Lauren Patterson shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Lauren , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me is honestly working on art and if not that working my 9-5 lol. Since coming back home to NC, I spent a good rest of my 2024 in complete work and community. Catching up with old friends and building up my finances. Fast forward to today, I’m beginning to reap the benefits from that time as an artist. I now have my store in a shop and recently began instructing ceramic/air dry clay hand building classes at the local mall. I still work my 9-5 as I transition back into my artistry… I don’t mind the balance at all though as time passes.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Lauren Patterson, and I am a whole lot! However, in short I am a writer, self taught ceramicist, and nowadays a ceramic/ air dry clay hand building class instructor. Within all of those though, I am just a lover of art.
I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My years here have molded a great part of the artist I am today. I come from what most consider a small town. However, to me it always seemed much bigger than it is. Even recently I caught myself saying “this never felt like a small town to me.” The artists here that have emerged and are still emerging are surpassing the boundaries of what this small town tries to create or more so project. First example, I grew up with a mother who began investing into her own cake business and building off of that. Aside from her being my mother, that was magic I couldn’t deny especially in a small town such as Winston-Salem.
That same magic is everywhere. All I had to do was tap in and try. So I did.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I believe my social media presence. In all seriousness, it’s certain pressures that come with heavily prioritizing that for me. It’s hard because I’ve built a lot of connections and businesses through socials.
It was almost as if I was beginning to forget why I even wanted to do it all to begin with. You begin to experience anxiety of the tiniest of things. Did I like their post today? How does this caption come across? Damn, I didn’t share this. It wasn’t so much about what I was sharing anymore, but about how it would be perceived.
I would experience anxieties of feeling like I wasn’t being supportive enough or posting the right things. Even during times of me experiencing real life things outside of socials. It was building.
I would experience thoughts like that, but during those times I’d really be going through it mentally or financially. Not knowing how to create boundaries to better balance.
Nowadays, when I’m not doing my best or know I need to prioritize real life things, I simply separate myself. That’s just my own way of processing, recharging.
It was me allowing the anxiety of not being present enough that made me believe that wasn’t okay for me to do.
I won’t say I’ll completely delete my socials lol but I will say I don’t prioritize as much as I did before. I think where I am now though is a healthy balance for me. I believe the genuine connections I have made understands this, too.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Ah, beauty school. I wouldn’t necessarily say I failed but due to certain circumstances I realized that maybe it just wasn’t my time for it? I don’t know. I think I’m still figuring that one out in all honesty lol
I still do my own nails very often but I think it’s more of a hobby thing for me and not necessarily something I want to do as a job like I do with pottery. I think it’s nice to have something for yourself. I just watch movies and do my nails lol best time ever.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
It’s normally the thing that they are the smartest. So stupid lol
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
Maybe the how and why? That’s not a reoccurring thought for me just yet. I feel like I’m still getting started.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://inthebellyof.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: @INTHEBELLYOF
- Other: POETRY:
https://l7weenie607.wordpress.com/
Image Credits
MOON PHASE PHOTOSHOOT:
– Instagram @melalenz / melalenz.com
IN THE BELLY OF LOGO: Lauren Patterson
