Do you have any formal art training?
I went to three years of art school at the UW Madison
WI however I never graduated. Instead I accepted an
apprenticeship with the artist Steven Spiro. He created
organic sculptural furniture and I spent most of a decade
working with and learning from him. I have carried his
influence into my own artwork, definitely preferring to work
with natural/organic shapes and themes. I also spent
a number of years working as a carpenter and cabinet
builder, which experience helped me to learn skills such as
project management and working on a larger scale.
How long have you been making art?
I was pretty much sure I was going to be an artist since
I was 5 years old. That has been a part of my identity for
my whole life and my practice of always making things.
The most recent incarnation of my artwork and my
professional career started about 10 years ago.
What influences your work?
The simple answer is the natural world. I tend to be very
curious about how humans are a part of this web of life. So
when it feels like being connected to the other life that is
everywhere around, that is like the sweet spot for me. This
can also be a healing experience and healing is a practice
that I think many in our modern world have forgotten how
to do. I focus on tangible things like the visceral feel of
weathered wood and the sun and wind that it suggests
and many other textures that are mostly organic materials.
Abstract design just feels right to me, and I like the open
endedness of interpretation by the viewer. My inspiration
is often very different from what other people see and
that feels like a conversation which I love. To me that adds
depth to the object that I wanted to make.
What do you hope viewers get out of your work?
I have suggested earlier that there is a healing component
to my art, well all art really. That is that aspect of art that
I find so compelling for myself and that I wish to transmit
to the viewer. If someone looks at my work and they feel
a little calmer and their heart rate slows down a tiny bit
then that is a big deal to me. I think it is the little things that
matter in life and if being around something of beauty can
offer a small shift then that is success.
Any upcoming exhibitions, shows, or art
happenings?
I have an exhibition scheduled for spring of 2025 at the
overture center madison wi. I continue to make original art
and take commissions both public and private. My work
is available directly through me or through Artful Home
online gallery. I keep my instagram and facebook pages
upto date with the most recent works and you can go to
my website aaronlauxdesign.com. Or my complete body
of work is available at artwork archive.
Can you talk about the process of making
your work?
My process is like an ebb and flow. There are times when
I am on fire and the inspiration and ideas come rushing
out. Then there are the cooler times when I feel like the
creativity is pulled back within me. When I was a younger
man I worried that I was witnessing the end of my ability
to create. Now I understand that this is simply a necessary
cycle that allows me to sustain my art. This being the
spiritual aspect of my process. I often have something that
I am thinking or reading about and that can lead me in a
direction. Then other times I am out in the woods hiking,
wild crafting and I will see something in the landscape
that really calls to me and that leads me in a direction.
Really I am allowing what is all around me to shape what I
want to make. Many of my sculptures could be considered
mosaics, made of many pieces carefully fit together. In a
way that is also my approach to the process.
See Aaron’s Work:
artworkarchive.com/profile/aaron-d-laux
facebook.com/aaronlauxdesign/
instagram.com/aaronlauxdesign
www.artfulhome.com/artist/Aaron-Laux-
