A Gift from Us to You with Lauren Rockett

Lauren_Rockett is a Designer/Illustrator currently based in Oregon, and from Louisiana. She’s been practicing design and illustration for 8 years. A mental health advocate, she herself diagnosed with OCD two years ago, has been sharing her experiences and opening up the conversation around mental health through her personal practice. Her recent works thoughtfully use negative and positive space, incorporating type with illustrations. They’re both minimalistic and highly detailed, using lines and textures to bring the subject of her work to life.

Hi Lauren! Thanks for kicking off the year - you’re our first artist feature for 2021! Can you introduce yourself to our community?

Of course! I'm a graphic designer and illustration artist. I've been a designer/illustrator for about 8 years now. I just moved to Oregon this last year with my partner.

Tell us about your tech art and what when through your mind while you were creating them?

I wanted to use a focus on meditative or mindful movements and stances that felt accessible to anyone. I've struggled a lot with my mental health - which is something I'm pretty vocal about in my design work, and for me, walking has been something that's felt meditative but active. I'd say the same thing for yoga. I spent years using movement as a way of punishing my body for some perceived unhealthiness. When I created the tech art, I tried to take a more mindful approach to create something hopefully anyone could connect with - regardless of their activity level.

What do you hope people would feel when they see your work?

I hope that people feel like they can find something to relate to in my work. I obviously would like it if people think "oh this looks really cool!" but I try to incorporate more meaning into my work. I want people to feel something when they see my work - and I hope there's sort of an "oh ya I've felt that way as well" moment or that it connects with some experience they've had.

How would you describe your personal art practice?

I use art to process a lot of my internal world. I'm famously bad at expressing my emotions verbally. So art feels like a way that I can do that. I've been sharing my personal art on Instagram for a few years now and my favorite thing about that is when someone is like "I totally get this." or find it connects with some emotion in them as well... I think in some way it's a means for me to feel less alone inside my own head. 

This month we’ll be exploring what ‘waking up your body’ means and what that could look like. What is one thing you do to wake up your body?

I tend to be in my head a lot. So it's been grounding and important for me to start the day with movement. I try to go on a walk right after I get my coffee in the mornings. Mornings are not my favorite time - and walking has felt active without some expectation or pressure to perform. 

We’re always curious about what people are listening to! Any music recommendations for January?

Nathaniel Rateliff's new album is great! Other than that, I tend to listen to the same artists over and over: The Japanese House, Noah Gundersen, James Blake - just to name a few of my "always on repeat" artists.

You can connect with Lauren via Instagram.

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