From Trash to Treasure

In this week’s article I wanted to acknowledge my wife. As I mentioned in my previous article?One Man Three Lives my wife creates art yet after watching Arnold, she noticed her glass ceiling and the limits she placed on herself in being an artist.?She has transformed her mindset and has been taking actions consistent with the creative future she is now living into.???

Since then, she was in a group exhibition which creatively repurposed old materials into striking contemporary pieces for this year’s Art from Trash exhibition in Salamanca’s Long Gallery.?She won the People’s Choice Award for the second year in a row.?The People’s Choice Award is an opportunity for every person who visits the exhibition to vote for the piece of art they love most, and they are voting across over 100 artworks.??

When interviewed by the Hobart Observer, Lorenz said,?

"I enjoy reinventing older objects and giving them a new life as wonderful pieces of art. I am also committed to the concept of sustainable creatively. The ‘Art From Trash Exhibition’ speaks to the heart of my creativity. Art reflects the time it comes from and repurposed art reflects the direction for the future of our planet."

Lorenz also won the Wearable Art Award in the same exhibition. Lorenz collected discarded and op-shop jeans and made them into a wonderful long coat, accessorized with a denim bag made from jean pockets and a denim life size dog.?She has had many enquiries commissioned pieces.

And, I reckon there's a career for her as a repurposed clothing stylist. She's really got a good eye and understands what clothing is appropriate for different types of body shapes. Lorenz knows how to put pieces of clothing together to create amazing outfits all sourced via pre-loved clothing shops.?Monday morning, you will find her completing one of her weekly tasks that is visiting her targeted pre-loved op shops and there she takes the time to source good quality pieces. It doesn’t just happen by luck. Lorenz also finds cross stitch work, tapestries, and interesting pieces that can be cut up and use to upcycle her op shop finds.??

One of the hardest things when you know you are an artist is having the confidence and belief in yourself to be an artist in name and action. Sometimes other people might tell you they love your art, or that you are an artist, but it's the moment when you truly believe it for yourself, like hand on heart I declare I am an artist, that is the moment that changes everything; especially your view of yourself.?

Self-belief, is such an interesting thing, because it is one's own perception of themselves that either stops them in their tracks or as in my wife’s example, she is now completely free to be an artist.?For Lorenz, this is applying for solo exhibitions, entering other art exhibitions, looking at art residencies, completing a bachelor of fine art and working at MONA.?

And, there is the gallery which is now in conversation with her about becoming a resident artist. She has also visited other galleries and applied to display her artwork. ?

The Practice

It's one thing to acknowledge the creative skill Lorenz has, it’s another to acknowledge her practice.?

As part of her creative practice, she is always considering how to be responsible for what she repurposes. As an example, she always knows exactly how and where each piece will fit into our home if by chance it does not sell and if it does how will she manage commissioned pieces.?

We’ve recently bought our electric car and have put solar in, why? Because we are living a life of not creating waste. And as Lorenz does, we repurpose as much as we possibly can.?

My point is,?

“Believe in yourself, don't listen to the naysayers, keep going, keep persisting, keep taking the actions, keep putting yourself out there, and if you get knocked down - get back up again!”?

We have found a lovely creative community here in Sorrell and all have been very welcoming. We didn't always find that in Melbourne. It’s difficult to find places who will display your art, in fact we found that some places were quite clicky.

Warm Regards

Craig Cherry

Managing Director | The Loyalty Zone?

Net Promoter (NPS) Certified Associate

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