Lauren Merceron shared her struggles with dyslexia and how she’s learned to embrace her unique challenges and value her unique strengths. I loved how she talked about making art to feed her soul and thinking of showing and selling it as secondary. It’s easy to get bogged down in the business and admin side of art, so that was a good reminder. Just the other day, I realized I’d spent over 2 hours just looking at open calls, potential opportunities, and peers one evening instead of using my precious alone time for art-making. Now, if you are serious about an art career, those admin and business tasks are necessary, but I’ve found that it helps to be more strategic about time and try to use my solo focused time in the studio.
Lauren Merceron is an elementary art teacher and artist based outside Atlanta, Georgia. She celebrates her language processing disorders because this unique wiring helps her visualize information stronger than imaginable. Feeling with lines, touching with color, bring all the shapes together. Her art advocates for people who suffer from dyslexia. She says: “For so long I felt stupid, I tried to overcompensate, suppress my feelings, and pretending that I was ‘normal.’ Children that suffer from language processing disorders should never feel this way. Through my work I communicate the unique messages of the dyslexic brain. My work is a form of meditation that helps to quiet the noise in my mind. The constant push and pull between right and left brain. The battle between conforming and being free.”
An Excerpt from Lauren’s Statement:
Over the last three decades, my mind has played tricks on me. At times this would be frustrating. At times exhilarating. But there was a constant stress associated with trying to reconcile the differences between the way my dyslexic brain interprets the world and how others view it. Art has always been a safe space for cultivate and express my experiences.
My artwork seeks to find a balance between abstract thoughts and the material world. I use contrast and texture to communicate in my process driven work.
Links:
- www.laurenmerceron.com
- @laurenmerceronart on instagram
- Artist: Cyrus Kabiru
- Artist: Lisa Congdon
- Dear Artists group with Benz Amataya
- Made By Dyslexia
I am so proud of Lauren. This podcast makes me, as a district level leader, see that I need to ask my teachers more questions. Thank you so much for this podcast! Giving a space for art teachers to share their work and how there is such a connection to our artist selves and our educator selves.
It’s so wonderful to hear that the podcast is inspiring more discussions and support of art teachers!
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