Making things matter

My dearest:

2012-02-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

monster drawing rally @midway contemporary

2011-12-10T06:52:00.001-08:00

Fourth Annual Monster Drawing Rally
Saturday, December 17, 2011, 6PM - 10PM

I'm drawing at the Monster Drawing Rally this year! Come check out this amazing event.

Watch as artists draw live at Midway - then buy drawings for a flat price of $35.
Midway’s Monster Drawing Rally is one of the Twin Cities' most anticipated art events of the year. See over 50 artists making work in the gallery and bring home the drawings you love.

All proceeds benefit Midway's 2011-2012 programming.
Drawing rounds begin at 6, 7, and 8pm.
Admission is free
Souvenir cups are $5
Drawings are $35

Here is a link to the super duper artists drawing this year.

2011-11-28T07:09:00.001-08:00

i am where you are

2011-10-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

liminality

2011-05-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective state, conscious or unconscious, of being on the "threshold" of or between two different existential planes

Help Japan

2011-03-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

It's crazy to think about what's happening in Japan. For having such direct access to images, videos, and news, I feel incredibly disconnected. I want to help. Who doesn't? We all want to help. I thought I'd see if I could use my work to make a difference. So...I have this Etsy page. I've posted an announcement that from now through the end of April, I will donate half of anything I sell on my site to the Red Cross. It's a tiny little effort. But why not put our handwork to good use?

Click here to go to my Etsy page.

The Great Disconnect.

2011-02-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

Y'all. I'm in an exhibition in a few weeks. Check the info below and I hope you can make it. Or break something in my honor.

Jelena Berenc and

Lauren Herzak-Bauman

March 4-April 1, 2011

Opening reception and artist talk, Friday, March 4th, 7-9pm

Working in diverse media, artists Jelena Berenc and Lauren Herzak-Bauman explore the idea of self awareness and the passage of time. Jelena Berenc uses large scale graphite drawings to document individual presence and being. Berenc states that, "drawing is used as a means by which I attain self-existence. Drawing is an activity of being oneself, by which one's true essence is realized: a self-revelation." Benenc's drawings document everyday existence through minimal and repetitious mark-making.

Using primarily the material of porcelain, Lauren Herzak-Bauman's large scale installations explore the notion of personal phases of being over time. The artist states, "Making things in clay links these shifting states of emotional being to a materiality, documenting and communicating struggle primarily shared in private spaces."

Jelena Berenc lives and works in St. Charles, Illinois and received her MFA and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

Lauren Herzak-Bauman lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota and received her MFA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota and her BFA from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.

viking hearts

2011-02-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

It was a pink day

I was in a nice way

When everything I knew turned grey

e to the t to the s to tha why

2010-12-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

While I make really big sculptures, the process always begins with small scale porcelain objects, experiments and explorations to inspire and kick start the new. Sometimes people like the end result of my studio tinkering; therefore, I've started an Etsy site to share my wares. lololauren.etsy.com Or just click here.

2010-11-18T07:01:00.001-08:00

"It's the great disconnect that reminds me of having once been connected".

No assumption

2010-10-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

No Assumption

No Assumption is a show in a house. I was invited to participate by a really driven and dedicated woman named Mirelle. I installed an iteration of my installation from the spring, The Parlor Room. Her story is really great.

The exhibition runs till October 22. Check out the link above.

the end is near

2010-09-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

certain calendar days do nothing against the imminent change in seasons.
i wish fall days would wait for the calendar.
it is so beyond my control.

Aaron Macy

2010-08-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Aaron Macy was an amazing person. I interacted with him only briefly during my first semester of school at Bowling Green. I was a punky freshman who didn't want to do the cylinder assignment because I though I already knew better. He encouraged me to challenge the system and rise above and be bold and adventurous--yes, within a cylinder assignment--and I never forgot his can-do attitude. Soon after, Aaron was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away six weeks later. A scholarship was started in his name and given to students sharing in his spirit, energy and optimism. I'm so happy and honored to be part of this exhibition recognizing a group of amazing artists.

a piece of trash i can't throw away.

2010-08-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

my styrofoam cup
made contact with a sharp edge
and sprung a leak
in the shape of
the line of
a closed eye.

2010-07-29T22:01:00.001-07:00

I've been to Bayfield three times. Bayfield, Wisconsin is a Lake Superior coast town and the base town for the Apostle Islands, a stretch of 22 islands off the coast of Wisconsin. Bayfield has become near and dear to my heart, traveling up North with new faces each time. There's an abandoned schoolhouse I've visited on every trip. The changes are subtle but they exist. Two years between my first and third visit, and I'm unknowingly making the same notes on space.

wow and wow.

