Some of my most exciting news yet is a new series of paintings I am working on.  I have always longed to be an artist that could paint messy social justice issues but in a beautiful way.  Because I believe art is an invitation to see to the world differently and then hopefully a motivator to act upon those new revelations, I have never been more excited for a series.  Recently I watched a documentary titled Beyond Belief.  It is a story of two widows from the September 11th attacks who started an organization called Beyond the 11th that provides widows in Afghanistan with chickens and incubators so they can provide for their own family.  One woman in the documentary named Zainab Wahidi said that having a husband was like having shade and she and her children had now lost theirs.  Having recently watched this same pain happen in my own family, I was overwhelmed by the visual image that Zainab shared.  It has since spawned a new series of paintings that will be completed for their first cohesive show in January 2010.  I am honored to be speaking with Susan Retik, founder of Beyond the 11th and Beth Murphy, director of Beyond Belief in hopes to partner with them in efforts to raise more funds for the Afghani widows. I’ll leave you with two of the newest paintings.  Much more to come!

Mercy.  I know I’ve been terrible at updating lately.  It has been a whirlwind the past few weeks.  Tomato Fest seemed to consume my entire life and the commissions pouring in after have kept me very busy.  I did however take some time to head down to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for one of my favorite projects to date.  University Church of Christ Campus Ministries hired me to come and paint 6 paintings for their new college room.  I am ridiculously impressed by this church and the people in it.  They are actively seeking to introduce and encourage creativity within their congregation.  We had many great discussions and I really believe the church is well on its way to being a more creative body.  Creativity is so much more than visual art, awesome music, and a great website.  In order for a group of people to be creative they must first be willing to be vulnerable.  Creativity takes risk and some heavy self awareness. This requires a safe non judgmental space that encourages healing.  I personally take the opinion that to be creative is to be growing.  Now it’s up to that person whether that is a healing forward type of growth or a demise backward type of growth.  This particular group of people have committed to the pursuit of an authentic intimate and safe community of people.  They are already more creative than they know…

I’ll leave you with some pictures from the paintings.  There are 6 total.  1 was a special project just for the ladies meeting room and the other 5 are for their main gathering space.  I painted all 6 in 12 hours total.  It was intensely exhausting but I love creative marathons

What a day!  The East Nashville Tomato Art Fest was amazing!  It really boggles my mind that 12,000 people cram into a 5 block span just for the sake of the lovely tomato.  It’s crazy, but it was fun!  I’m still amazed we did not melt from the heat.  Mercy it was unbelievable!  I had such a successful day with my art and got to see many old friends.  It was absolutely wonderful and I can’t wait to do it again next year!  Here are some pictures of my booth for those of you who did not make it out!

10am to 6pm.  Come find me right next door to Bongo Java!

So I found out today that I’m going to do two murals for the Williamson County School System .   I’m really excited about both projects.  They will be “interactive” murals where kids will get to add their art or pictures to it.  It’s always been my personal belief that art should be an experience….one should use multiple senses when engaging art.  I’m stoked that the kids will get to do this.  How exciting!  I should have one finished early next week and the other two weeks following.  I’ll be sure to post pictures!

My dear friend Brad Walker has ever so kindly lent me his creative writing for my new Artist Bio!  He did a fabulous job and I wanted to share it with ya’ll!  Thanks Brad!

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“The quest for truth and authenticity is a messy one. On my journey inward I often find myself spilling over the edges onto the world around me. Some call it a mess. Others call it art. I call it my Creative Spillage.”

Never afraid to make a mess, LAURA Amstutz spills her soul on canvas from her East Nashville studio, relying on relationships, travels, and personal struggles as inspiration for her visual art. LAURA’s deep love for color and texture is immediately apparent in her work. Want to touch? Go ahead—LAURA recognizes that art should be experienced on more than a visual level, for beauty is found even in the most insignificant of textures. Focus with all your senses; she does.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Ministry from Belmont University propping up her easel, LAURA has blended together her love for people with her love of art for her most recent project: creativity classes for women. LAURA teaches all women entering the workshop that they are each creative geniuses simply because they are the work of The Great Creator. Messes aren’t only allowed; they’re encouraged: sometimes the most beauty emerges from the biggest mess, LAURA explains, citing Christ’s redemption story as evidence. Creative messes stimulate the workshop experience, building community and allowing each participant to experience the world—without expectations, without rules—through each others’ spilled creations.

If she’s not painting, you might find LAURA frequenting local coffee shops in paint splattered clothes and cowboy boots. Painting since the age of five, LAURA doesn’t make art; she lives it.

LAURA’s life verse – Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 (NIV)

Okay ya’ll. Amazing news! Fellow artist and creative genius Motke Dapp directed a film for the Nashville 48 hour film contest and won Best Film!  It’s called Now You’re Being Ridiculous.

Check it out and keep your eyes peeled for one of my paintings in the background! It’s the ever infamous black tree with the deep red background. Motke and his wife bought this piece last year and I’m honored he used it in the film!

Hey ya’ll!  I know I have told many of you that my booth will be in the alley behind Battered and Fried, but it looks like things are changing!  I don’t know the exact placement of my new booth, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do!  I’m going to try to have a large banner that says LAURA so it’ll be easier to find me in the mix.  Sorry for all the confusion!  I’ll post all the details in a few days.  Until then, enjoy these new paintings!  They are all 10×10x3deep.  They will all be at the Tomato Fest and on sale for $150.00.  I really wanted to have some smaller more affordable pieces for this show.  Enjoy!

In getting ready for East Nashville’s Tomato Art Fest, I have gone to crazy-town and back.  The last two weeks have been a frenzy of me trying to force my creative genius to emerge with something new and overwhelmingly awe-striking.  Well, for any artist types out there, you know that one cannot just call forth creativity as if it’s just waiting to be born.  It’s a slow birthing process.  One that you can nurture daily or let sit idle and become lazy.  Well, I had taken a few weeks off of painting to visit family and various other things. By the time I picked up my paintbrush I was completely lost.

I’ve had alot of personal changes spiritually and emotionally these days.  I began trying to force this newness onto my art, which was not quite as ready or willing.  Then one afternoon I was sitting at a coffee shop having the most delightful pity party for myself, when Jesus, well Jeesu appeared.

I looked up and running towards me was this  5 year old beautiful chinese girl.  She was enamored with my sketchbook and markers.  I tore out a page of my sketchbook and gave her some crayons.  She ran back to her mother and happily went to town.  A few minutes later she came back to my table and this time pulled up a chair and started coloring with  me.  Her mother was mortified, but I told her it was more than fine.  I welcomed the company.  She drew effortlessly and without judgement and then handed me her paper saying “for you.”  I asked what her name was and she said “Jesu.”  I had to hold back my laugh because of course God sends Jesus to me, literally, to remind me of the childlike simplicity of creating.  Jessu’s picture hangs proudly on my studio wall and I wanted to share it with ya’ll.

My roommate named my new paintings “Serenity.”  What is it about particular shades of blue that evoke the most calming effect on people?  These paintings are new for me because I NEVER use black in of my works.  I love my pen and ink drawings and I think they inspired the black paint in these pictures.  They are new.  They are different.  They are still a part of me and I love them.  I think serenity fits perfect.