Inside the Mind of Lauren Steinhofer
- The Source
- Sep 12
- 14 min read
all photos by thassian
"A testament to existing as my higher self, as above, so be low"
As we coast into this intermission between summer and autumn, the air begins to flirt with coolness and the color starts to bleed from the leaves. It is not quite yet the changing of the season, but the feeling is there— teasing you. Nature and art are of the same ecosystem, and at the heart of the forest lies an experience that brings these together for all to see; YART.
Tucked away amongst the towering trees on South Bend's south east side are the sacred YART grounds. We were nine days away from the two day grass-roots festival that brings together countless art exhibitions, small business vendors, local food, and musical performances. It is a hive of creative energy.
As my driving reduced to a crawl down the road a slight break in the tree line appeared, revealing a subtle trail. I turned off the street onto the dirt path and plunged forth onto the muddy terrain and the further in I drove, the more it felt like a wooded portal into a new world. A community within a community, a zen reservoir. People began to appear; painters, sculptors, builders, vibe orchestraters, all visibly in the middle of constructing what would soon be YART.
With muddy converse trekking along deeper into the woods my eyes were scanning for the mind behind all of this, Lauren Steinhofer. An individual of many hats: artist, visionary, organizer, she is undoubtedly a leader in the community.
When Low, as their friend's warmly call her, emerged from the distance and we dapped up, her paint splattered hands told the story of months of hard work.
"It transforms in about three days." Low said to me, pointing to artists' booths still in construction. "We've been out here since as soon as the weather broke, so I think like since April getting everything together." As she led the way around the YART grounds, moving with speed and purpose, she shared how grateful they were to have been able to spend the whole summer outside. Forest bathing, as Low put it. It had been a season-long labor of love, and now it was time for year seven.
"That is a fundamental of what makes YART possible. It's like the community wants us to happen, so then collectively we make it happen and we all learn and grow and meet each other along the way, you know? It's a really beautiful thing." - Lauren Steinhofer
SOURCE: So who is Low?
LOW: First and foremost, I'm just a creator. I... Art is my life. I have always said a life lived for art is a life worth living. Because I would rather be creating than destroying... I would like to think that I'm a good person. I would like to think that I have good morals.
That's a loaded question [laughs]
SOURCE: A loaded answer, perfect. So were you raised in the 574?
LOW: Yeah I grew up in South Bend. Went to Clay for high school, LaSalle Academy for middle school, and I went to IUSB for college and graphic design, not painting.
SOURCE: What was school like for you growing up?
LOW: I was a bit of a... I wouldn't say overachiever, but I definitely made sure I got good grades. I was pretty disciplined in school and I wanted to learn. I like to learn, still like to learn. I did rebel in my high school years, but I had a lot going on during that time and didn't know how to handle it. So it is what it is
SOURCE: So was art an outlet for you at that time?
LOW: Definitely, my senior year when my mom died, that was my coping mechanism. And I spent a lot of time grounded. So being alone in my room making art was just very accessible and easy to do, you know.
SOURCE: What was the college experience like for you?
LOW: I majored in graphic design at IUSB, I have a minor in painting and drawing. Graphic design wasn't for me. I don't even really own a computer. I have like a Chromebook, But that's about it. [laughs]
I didn't have like the traditional party hard college experience. I definitely took it seriously and I worked full-time and had just started living on my own and was just trying to make ends meet. I just was trying to stay afloat, get through it, but I did meet a lot of really cool professors and people at IUSB. And learned a lot about painting and I took that into what I still do today.
When I was in college, someone told me that the hardest thing that you could possibly paint was hands. So then after I graduated, I literally would just paint hands for... Like a year and a half. Just because they said it's the hardest thing to do. So if I get that down, then I'm good, right?
SOURCE: That's some nice foreshadowing in your story. So what is your first creative memory?
LOW: Do legos count?
SOURCE: Yeah it could be as simple as writing on a napkin with a crayon at a restaurant when you were two.
LOW: Honestly yeah, Applebee's was a big part of my upbringing and they had the little crayon set at every table. My dad and aunt worked there for like 18 years so it was something to do. [chuckles]
SOURCE: I wonder how many artists Applebee's has inspired with their kids' menu campaign? [laughs]
"I have numerous outlets, I fulfill a certain part of my identity by doing things with and for the community. Then I'm a poet and I write. And when I'm in a heavy state or just reflecting on anything then that poem turns into a piece. So like all of that combined is just like my persistence in existence."
