Lauren Maclean

Over the past year, my artistic practice has been a deeply personal exploration of the complex emotions that surfaced following my miscarriage. My creative approach has been multi-faceted, with some pieces directly confronting my emotions and unrest, while others have taken a more intricate and elaborate approach to depicting my experience. In essence, every artwork I created serves as a visual documentation of my personal evolution towards accepting and comprehending the loss I experienced. They represent the emotional journey that I underwent, each piece capturing a moment in time as I moved toward a place of healing and understanding. My artistic journey this year involved an exploration of various materials and techniques; this experimentation was critical in allowing me to find new and innovative ways to express the intensity of my emotions and process my grief. As I delved deeper into my artistic practice, I began to recognize the significance of the materials I was using and their connection to my themes. In particular, I started using wood to symbolize growth and as a representation of the development of a growing baby. The intricate patterns in the wood's grain resembled the rings of a tree, introducing themes of vitality, growth, and transformation. The knots in the wood took on the appearance of embryos, creating a visual link between the natural material and the idea of new life. The use of wood in this way helped me to develop a more profound connection to the themes of my artwork and strengthened the emotional impact of my pieces.