Laurén Gerig: Painting Place, Memory, and a Sustainable Studio Practice

How do you translate the memory of a landscape into a rich, tactile painting? And how do you sustain a meaningful studio practice when life and work get demanding? In this episode of the Create! Podcast, Kat sits down with Lansing, Michigan-based visual artist and educator Laurén Gerig. Laurén shares her thoughts on place attachment, building expressive paint surfaces, and using poetry to set the stage for intuitive studio sessions. We also dive into the realities of balancing a demanding day job in academia with an active exhibition schedule, and how small micro-moments in the studio can help you overcome creative fatigue and keep momentum alive. In this episode, we talk about: Capturing the psychological bonds we create with landscapes and nature The tactile joy of thick mark-making, paint accumulation, and surface texture Using poetry as a studio ritual to transition into making work Navigating life as both a practicing artist and a university gallery director Making room for low-pressure, small-scale work like 20-minute charcoal drawings How running and stepping away from the easel can serve as the ultimate creative reset Connect with Laurén Gerig: Website: www.laurengerigart.com Instagram: @laurengerigart Stay connected with Create! Magazine: Subscribe to the Create! Substack for more artist stories and reflections: www.createmagazine.substack.com Submit your work for an upcoming issue of Create! Magazine: www.createmagazine.co/call-for-art