SOURCE: What was your first painting?
LOW: I used to draw these Aliens that each one had its own catchphrase. And I would put them in different situations where the catchphrase would stay the same, but it would change the context by the scenario that it was in. It was really interesting, can't give you the exact scenarios, but..
SOURCE: Take me through that moment you decided to pursue art full time?
LOW: I absolutely hated Bed Bath & Beyond. I tried [to leave] but then I couldn't do it and went back. It took me a couple tries to become a full time artist. I was having a real hard time working retail. I lined up a live painting gig at LaSalle Grill and Tavern on the third floor, and I would go in while bands were playing and I would paint them live.
So having that little bit of financial security, I was like, okay, this is my jump off. Like, Let's run it.
And then from there I just started doing things around the scene and meeting people who wanted to support and liked my art. and then took on a lot of commissions, took on a lot of commissions. Painted a lot of like deceased loved ones and a lot of pets. Which I still do sometimes. If it's like really... meaningful, you know?
SOURCE: The live painting gig is a very unique opportunity.
LOW: Honestly going to IUSB and doing a lot of things alla prima, like all at once, painting from live objects or live models in the academic setting made me more confident in being able to paint what was in front of me in a span of two and a half hours while all these musicians are carrying instruments and moving around. They were very loose.
SOURCE: That's cool that you were able to connect with grieving families, there's probably a healing element in seeing your loved one immortalized in art. The fact you got to play a part in that, that's significant.
LOW: I'm always very touched, and to know more about that person. I mean grief— my mom died when I was 18— so it's like you live with it, and you adapt with it. It grows with you and you grow through it and evolve. So when people hit me up for something like that, I know it's like very sensitive and meaningful and I'm always really honored when they trust me to do something like that.
SOURCE: What are some of the biggest influences of your work?
LOW: I guess I'm all over the place because if it's something that's installation based, then I have been to two Meow Wolfs' [exhibits] and those were completely mind-altering and transforming. And then painting wise, I really look up to Jenny Seville. And I'm inspired by just life in general. Risk, taking risks definitely is inspiring.
"I think that the more I live life, the more I can create in a way that's authentic and meaningful. art is life, life is art. "
SOURCE: How would you describe your style?
LOW: Just to categorize things; I would say surrealist in form of concept, but very impressionistic in form of technique. I usually start with a metaphor— like writing out a metaphor for how I'm feeling— and then coming up with a way to represent that and do a conceptual work. Kind of surreal impressionist, [the] short answer.
Sometimes I don't even realize I have a style until people point it out. I kind of am detached from it, but then when I see it, my work next to someone else's work, and I'm like, yeah. I mean we do all have different hands so of course I have a style.
SOURCE: What do you think of social media's role in the current state of art?
LOW: Honestly it's a necessary evil. [Sighs] I am very grateful for the amount of networking that takes place on social media and in terms of financial stability because a lot of sales that I have come from people that have only followed me on social media and I've never met them in real life until they pick up a painting or something like that. There's a double-edged sword because you have this mentality of having to produce at a really fast rate and then how do you maintain your authenticity when you're being pushed to just create content? I think just I try to find a balance within all of that. And sometimes... it's hard. But I'm very grateful that we can be connected in that way, through social media.
When you're making a living off of it, it becomes a big part of your daily life to a certain extent if you let it.
SOURCE: Does that bring stress?
LOW: It brings me anxiety. Social media is set up to perpetuate artificial dopamine so like every time you get a like it's like "my god they liked it". So then if you do something really vulnerable and say three people like it or something like that then it almost makes you think differently about the piece. But I that's one of the things that I'm like, "I don't care anymore."
If I'm going to make something, I'm making it for me. It could get 500 likes and I'll still feel the same way about it. Internal balance is interesting...
SOURCE: How did you first become involved with the South Bend art scene?
