Meet Lauren Winona Mutschler | Makeup Artist and Tattoo Artist Apprentice

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Winona Mutschler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren Winona, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Ever since I was a toddler I couldn’t stop drawing with crayons. I grew up drawing and painting and went to an art high school and later studied art in college. I feel like art helps me escape from reality and I feel immense passion for constantly creating new projects. This passion has continued to this day where I am now a makeup artist and tattoo artist apprentice as well. Art will forever be in my blood.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Art is my biggest passion in life. And most of my art is created through fear. Some people create most while they’re depressed, stressed, etc…but I always create art to help myself escape from worries or fearful thoughts. I used to struggle with anxiety from being so fearful, but whenever I worked on a makeup look or art piece, that emotion of fear dissipated. Art has become a very healing method of survival for me.

Something that has helped get me to where I am today is my trauma with anxiety and panic attacks. A few years ago I suffered from severe panic attacks on a daily basis. I had a hard time functioning while doing daily activities and going to work. The panic attacks I had were very intense and lasted from 4-12 hours a day. It got to the point where I needed an escape, and I started becoming very serious with SFX makeup for that very reason. I would spend 8 hours on average on a makeup look multiple times a week/month. It would help me disassociate from my own identity, and in turn my own emotions of anxiety. Spending hours at a time transforming myself into another entity/made up character helped me lose track of my own phobias or emotions while I focused on becoming the character I was painting myself into in the mirror. Over time this methodology has helped my anxiety and panic attacks dissipate, and I realized makeup is not only a tool used to enhance one’s features, it is also one of the best forms of therapy. And I’m forever grateful for it.

A lesson I learned throughout this journey of makeup, is that anxiety used to be my biggest enemy, and now it is my best friend. The reason I became invested in SFX makeup is because of anxiety. I used to hate my panic issues and wish they could go away entirely, but now I’ve never been more grateful for them, for they have gotten me to where I am today.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always get so excited for week long adventures with friends. If I had my best friend stay with me for a week, we’d have a blast. I live at the beach, so it’s a perfect place for week long adventures. There’s a few hiking trails nearby, and we’ve always loved hiking! We’d go hiking at least four days out of the week along trails with beautiful ocean views. Then we’d go see the sunset at the beach almost everyday because it always looks so magical. There’s also many seafood restaurants nearby my place, and luckily we both love seafood, (especially sushi!), and we’d definitely eat at a lot of the restaurants a few times during the week. Especially the Rockefeller- it has the best dishes ever!
Day trip festival is also near my place, so since it’ll be taking place during their stay here, we would go there and check out the fun lineup of DJs on the Saturday it opens, and then come back and spend one last day at the beach together before the week long trip ends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m lucky to be blessed with very close friends and family members who have encouraged me on my creative endeavors. My parents have always rooted for me pursuing art, and my best friend to this day has always been by my side and incredibly supportive.
I’m also grateful for all of my college art professors and previous art teachers in high school. I still have their voices in my head when I creative projects and I’ve learned a great deal from them all.

Instagram: Sparklywinona

Facebook: Lauren Winona Mutschler

Youtube: Sparklywinona

Other: I also have a tattoo Instagram too 😇 winona_ink

Image Credits
I took my own photos 😄