edward Hopper playing cards that I have become very fond of over the years. I just love the greens he uses.
What role does the artist have in society? To attempt to move ones soul.
What is integral to the work of an artist? Living a fine line between routine and spontaneity.
I started a monthly art night in October 2013. This picture is from the February 2014 meeting.
The Art Night group meets once a month and is an extremely relaxed event. No one has to RSVP to come, Everyone is welcome to bring a friend. There is not a set meeting time, but “anytime after 6” is fine to come, and can leave anytime (even after dinner). Dinner and hot tea is provided. The dinner and dishware is set out, and people can help themselves and put their dishes in the sink when done. I really wanted to encourage people to be able to to come after work, and not worry about food. M does all of the cooking so far, and even makes dessert sometimes.
Everyone is encouraged to bring something to work on. The whole point of the art night is to encourage each other to stay creative in some way in our day-to-day lives whether a professional, student, or stay-at-home person. There has been sewing, origami, coloring book and colored pencils, gouache painting, Valentines making, wedding decor crafting, oil painting, photo editing, figure sketching, and needlepoint,
Conversation naturally happens from the time of arrival to departure. We share and discuss interesting ideas, inspiring books, work stories, family stories, beliefs and spirituality, and even controversial topics. It is great to meet with these artists and to be encouraged to continue trying to understand how to live in this world as an artist.