LOW: It was a long road. I used to hang out at The General a lot before Hammer and Quill existed. There was an open mic pretty regularly, a bunch of artists hung out there. That's where I had like my first solo show. Then I started meeting a bunch of people and that was kind of my introduction into the South Bend art scene
Around that time there was something going on called like the bird cell, which was an immersive space that was in the basement of the Commerce Center and then in a mansion over on Colfax. It was around the same time when I was starting to do events, so seeing the aftermath of those things showed me some kind of a template, I guess.
SOURCE: What do your solo shows, like Good Grief this new years, mean to you?
LOW: Good Grief was like the first time I've had a solo show in a few years and that was entirely stemming from my understanding of what it's like to want to find friendship with grief. And releasing that anger and that sadness and all the stages; which I think there's more stages of grief than the six that they talk about in whatever psychologist terms.
But that one was very personal to me, because as I grow as a person and as an adult and not wanting to perpetuate trauma and trying to deal with shit that I know I have to work on. When I go through something that triggers my grief, then I have to check it and be like, "Okay... where is this coming from? How do I release this in a healthy way? And like, is this real or is my brain lying to me right now?", type deal.
That's kind of where that all started from. Which I've had those thoughts before, but I just have never given it the duration or the time dedicated to do a show.
SOURCE: Take me through the significance of all the hands? (a common motif in her work and around the YART grounds)
LOW: I have a thing for hands, not in like a weird way, but in a way where it's like they can represent so much without giving a face. Because we wear what we do on our hands, you can tell what kind of job someone has by how many calluses that they have. You can tell how old they are by how many wrinkles there are. Or there's scars, there's bloody knuckles. There's a lot to be said with just the position of a hand. Sometimes it's better to not put a face to a situation because it opens the door for more people to relate and feel it, that's kind of why I use so many hands in my work.
SOURCE: Where was the idea of YART born?
LOW: YART started in my backyard after I had been like a full-time artist for a year and it was so hard to find anywhere to do a show and I was like, "Well I have my backyard, and it's almost my birthday, so maybe I can just throw the show here." And I asked my dad to rent a porta potty for my birthday and a lot of people came.
Now we have two banks of porta pottys, so its kinda wild.
SOURCE: Take me through the legwork or, you used the term 'bureaucratic side of things', of putting together something of this scale? And its growing every year.
LOW: It's pretty daunting. I mean we don't really know how many people are gonna show up, but it seems like a lot. And then with that comes safety concerns. So we want to do everything that we can for everyone to be safe, I would not be able to live my with myself if I didn't try to take precautions to like make sure we have some kind of protocol.
We're getting our permits, you know, we're making sure that on the books we got everything down. And that is the bureaucratic side of things that I've struggled with and I've recently gotten help with my friend Kelly. It's always a learning experience every year.
SOURCE: What's that sense of community like in working together to build YART?
LOW: It literally takes a village. I mean I don't think I would even keep doing this if it wasn't for this community. A part of me loves like controlled chaos, which is different. It's crazy when you think about the state of the world right now, we need that community and introducing this idea, well not introducing it entirely, but like utilizing this idea of community support and mutual aid and like we got us type deal. And it's like I or this person needs this, and then this person's like, "I have that." And then it's like, okay, hell yeah.
That is a fundamental of what makes YART possible. It's like the community wants us to happen, so then collectively we make it happen and we all learn and grow and meet each other along the way, you know? It's a really beautiful thing.
YART aside, that should be just happening in our communities at large. That's just, in my opinion, that's just how it should work. But we live in late stage capitalism, so those kinds of ideas are kind of shunned when you're constantly doing a nine-to-five and trying to make ends meet, and perpetuating the scarcity mindset when there doesn't have to be that. Not to get too political, but yeah YART kind of goes against that in a way.
SOURCE: What is one album that you cannot live without?
LOW: I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy. That's my favorite. It's more so just what that band stands for. And honestly it's got some bangers that really hit me in a time where I needed to tap into not only my rage but my softer side. The album's kind of a journey, but it's like super femme and empowering.
SOURCE: What is one movie you cannot live without?
LOW: There are so many good movies I can't live without. My instant thought is Scott Pilgrim Versus the World. And I guess my second would be... What Dreams May Come. I'm not doing a third. This is two. [laughs]
SOURCE: Who or what is your spirit animal? It can even be something like a tree.
LOW: I don't know if I should answer that question, not being an indigenous person. I don't know if it's appropriation.
