I was contacted by Jordan Hickey, senior editor at Arkansas Life about interviewing for the Arkansas Sketchbook feature for August 2015. He had come across some of my work online – specifically Developed and Less Finished: Maintaining Life and thought it would be a good fit for the Arkansas Life A&E section. He would interview me and would feature a large image of one piece along with a short bio.
“Do you think that’s something you’d be interested in?”
Of course I would! How exciting! Who does that? What artists’ work gets viewed and then is asked to interview and be featured in a well-known publication? Me!!!!
At the end of the article, there was even mention of the Wildwood art show! “Be sure to head over to Wildwood Gallery at Little Rock’s Wildwood Park for the Arts later this month, where LK will be exhibiting Developed and Less Finished: Maintaining Life from Aug. 21 to Sept. 20.”
Once I came up with the name Paper Opera – which took a couple of years to define what the art, music, and writing that M and I were doing – I went ahead and purchased the domain name through Reg123. This was August 2012. I knew what I wanted the Paper Opera website to offer (full art gallery, audio and video space for the Damsels in Distress with purchasing options, ebook capabilities, a full shop, and a news or blog update area). After researching my options, the general pricing to build something this significant was about $5,000. With no money in my art account I decided to use the free options and connect them all through one location.
The online components of Paper Opera
ART: The art gallery I built in Wix in February 2014, and used the L.K. Sukany artist name. Although M will create an occasional painting, he doesn’t really work too much in the fine art medium. I wanted something professional, like an online portfolio. It took me applying for a job I really wanted to actually build the online portfolio. After not getting the job, I reworked it, and am still finding pieces I have not photographed to add. I am still not 100% satisfied with the artist site, and am open for suggestions.
Music: For the Damsels in Distress site we went with Bandcamp in May 2014 because it was the easiest to understand and least complicated for others to use – anyone with internet access can use it. Because the free bandcamp doesn’t have video capabilities, we created a Paper Opera Youtube channel in May 2014 for videos.
Stories: With the ebook/self publishing, Lulu was the most recommended and we opened an account in March 2014. We have many projects in the works on this front, so all I can say is “coming soon” for this feature.
Paper Opera: All of these are linked from the artist website in Wix as well as the Paper Opera site in WordPress. We transferred the domain from Reg123 to WordPress in February 2014 because there was a better free interface.
The Logo
I wanted to design a logo for Paper Opera that had whimsical qualities and that would express the themes of art, music, and writing. I also wanted a design that would look good on the web (website banner) and in print (for business cards).
I knew I wanted to have an instrument in the logo from the beginning. I played with the tambourine or drum using the “O” for “Opera” and working in the name “Paper Opera” somehow. It turned into a cello and paintbrush. But the only thing I could see the cello as was a woman’s body and then she was playing herself, and it just kind of got weird.
So I transitioned from the cello to the accordion. There is something so whimsical and quirky about the accordion. I started playing with the accordion buttons as maybe a paint palette.
I designed this amalgamated object (accordion, paper, and a watercolor tray).
It just didn’t work in portraying the playfulness I really wanted in the logo. It also seemed really stiff – the design did.
I thought about how whimsical my damsels drawings are and thought about using that approach.
I took The “Dancer” and created this type of layered image with a circle to define the space and the accordion as a embellishment.
It just felt too forced, too clean, and I didn’t really want to use “The Dancer” for the paper opera logo. But I really liked the format of a figure in a circle and the logo words in the circle. I thought about the Dreamworks logo of the boy sitting on the moon and fishing. I really liked how the image evokes the idea of using imagination and has an element of being carefree.
I wanted something similar to that idea. I thought about it for a while and made this sketch during a sermon at Grace Church. The boy playing the accordion and sitting in the circle as if it were a swing, and a girl dancing while simultaneously writing or drawing with a feather behind the circle. It just seemed too busy for a logo.
I liked the bones, and decided this was something I could work with. I drew M sitting on a bar stool playing the accordion.
Once I had my drawing, I took a photo of it, and opened in Photoshop. I put a lot of texture effects, changed the figure a bit, and added the circle and key words – art, music, stories – within the logo. I admit, typography is not one of my strengths, but I like the look of cursive quite a bit, so that’s what I used for my text.
M and I have been doing Paper Opera the whole time we have known each other – over 8 years. It has been less defined and more abstract at times – sometimes floating around in our heads and our hearts – other times in a simple melody. Paper Opera is the online version of our art, music, and stories that we can share with you!
What do you think of when I say “hot date night” or “a night out on the town?”
M took me out for one of these. We went and looked at rows and rows – touching every corner of smooth and toothy – cream, white, and toned – thick and thin – pages of sketchbook paper.
M bought me a Canson Sketchbook – 7 x 10 – 98lb and a 12 pack of Derwent Inktense pencils. $$$$
Well, I did say it was a date!
Of course when we got home, I immediately went to my studio to see what these Inktense pencils were all about. Which is probably the downside for M of taking me on an art date.
The Inktense pencils are ink based, so after applying water, the ink dries and another layer of ink pencil can be added. Something else I think is really great about the Inktense pencils – and this is for the printmakers out there – the inktense pencils blend well when working with water based ink. This means that if you print and some parts of your print comes out grainy, you can cover that up with the Inktense pencils.
Person you meet: “What do you do?”
You: “I’m an artist”
Me: “I’m an artist.”
Person you meet: “What kind of art do you do?”
You: “Tells the person what kind of art you do.”
Me: “Mumble my way through this question spouting out oil paint, figures, and printmaking somewhere through the murk.”
Person you meet: “Do you show anywhere?” or “Where can I see your work?”
You: “Tells the person where they can see your work.”
Usually Me: “I have a website and I blog. I’m not showing anywhere. I’m not really selling anything. Translation – I make art and hide in my studio.”
“I also kiss baby feet”
Today through the end of the year – Me: “I have a website and I blog. I also have some work up right now at the Arkansas Attorney General’s office downtown in the Two Towers Building.”
How did this happen? Did I get discovered through my website or blog? Was there someone going from door to door in my neighborhood looking for just the right art? Did I go from office to office with samples of my work to see if anyone was looking for my work? It all happened through the Arkansas Arts Council.
I am a member of the Arkansas Artist Registry, and so I get emails of opportunities to show, sell, to apply for grants and fellowship, and other artist things. The Arkansas Arts Council sent a call for submission: “The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office seeks submissions from the Arkansas Artist Registry artists for a revolving exhibition of selected works in the reception area of the Office, which is open to the public for meetings, conferences and other events.” and this attachment
I submitted and was selected! Laurie Jo helped me to hang the show.
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.
Paper Opera 
