Life & Work with Lorraine Mamolen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorraine Mamolen.  

Hi Lorraine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I`m Lorraine, a New York born and raised, now Colorado based creative. When I was a toddler, my parents put me into weekend art classes as a way to express myself – and ever since I remember turning to creating as an outlet. Whether I was drawing, painting, or creating elaborate stories with my friends during playtime, I always had quite a vivid imagination. As I went through the school years, the art and music classes were always my favorite. There was always a part of me that felt like an outsider growing up and found myself feeling at home around other creatives. I ended up going to college for business management because I felt as though it was safe, but there was something inside that never felt satisfied. Though I was in school for business, I would finish my studies and then spend my free time locked away in my dorm room painting things for friends and drawing in my sketchbook. In 2014 at the age of 20, I relocated from New York to Colorado and felt completely inspired by the Colorado nature and the art scene in Denver. Being so far from my family, and feeling completely alone, I really chose to make creating my life, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2016 that I decided to start selling my art. Since then, I’ve been diving into different painting mediums, jewelry making, and most recently pottery.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think anything in my life has ever been a smooth road, but I never let that stop me. When I was 6 years old, I was adopted which has left me with a large abandonment wound, but I think that’s why I find such solace in creating. It has always been a way for me to express myself in a way I don’t feel like I could talk about. Besides that, I’ve always struggled with self-doubt and would have to say it is always my biggest obstacle. I’ll go weeks sometimes without painting, and being hard on myself but have to remind myself that I do this for me because it’s something I love, and not for outside validation. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’d say I wear my heart on my sleeve and that really comes through in my art. I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia most of my life and most of my art has to do with a cross between body positivity and nature. I’ve always been quite the realist but I like to keep a positive outlook on life still, and that tends to find its way into my art with my use of light and dark. I always refer to myself as a multimedia artist but mostly specialize in acrylic painting, but I also block print, draw portraits, collage making, sew, do pottery, make jewelry, and also photography. Not only do I do all these things separately in themselves, but I like to incorporate a lot of my mediums, and what I`ve learned from them into one another. 

What do you think about luck?
I’ve always considered luck to be just that- luck, not good or bad. I feel like if I generalize all as `good` or `bad` I can find myself in a hole of thinking every little thing that just doesn’t work out as `bad luck, and not giving myself the credit for the things I’ve worked hard for as `good luck`. Since I tend to focus a lot of my art on the female body, media censorship has always worked against me in the growth of my career. 

Contact Info:

• Email: lorrainedeborah.art@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorraineDeborah.Art
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LorraineCreates 

Image Credits
Lorraine Deborah