SOURCE: I wont judge you.
LOW: The animal I relate the most to is an octopus. They eat themselves when they have anxiety. They're super stealth and very smart, like very smart, and they have the most empathy in creatures. They show it in different ways. Octopuses are cooool.
SOURCE: What's your favorite piece you've ever created?
LOW: I got a few favorites, but the one that first comes to mind is called Hold Me Through. And it's really loose and in style. It's two people kind of hugging and then the world is just kind of like chaos around them.
Just having someone to be there to hold you through hard situations. It's a good feeling. It doesn't read as a good feeling, it reads as dark. But at the same time, you can't have the light without the dark, so a lot of my work has like... I call it the duality of reality.
Like happy-sad. Because we're capable of feeling more than one thing at one time, type deal, and it's represented that way.
SOURCE: What's your favorite tattoo?
LOW: I got the YART tattoo! [smiles ear to ear] My favorite one is probably the Kandinsky. It's called Delicate Tension. Kandinsky has this thing called synesthesia (well he says that he had this thing called synesthesia) where you can see sounds. And I've always thought that was very fascinating. And then the fact that it's called "Delicate Tension", that's just beautiful to me. I kind of wonder what he was hearing when he made this piece.
SOURCE: What advice would you give younger artists, creatives, or even just your past self?
LOW: Don't give up, just don't give up. You gotta keep it moving, and it's not going to look the way that you would think every time. But nothing is as linear as we hope it to be.
So it's like a dance, and just keep dancing, you know?
THE SHOUTOUTS
LOW: Okay, this is a long list then. Shout out to LangLab. Shout out to Phil, Beansz, Jay, Jenny Gelato. Mel..... long list. Quinn, Stephanie, Mykale, Liv. Okay, I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. Let's go to the Rocki Button. Shout out to Christy, I'm gonna put Maddie in there, Jeff... Toast hell yeah Toast helps us run sound, Khalil runs sound at LangLab. Quinn also runs sound, Cam— the Dreadful Din— huge involvement in YART. Everyone is a huge involvement in YArt, I Don't do it alone like there are so many people who have their hands in YART and I'm really trying to break it down and do it right on the spot right now. Jim Leap, Dave Munger, Ethereal, Cauldron, got Vinny over here with Frank, Mika, Jesse who made the owl, Angel Horn who made the wolf last year, Alex who made the pedals. Dude, there's just so many people.
Shout out to every person who's fucking stepped foot in the yard and helped rake like three minutes, shout out to Jesse, shout out to Sket, shout out to Ellie, shout out to Bradley, shout out to y'all for being here. Shout out to Dan, how did I forget Dan? Dan's the one who built the YART Signs. Shout out to Sierra, shout out to Mystic Union at large.
Shout out to South Bend, you know? Like hell yeah, there's so many facets in South Bend and damn near at least one person from every artist hub is a part of the YART. I just need to write down a long ass list and then I'll circle back, I gotta be forgetting people.
Brooke and Charlie. There's a lot of people out here doing stuff. Like, alooot of people.
Shout to the Raymond's, Zach and Rachel, Daniel Wilde, the Britton's Ellie, and Jesse, and also Jim. Shout to Mo and Jenni miller, shout out the WACC crew and Brendyn Walter and Alissa, and Cody Hoban, and Sierra and everyone at Mystic Union, shout to the Lens Lounge, Kayla and Zach and Raul, shout out to Justin Howell shout out to Kelly for the permit help, shout out to Kat our EMT, shout out the my dad and bonus mom for helping run the parking and check in and their teams, shout out to Jim Leep, and Meghan, and Pat Quigley and John Bickle, Germ, Phil, Mary Sisti, Pickle, Amanda who made the kaleidoscope, and Pepto Princess who made the fish heads and sardine can, Rowan
and Joel Shultz, and the whole tv crew there, Aaron Flannigan, Karl, Sarah, Kati, Sef, Reid, liv, Dana, Weezy, my uncle Joey, Adam Duckworth, all of the bands who performed, all of the poets, all of the dancers, Amanda Middleton for the YART paint spots, all of our food vendors, Vindo slice, Frank, Alecia, Jen hacker, LaRea.
Phenomenal!