Meet Laura Klopfenstein

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Klopfenstein. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Hi Laura, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is never completely “defeated” – it comes and goes each time we expand and push ourselves into new territory I have to remind myself that I can’t control what other people think. I might as well just do what feels inherently right, at the pace that feels right, and accept that sometimes I’m gonna fumble through and other times I’m gonna be smooth and flowing. I’m also learning to embrace the awkward and the I-don’t-know-moments. Sometimes my best ideas come from when I admit that I don’t know the next step or have the answers. It gives me time to think more deeply. Taking a pause opens up new angles.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a self-taught artist working in drawing/painting and collage, and a single mother of two young adults living in Austin, Texas. I work full time at The University of Texas at Austin in communications. The dream is to someday be a full-time artist where I can dedicate all of my working hours towards making and collaborating on artistic projects, and traveling with my kids as part of my art career. That being said I’m grateful for my fulfilling work in higher education and am surrounded by caring, intelligent and innovative people who inspire me. The university is dynamic and they call the campus the Forty Acres, it is vast and there are many treasures in terms of people, place and perspective, focused on positive change and discovery

I work in two different mediums – expressive drawn paintings and mixed media collage. They are playful with a bite and inspired by nature and social causes. I like to create imagery that is rooted in the natural world and summoned from my imagination, like a quirky naturalist. It’s never going to look like a photograph, I prefer to drop hints and let my line work surprise me as I create. That leaves room for improvisation where I think the magic is.

My works are informed by gender and labor roles, disposable culture, socioeconomic imbalance, environmental degradation, and the beauty, fashion and food industries. There is a lot of duplicity and ignorance in our world, also a lot of beauty. I like to acknowledge both as a way to really dissect something. I like to put soft and hard, quiet and brash together. My narratives are personal yet broad.

In my art practice, I enjoy working with and playing with different media, sometimes according to my mood or how much time I have. Some artworks take a long time to complete and require patience and simmering, walking away and thinking. My most important and favorite role is being a mom, it’s the foundation of who I am, maternal. And my kids teach me a lot, remind me to be in the moment. Being a parent has been an unexpected motivator and oddly, a time management “tool”. I want to give them all of me but also for them to see me as a multidimensional person. I think there is a way to cultivate mutual respect between parents and children.

Somewhere along the line I created my own systems to make art. If being an artist and mother was going to work, I had to do it my way. And where there’s a will, there’s a way. Many women artists before me had to do the same thing and following in those footsteps is to honor the path they have carved.

I grew up not in one place but moving around a fair amount. Growing up I’ve lived in Georgia, Minnesota, north Texas and Missouri. I spent a lot of time observing and connecting with nature. I also read a lot, learning through stories and words written by people different from me. I am grateful for this as it has helped me connect with people with an open mind. My first visit to a modern art museum connected everything for me – science, visual poetry, intellect, exploration – and I knew that world was where I belonged.

I just had my very first solo show in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Jen Tough Gallery. It’s a beautiful space and cozy artist community that Jen has built. She has been a huge supporter of mine since the crazy year of 2020, and has given me confidence in my work. When someone with many years in the art world likes your work, it feels amazing and provides momentum to keep going. The art world is not the easiest landscape to navigate and it’s pretty lawless, finding kind and supportive people who push you is a gift. I am grateful.

I’m also applying for juried art shows, trying to make connections with art directors who could use my work as editorial illustrations, building my artistic brand, and considering something I’ve never done before – pursuing a grant to make a large-scale installation. It would be cool to make something for a children’s hospital or healthcare center. I love kids and spreading joy in general. It would be really cool to physically make something that is nurturing, bright and full of hope, maybe even some humor.

Additionally, I’m looking for a mentor to help me expand my practice – gotta level up and I think getting some outside help to set and meet achievable goals will make a difference. I would like for my art to be more profitable as well. Maybe there is a way I can do this that I have not thought of. We all have our blindspots, that’s why mentors and collaborators are so great! Until then I’m just going to keep making and enjoying daily life with my kids. We have a lot of fun together.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
On a practical level, I’m really glad I have honed my writing skills. I had no idea how much writing is needed in the art world. When I was younger I thought that the work should just speak for itself and mic drop, that’s it. Yes that is still true but an artist has to be able to communicate with others about their work – in a written and spoken sense. I feel like writing also forces me to really think things through and provides more depth.

Good old-fashioned patience is another one. It’s so cliche but very true and dang if it’s not the one of the hardest life long lessons. I’m a work on progress with the practice of patience – somedays I’m good at it, others not so much. Doing things that are too rash really backfires for me. Sometime I can channel impatience into my artwork and it works in my favor, sometimes not at all!

Being quiet with my mind, eyes and mouth is helpful. It keeps me present and creates more richness in my relationships and how I observe and feel gratitude, which is so important. Daily meditation helps calm me down and hear my own voice so I can get to this place and gently remind myself to chill and slow down, smell the roses, pet my dogs and just be.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I have worked with the amazing art direction team at The Texas Observer to design a magazine cover that was published couple years ago. It was an incredible experience and I would love to do something like that again. I think my collages would be a great fit for digital and print media, a strong visual component to storytelling.

My collages are basically upcycled materials so that might be intriguing for a fashion magazine to have some of their own content juxtaposed in a completely different way. It could show another level of commitment to sustainable practices in the fashion industry.

I would love to work with Vogue, Elle, Wired, NY Times – big dreams! I also just noticed that Hermes features artists on their Instagram, their commitment to quality is next level! I’m open to project ideas and am a great collaborator and alchemist.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Laurel Coyle Photographs

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Increasing Your Capacity for Risk-Taking

The capacity to take risk is one of the biggest enablers of reaching your full

Champion Mindset: Building Confidence & Self-Esteem

Every day, our team is focused on how to help our audience and community reach

From Self-Doubt to Self-Assurance: Saying Goodbye to Imposter Syndrome

Self-doubt and imposter syndrome have stopped far too many talented folks from going for their