2010-06-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Oh man. So much for updating this thing. I'm going to make a real effort this time.

It's a new season.

I'm thinking about process. And time. And preparation. And labor. And practice. And patience. And love and kindness.

My art practice (and my life practice) currently requires all of these things.

I don't know if it's the distractions of summer or the distractions in my apartment, but I'm having a hard time focusing on this proposal I'm writing for Eastern State Penitentiary. It's our country's first modern day prison and it's amazing. I was able to tour it when I was in Philadelphia this past March and I was silenced by the textural landscape, the stories, the history. ESP allows artist to do installations and that's what I'm trying to do. So far, I have this drawing....Here's hoping.

The art shanty projects

2010-01-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

I only briefly made mention in my last post about the terrific project I've been working on this past few weeks but I think it's time to elaborate. The Art Shanty Projects began as a way to enjoy the cold and the ice with art. Now in its 7th year, ASP has come to stand as my beacon of hope against the frigid Minnesota winters.

When I moved here 3 years ago, my friend Stephen dragged me out on the ice one weekend. I begrudgingly went, not comprehending why being cold was cool. Warm shanties greeted me with art activities to take part in and observe. From origami to knitting, to sending post cards from the lake, each shanty had unique offerings all in the name of art and ice. Winters were no longer evil and dreaded if ASP were around.

I knew I had to be part of it. 3 years later, the Library Shanty stands, a labor of love between myself and 4 other collaborators. We sought to create a space where visitors could relax with a book, get warm, and take part in the process of archive and documentation that books offer.

We are a reference library--no books leave the ice. A warm, cozy reading loft awaits visitors ready to spend some time with a story. The loft has been a favorite amongst the kids and librarians.

Each weekend we offer different programming. Make a library card, book art, music to words, conversations on archiving and documentation, the future of the book.

There's a whole other something happening on the ice too. To be continued.

2010:

2010-01-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

-so fresh and so clean. Done with those aughts, I say. On to our pimply, awkward teens.
-Art Shanty Projects: www.artshantyprojects.org and www.facebook.com/medicinelakebranch Check it. So fun. So good.
-Working multiple jobs, but much less hours and more studio time.
-Teaching a lot. So fun. So great.

"Don't worry baby, it's all liminal".

worn/torn

2009-12-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

I'm hefting a lot of baggage this week. Here to there. Start to finish. Go to stop.

My classes come to a close this week and in lieu of a formal final exam/critique, I am hosting a last meal at the West Bank Social Center. I have asked my students to imagine their last meals and to invent two sets of place settings for the occasion. This Thursday we will sit down and toast our last meals together, celebrating the intersection of food and art, the end of a long grueling semester, and our lives which fortunately for us are not at an end but a beginning, a midpoint, or an end we just have yet to know.

I was in a show this past weekend. The curator asked us to assemble works within a week, a concept rather foreign to me as I tend to pour over projects for months. It was rather refreshing and the images from that installation will be up on the website soon.

Ends, lots of endings this week. Lots of beginnings as well. Appropo.

Check out this inspiring sailor: www.jessicawatson.com.au She is amazing.

I've tasted the sour which allows me to appreciate the sweet.

2009-10-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

For reasons of which I will only briefly elaborate, I am drawn to images of disaster and loss. This link caught my eye on one of my favorite blogs, Space Invading: http://www.spaceinvading.com/entry/project_id/Pollution_in_China200910231256314791

There's something about human nature that is revealed within the photographs that grabs my attention the most. Pollution, what I think is our biggest human error, is revealed as an upsetting sort of beauty.

It is human, I think to strive for progress, creating situations that create photographs that create such dichotomies.

Paying Attention

2009-10-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

I got stuck in front of a very slow moving train today. I got a little caught up in the excitement of living in a new region as I saw the cars go by, particularly this giant round one with a huge piece of graf on the side...Other cars clued me in to the train having been to Canada. I never saw Canadian rail cars in Ohio and noticing them, observing them and their subtle intricacies reminded me how new the Upper Midwest still is for me. While I've been here over 3 years, being out of school affords more focus and attention on my environment. Alberta Rail Cars: while I don't know your proper name, I appreciate the two languages on your side, the creeping abstracted wheat pattern, and the super outdated font. Thank you.

2009-10-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

There's exciting news to post. Of course. But in lieu of ranting about what's going on with me, I'll rant about what's going on with my city.

