Meet Lisa Gakyo Schaewe | Artist and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Gakyo Schaewe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa Gakyo, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Keeping my feet in the water. By this I mean always having two or more projects in process so I am continuously creatively engaged. Working on one painting while the paint is drying or wax is cooling on another piece allows my process to remain fluid. Cultivating a mental space that permits shifting in the direction of inspiration or curiosity helps me avoid feeling stagnant or stuck.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For the last 10 years, I’ve worked primarily with encaustic paint which is a combination of beeswax, pigment and a tree resin. I remain captivated by the versatility of this medium which can be infinitely layered, etched, combined with oils and pastels and easily incorporates collage elements and transferred images. Inspiration for my images can easily be found around the mountains where live… The grove of aspen trees out my door, crows and magpie who frequently visit, and stones found along the Middle Boulder Creek. While my work has been selected for several juried exhibits in Denver art galleries, the most significant exposure my art has gotten comes through the NoBo Art District’s First Friday Art Walks and Open Studios Tour in Boulder. These events allowed me to find a receptive audience interested in discovering and purchasing local art. I currently share a space with printmaker/painter (and Edge Gallery member) John Horner called Studio 108 at 4949 Broadway in North Boulder. After years of working alone in a private studio, I’m finding it energizing to work along side this talented and productive artist and friend. He has more classical art training and refined technique, I’m a little braver and more experimental. We encourage and challenge each other artistically and I am finding this environment inspiring and supportive.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being based in Boulder County, a visit with friends might start with a breakfast sandwich from Decent Bagel or a pastry from New Moon Bakery in Nederland, followed by a hike to Rainbow Lakes, a drive along the Peak to Peak Scenic By-Way or wandering through the mountain towns of Ward, Gold Hill or Jamestown. Guests always want to spend some time on Pearl Street where we can check out the buskers, shop Boulder Bookstore, have a cocktail at Rosetta Hall or Avanti followed by dinner at Salt or lobster ramen at Dragonfly. For the evening, a concert at the Boulder Theater or The Caribou Room in Nederland.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am fortunate to have received strong mentorship along two paths which have merged in a meaning-filled way. In my early training as a Zen student I worked with John Daido Loori, Roshi at Zen Mountain Monastery in Upstate New York. While being an artist was intrinsic to my existence from the moment I made my first marks in a sheet of paper, He introduced me to the idea that art making could be a form of spiritual practice. His book The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating your artistic life, is a resource I often recommend and use as a reference when I facilitate workshops. Loori’s successor Jody Hojin Kimmel has been maintaining his art dharma teachings and is exposing a new generation of Zen practitioners to his flavor of creative process as contemplative practice. The other significant factor in my development as an artist occurred while I was a graduate student in the Art Therapy program at Naropa University in Boulder, CO. With the support and encouragement of Professor Michael Franklin, PhD (author of Art as Contemplative Practice: Expressive Pathways to the Self) and studio instructor Bernie Marek, I was immersed in the theory and practice of art as a path to healing. This education formed a foundation for my career as an art therapist, years as adjunct faculty at Naropa University and Red Rocks Community College and continues to inform each step I take as an artist and mentor encouraging others along the path of self-discovery, healing and growth through creative process and art.

Website: www.108Lotuses.com

Instagram: 108Lotuses

Youtube: https://youtu.be/wrzWGs0fLRE?si=g0tqaNwS-Q5rtHhD

Image Credits
For photo of artist, Robin Enright Salcido