Savannalore

Art is a form of self-expression – but art has additional superpowers outside of this that we all could benefit from. Our next guest believes that if we can all make ourselves do something creative at least once a day, the self-fulfilling benefits will be massive – and I agree.

Please welcome, Savannalore.

Savannalore and I grabbed some coffee on a blistering Saturday morning over at Cosmic Coffee – we sit down and get into it.

“I grew up in Minnesota and really just was never a fan of the Midwest” she says with a laugh. “But who knows – I could see myself living there again, Minnesota is actually robustly creative. I went to school in South Dakota and went to a Methodist college to play volleyball because they offered me a scholarship – but was really surrounded by the stereotypical devoted Christian Catholics and there wasn’t a lot of room for personal expression or the LGBTQ.”

Savannalore knew what she was feeling something inside, but suppressed those feelings for quite some time.

“My friend Jesse came out in college and was the first collegiate athlete in South Dakota to come out – it was so massive. At this time, I wasn’t conscious about the fact that I was gay, but if I was, I would have kept it to myself because of all the attention he received. “Savannalore explains. “Then I saw he came to Austin and was thriving so that’s how I first heard of the city.”

But before we dive into her time here, there’s something else she wants you to know.

“So – I was married to a man before moving to Austin – we met in South Dakota and we moved to Austin together, we met in college and were together my whole college career and it was just safe for me. I just knew who I was – so ultimately, we got divorced. I was confronted with having the white picket fence life or could do the hard thing and get divorced someone so close to me – it took me so long to make that decision and honestly – there’s no better guy that I could have accidentally married.”

You can feel in Savannalores voice and tone that she genuinely cares and loves this man – and though they didn’t end up together, in the end – she made the right choice for her and who she is.

“Finally I felt like I could pursue the life we both were meant to have – for me, this past year I’ve been able to create a solid friend group. I’ve been able to be part of the LGBTQ community and it’s been so fulfilling. Savannalore explained. “The place I was in before I liked to call ‘the sludge’ – I did some re-construction on my faith and actually did it together with my Mom and she was relieved that she was seeing a change in me – It’s really been a 180.”

We love to see people becoming conscious of their feelings and being true to themselves, that’s what’s needed for growth.

We dive in on what she’s been up to here in ATX.

“I’m working at Austin Art Garage, and it’s allowed me to explore myself further through art and I’ve never felt so at home and comfortable in my own skin.” Savannalore explains with a smile. “I’ve actually been working on my own art as well. In 2020 during COVID I started teaching people how to make beautiful trash art. I also curated a virtual coffee shop during the pandemic – coffee for me is such a big part of my creative process and how I get into the flow – so when that was taken away, I built my own virtual coffee shop called Lava Lamp Coffee.”

This is such a cool idea, and just want people needed during covid – and the feedback she received proved just that.

“I would curate these characters and have dialogues and it ended up connecting with people on social media. People would start to send me their own characters and their own mindscapes, I’m actually doing a workshop on how to do this June 27th!”

Be sure to check that out!

We close, in typical fashion – advice.

“My personal passion is to stimulate as much creativity as I can for myself and for others. If I can get one person to make that first stick figure I’m winning” We both laugh. “Honestly, I’m still going through so much growth and it never ends but finding healthy ways to cope with stuff is essential. I tend to self-isolate but found that surrounding yourself with supportive people is huge – the community here has really been amazing and helpful for me in this way.”

She continues.

“Art is really under promoted as a treatment for mental health – it’s always been my go-to when I’m in the worst places – I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get people to be artists because of how important it is to our happiness – and seeing others find their creativity energizes me too.”

There’s no question Savannalore is on to something here – as someone myself who struggles with shit that comes up in life – I find writing as more than just a creative outlet, it’s therapy for me. Being able to have an idea – and turn that into a piece of work helps fill up my tank. In Savannalores case, her art chargers her – but more than that, her art inspires others to be artists. At the end of the day, that’s who she is at her core – someone who has made it through the ‘sludge’ and came out on the other side being the person she was always destined to be – herself.