My city is confused, that's what. We've had two days of snow. The first day was sort of exciting. Today just freaked me out. It was snowing thick full flakes while the ground was still warm and green. Two very different opinions at war with one another. And we are all stuck in the middle. I felt very torn today. Not wanting to express an opinion really, just wanting to experience when winter imposed itself upon fall. This is what I observed: Skeleton stick-on window decalse next to snow-covered faux furs. Icy melting sidewalks and driveways. Blue peaks covered in wintry grey clouds. Seat warmers. Hot mochas. Heavy jackets. Bikes not yet winterized.

Just conflicted today. Very conflicted. I fear that fall might fall in a withered defeat, giving in to the flash freeze and revealing more fallen green than red, orange, or yellow. But that is fall. My first snowfall Fall.

In other news, I'm shopping for a superb travel mug and a seam ripper and taking suggestions on both....

not what?

2009-10-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Check this out. Neato.

The Austerity Cookbook...

2009-09-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

...opens this Saturday, September 5! Join me for the opening from 7-11pm. Free admission, bring some cash for booze.

Here's some words about the show:

Curated by Ben Heywood
Participating artists: Peter Owen (RI), Alison Owen, (RI) Adam Parker Smith (NYC), Scott Rogers (Canada), Wendy DesChene (AL), Lauren Herzak-Bauman (MN), Gregory Fitz (MN), Brett Smith (MN), Sarah JaneGorlitz and Wojciech Olejnik (Canada), Eileen Maxson (PA)The Soap Factory has stood by the Mississippi since 1883, and each generation has put it to a different purpose. It began as a warehouse for the railroad, and during America’s second world war, it became a soap factory. Closing in the recession of the early 1990s, in 1995 it became an art gallery, a studio space, a creative laboratory for new ideas. During our great recession of 2009, The Soap Factory presents The Austerity Cookbook. Published in England in 1975, The Austerity Cookbook by Bridget Ardley is a beloved holdover from harder times. Ardley’s brisk schoolmarm prose and sensible recipes for offal, beans, and vegetables hearken back to 1939, when heroic Britons ate Woolton Pie and bred rabbits in the gardens as bombers droned overhead. The cookbook reminds us that during times of adversity we make do and mend, keeping calm and carrying on. As The Soap Factory’s building has been constantly re-purposed over a century of human activity, we use and re-use whatever we have at hand, turning our human creativity to humble materials and found treasures. Creativity at times of adversity and calm preparation for the on coming storm are key organizing principles behind this exhibition of eleven artists from our annual submissions. Gregory Fitz’s humble sculpture shows one possible future, as Brett Smith’s miniature barricades leave us wondering if we can ever really keep anything at bay. Lauren Herzak-Bauman creates the landscape of a fully-realized apocalypse, just as Alison Owen’s dust-wallpaper suggests a hopeful transformation of desolation into comfort and even beauty. As always in these desperate years, it is artists who show us the way forward; setting the agenda for a harsh winter, picturing our current demise, and figuring resilient survival strategies for art, artists, and the rest of us. It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good.

You are invited:

2009-08-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of events are coming up!

First, that Soap Factory show. "The Austerity Cookbook" opening is Saturday, September 5, 7-11. Soap openings are always a grand time. Come out and hang, drink some drinks, engage in arty banter, and party with me. Click here for more info.

And next: TASK PARY!!! What is a Task Party? What is a task party...Part party, part art, part social experiment...I am not the one to explain fully. You need to look here. But you should come. WEST BANK TASK PARTY! Happening at the West Bank Social Center, Saturday, September 12, 8pm till... Come on out and embrace the unexpected.

Join me! Contact me for more info.

You are invited:

2009-08-06T10:43:00.001-07:00

A couple of events are coming up!

First, that Soap Factory show. "The Austerity Cookbook" opening is Saturday, September 5, 7-11. Soap openings are always a grand time. Come out and hang, drink some drinks, engage in arty banter, and party with me. Click here for more info.

And next: TASK PARY!!! What is a Task Party? What is a task party...I am not the one to explain fully. You need to look here. But you should come. WEST BANK TASK PARTY! Happening at the West Bank Social Center, Saturday, September 12, 8pm till... Come on out and embrace the unexpected.

Hmm...having troubles loading images, so I will close with one more link. Good days and good nights.

ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-07-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't used this blog to promote much else besides upcoming shows and art tidbits, but seeing as I have been lackadaisical about posting anything, I figure any words are better than no words at all...

