My Video: Artists at Work Featuring Lauren Lee, Chrystal Chandler, and Kyllan Maney

In my last post, I wrote about GreenHaus, and one of the artists I mentioned was Lauren Lee. When I first met Lauren, she had just made the bold decision to leap fully into her art career — to jump off the artist’s cliff and free fall without a financial net.

Lauren graduated from Arizona State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and went on to teach art for five years at The New School for the Arts and Academics in Tempe, Arizona. Around that time, she completed her now-iconic mural, “Three Birds,” on the east side of the GreenHaus building. The piece has since become a downtown landmark, instantly recognizable to anyone who frequents Roosevelt Row. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend checking it out soon — it won’t be there for much longer.

Also featured in the video is Kyllan Maney, another incredible artist who continues to inspire me. I’ll be sharing more about her and her work in a future post.

Lauren is a constant source of inspiration. I admire how she pushes herself creatively and connects so genuinely with people at her shows — something I’ve always found challenging. She’s a full-time artist who lives solely off her creative work, which takes tremendous dedication and courage.

Beyond her art, Lauren is deeply involved in her community. She contributes to local gardens, participates in neighborhood events, and teaches classes to share her knowledge and passion with others.

When we, as creatives, take that leap and trust the flow of the journey, magic happens. The impact can ripple outward, inspiring others to do the same. Imagine if Madonna, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Jane Austen, or Georgia O’Keeffe had never taken that leap.

The key is learning to value our work — both creatively and monetarily — recognizing that what we do and the materials we use have worth.