“Reflection”, acrylic collage, 2019

Lauren Anderson is the Content Production Coordinator in Smith’s Office of College Relations.  She is relatively new to Smith, but very happy to be here.  Lauren holds a Ph.D. in African American history. Her education and former career as a professor meant a lot of moving around; she’s lived in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, California, Kentucky and Iowa.

One of Lauren’s “What a gay day” coatracks (because it’s too nice a day for anyone or anything to be in the closet!)

Lauren and her wife, Heidi, moved to Northampton three years ago—the first time Lauren ever moved because she wanted to live in a place, not because her education or career dictated that she live there. In fact, moving here involved a huge career change—from professor to (at least temporarily) coffee shop barista. But, for Lauren, the drastic change was worthwhile because she knew that in Massachusetts her marriage and hoped-for family would be protected.

“Upper East Side” watercolor, 2017. Question--why does everyone presume it is her bag that he is carrying?

Lauren and Heidi are both dedicated to creating a more just and equitable world. Working as a special education teacher at Jackson Street School allows Heidi to pursue that goal. Though Lauren no longer teaches or writes for academic presses, she still hopes to make an impact through writing. Her current plans (ideas?) involve writing a creative non-fiction book about her awkward attempts to become an anti-racist white person beginning around 2001. Her idea is to narrate two parallel stories. One would be her own struggle to deprogram her brain of racist ideology in the early twenty-first century while researching the life of Juliette Derricotte, a phenomenal woman with whom Lauren shares some interesting parallels (Christian upbringing, queerness, curiosity, travel, the way natural beauty refreshes their spirits, and academics). The other would be Juliette Derricotte’s own story through her letters, testimonies from her friends and creative imaginings as she at first thrived during early twentieth century before being killed by Jim Crow racism.

Lauren is telling herself the book can lean heavily on the “creative” part of “creative non-fiction” because her historian’s brain won’t let her write a memoir if she doesn’t remember things perfectly. This project is currently paused because there are *so many* bad books by white authors about race. Lauren wants to make sure that, on the whole, her book will add to the sum-total of anti-racism in the world, not detract from it. And because there are masks to make!

You can see one of Lauren’s artworks in person, even in Covid times! “We’ve Always Been Here” is on the roundabout at Triangle Street in Amherst. Learn more about her inspiration in the video above.

Lauren always has at least five or six projects buzzing around her head—the challenge is making sure to finish the one in front of her before starting another! Her project ideas tend to jump from medium to medium as new questions or ideas take over. Lauren works in acrylic collage, watercolor, wood-burning, fabric, writing, and even a little furniture making.  Her acrylic collages start with a layer of materials, glued down at random. She then lets her inner eye for color, shape and texture direct her until the layer feels complete and she applies a thin wash of dark acrylic. At that point, she stands back to see what image emerges and finishes by adding enough thin layers to draw out the hidden picture.

“The Quest,” 2019, acrylic collage. Currently hanging in Lauren’s abandoned cubicle on campus.

In watercolor, Lauren has been working on a series called alternatively “Cute Butts and Bad Asses” or “Queer Normalcy,” depending on her mood. It’s about seeing all sorts of different families holding hands, walking through life. What a remarkable thing it is for gay & queer folks to be able to do ordinary daily life together, in public, and in love!

Heidi modeling a Philly Pride Flag mask.

For fabric art, Lauren has been trying to make clothes that fit her body and her gender presentation, but so far with limited success. At the moment, it is ALL MASKS ALL THE TIME. She’s been focusing on high quality fabric and fun prints. Her most popular patterns are queer flags—Philly Gay Pride, Trans, and Non-binary. It’s been an exciting challenge to make and fulfill over 400 orders!

Heidi and Lauren