Laura Lander has written and illustrated six of her own children’s books and has now illustrated nine books for other authors. Currently residing in Maine, she spends her days painting, writing, meeting new friends, and exploring the natural beauty of that state.
What past event do you often reflect upon, and how that event change you?
There is a special teacher from my past whom I hold in gratitude. I never knew her name, and she never knew mine. The lesson she gave occurred at a state park lodge where I had been enjoying a snowy winter weekend away.
On my last morning, I noticed to one side of the lobby a woman sitting on a bench before a sizeable fireplace where a blazing fire crackled. Wrapped in a hand-woven shawl, her legs tucked up under her, she stared into the fire not moving with a look of total contentment on her face. She seemed to be in her own little world, oblivious to the comings and goings of the other lodge guests around her.
Drawn in, I sat nearby for a while, being careful not to disturb her. Eventually I got up and left. I guess I thought I had somewhere to be and things to do. But she had apparently been there since long before I arrived on the scene, and did not look as though she would be leaving anytime soon.
At that time, my days were filled from before sun-up to long after sundown with caring for three children, managing a household on my own, teaching music in the classroom full time, and giving after-school private instruction to twenty-five piano students. The very idea of sitting still for that long with nothing being accomplished or crossed off of a to-do list was completely foreign to my mind.
That may be why the image of her sitting in timeless contemplation, wrapped in stillness, made such an impression on me. She exemplified for me a way of being that I had not experienced myself, perhaps since childhood. It took me years to catch on. I am still learning.
How does your work add to the quality of your life?
I have worn a variety of career hats over the course of my adult life, all of which held purpose and brought joy. But who knew that at this late stage of the game I would return to what had once been my favorite subject in high school yet had been for the most part set aside ever after: art! Now a painter and an illustrator of books (my own and other authors’), I get to work every day in watercolors and in oils, creating beauty in the world, and helping other authors realize their dreams. It is joy all around!
Tell us a story you would like to share with the world.
As I pulled my car into the parking space at the grocery, windows down, I noticed a lady getting out of the next car with some difficulty. Her companion retrieved her walker from the back seat and brought it around to her. Mobility challenges aside, she bent down to examine a penny on the ground at her feet. Intending to pick it up for good luck, I overheard her remark that it was “tails” up, and so unlucky! She left it there, and they headed into the store.
Wanting to be the small change I want to see in the world, I walked over to the penny and turned it heads up for her to find on her way out!
Author photo: Courtesy of author.
Side bar image: Pixabay/Edar.
