Artist of the Month

May 2009

Donna Hayen-Lässker

Fort Worth, Texas

Donna Hayen-Lässker is an artist and art educator currently working through the year in Fort Worth, Texas & during summers in Zürich, Switzerland. Employing a wide variety of techniques, Donna creates paintings based upon life experiences derived from observed and implied textures, numbers, shapes and, with her current Motel Series, a desire to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of the old motel signs from places such as Route 66. In direct contrast with her current Motel Series, Donna is most known for her abstract paintings. She is an avid recycler; therefore, her abstract artwork often times encompasses objects that find her. She breathes new life into old, discarded items by creating unique paintings that incorporate the object itself into the painting, through use of like textures, colors and, often times, humor.

TAL: How and when did you start creating art?

DH : I have been creating artwork for as long as I can remember. I have two wonderful parents who bought me art supplies, even as a small child.

TAL: What media and genres do you work in?

DH : I currently work in oil paint and create abstract paintings as well as abstracted-realistic paintings.

TAL: Who or what are your influences?

DH : My influences are the world around me. I derive each and every idea from something I see, dream, touch or observe.

TAL: What was your inspiration for ""?

DH : The Blue Bonnet Motel (as well as each subsequent motel painting) was born out of a need to preserve and, perhaps, glorify this important piece of Americana. As the old, elaborate, neon motel signs continue to disappear, new, mass manufactured pieces of plastic, illuminated by harsh, fluorescent tubes, take their places. Small, independent motels give way to big, corporate chains, loosing part of what made road trips, of that time, so magical. These paintings were created to appear like a snapshot out of a car window or a “free” postcard that would have been in the desk drawer: Frozen in time.

TAL: Describe your creative process.

DH : Since my painting styles vary wildly, the Motel Series is inspired simply by the beauty and uniqueness of the motel sign, itself. My Found Object /Recycle Art paintings are internal narratives and observations that are created by their own elements. As the objects or textures become part of the stories of my life, my experiences, my observations or my feelings, they are no longer separate things that I create, but they take on a new, transformed life of their own: The once loved or sought after object can once again be seen as something other than decomposing waste. In its discarded and secluded state, I often find an object can become significantly more interesting than it was previously.

TAL: What are you working on currently?

DH : I am currently working on a 40”x50” oil painting of The Loveland Heights Cottages which is located in Estes Park, Colorado .

TAL: What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

DH : My long goals as an artist are to keep creating and keep growing. I would like to create art as my full time job; therefore, my short term goal is to enter as many contests and shows as possible in order to make my long term goal a reality.

TAL: Where can people view/purchase your work?

DH : www.donnahayenlassker.com