There's something about midsummer that seems to halt all thoughts of change. Maybe it's the warm air that no longer lingers but remains still, constant. Summer foliage is in full effect--my porch is barely visible from the street, shrouded in a leaf and vine covering. Funny how I find myself and my environment in a state of flux.

Big changes coming my way: My time at the University of Minnesota is coming to a close and with that, I must move studios. I will be settling in to Bottle Rocket Studios in the Longfellow neighborhood, an old bottle factory turned studio space. A number of the art inhabitants are former U people and as more move in, I begin wondering what kind of community we can establish. What's great about the space is also the diversity. A roller derby team holds several practices weekly in the space adjacent to mine.

I will also be moving apartments. My future roommate and I have named our new digs Sweden. Although we are terribly unsure why such a name came about for our place, we are excited to make this place home. A swedish home.

And finally, a new job is looming in my future. I will be taking a job as Sabbatical Replacement in Ceramics and Metals at Minneapolis Community and Technical College in downtown Minneapolis. The one-semester position is a great first job. And I get to learn how to weld and teach it too! I'm excited for this opportunity to teach, to learn, to stay in my community, and to explore a new studio.

There will be housewarming parties, studio warming parties, and first week of job celebrations. On top of all this, our group exhibition at Soap Factory will be opening in September. We will celebrate then too. Stay tuned.

I will figure out how to multi-task my multiple moves while sitting on my beautiful fort-like porch, marveling at the seemingly never-ending summer.

Mid-year resolution: update blog!

2009-06-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Lots of things happening:

I am in NYC for a short period of time doing a workshop designed to introduce us to the art world. Click here to go to the blog. Click here to go to the flickr site for the class. And come to our opening June 11 from 6-9pm at NYCAMS in Chelsea, 44 W. 28th between 6th and Broadway, 7th floor.

I will be in two exhibitions in the upcoming months: One is The Clay Studio's 6th Annual Marge Brown Kalodner Graduate Student Exhibition this summer. The other is an installation at the Soap Factory this September. More on all events later.

3-minute egg

2009-04-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

mid-year resolution: update more often!

but now i have great things to update...thesis show is up, stay tuned for more images.

i got interviewed at my opening Friday, here's the link: http://3minuteegg.wordpress.com/

ch-ch-check it out!

NAGAS 2009

2009-01-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

The show I have been working on as a student curator will open this Tuesday! It's very exciting, 50+ works of art are installed in the Nash Gallery. Come by for the opening Friday, January 23.

west bank shop

2009-01-10T06:11:00.001-08:00

Check it out. Our little West Bank project made it to mnartists.org!

2008 YEAR IN REVIEW: The Big Picture for Minnesota Arts
Compiled by Susannah Schouweiler
Minnesota artists weigh in on the peaks and valleys of 2008, from Vote Yes! to the troubles facing arts orgs and media, to the rise of spoken word and DIY craft. Look for more year-end picks - in performance, film and literature - over the next two weeks.

http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=218439

West Bank Shop

2009-01-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I worked on a project with fellow artists called the West Bank Shop. We sought to create a space with very few rules and limitations placed upon it. A number of art happenings came out of the space and it was a fun 50 day project. Here it is featured on mnartists.org:

2008 YEAR IN REVIEW: The Big Picture for Minnesota Arts
Compiled by Susannah Schouweiler
Minnesota artists weigh in on the peaks and valleys of 2008, from Vote Yes! to the troubles facing arts orgs and media, to the rise of spoken word and DIY craft. Look for more year-end picks - in performance, film and literature - over the next two weeks.

http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=218439

launch!

2009-01-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Hooray! My website has been launched: www.laurenhb.com
I'm tickled.
Thank you to Dennis and Guilio for making it happen.

2008-11-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

"your absence has gone through me like thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its color."

--W.S. Merwin

WBS

2008-10-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

the westbankshop has been a pleasant happening as of late.
13 of us have rented the narrow space, cleaned it up and are making art in it.
the space is loacated in the cedar riverside neighborhood, a predominantly somali neighborhood.
it's a few blocks away from school, yet it feels very far away.
my weekly project is to read aloud for one hour a week.
i read a j.d. salinger story last week. i'll start on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tomorrow.

Undulation celebration

2008-10-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

In progress:
My stack is growing, hooray!
I've become very efficient, averaging a foot a day in height.
Now the hard part: taking it all apart to fire.
I've made sand boxes to support the undulations.
The process of taking it all apart starts in a day or two, wish me luck...

Cart happiness

2008-10-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

In preparation for big things, I built some carts. I hope to start using them this weekend.