The Art of Belonging: Lauren Rosenfelt
This week, we’re honored to feature Lauren Rosenfelt — a Chicanx illustrator and plant ecologist whose art invites us to see the natural world not as background, but as family. Her work is a love letter to land, memory, and the living kin all around us.
Rooted in Memory and Place
Raised between the wheat fields of Oklahoma and the ancestral echoes of southern Mexico, Lauren Rosenfelt grew up surrounded by women who planted, harvested, nurtured, and remembered. Their teachings shaped her way of seeing — that every living thing carries a story, and every story is worth telling.
“I am a mixed-race Chicana reconnecting with my father’s Southern Mexican roots, living in gratitude for the more-than-human beings who share this land.” — Lauren
Art as Practice and Purpose
Lauren's illustration style blends traditional and digital tools — graphite, ink, bold acrylic washes, and iPad brushes. She uses Procreate not to distance herself from hand-drawn authenticity, but to reduce waste and deepen her ecological alignment.
“Digital mediums let me create with fewer resources and produce less waste.” — Lauren
Her work centers the natural world — species portraits, ecosystem moments, the quiet wonders often overlooked. The result is a collection of visuals that feel like both science and magic.
The Land Is Her First Teacher
Each illustration begins in the field. She observes beetle wings, traces bobcat tracks, and studies prairie grasses tangled in red clay. These encounters aren’t just reference points — they’re lessons in belonging and reciprocity.
“It is our duty to care for and protect those who do not have a human voice.” — Lauren
Through her art, Lauren makes kin of coyotes, cattails, milkweed, and mushrooms — offering them presence on the page and presence in our imaginations.
Turning Viewers into Protectors
Every print Lauren creates includes small, thoughtful field-guide notes — habitat details, species facts, ecological relationships. These captions invite viewers to shift from observers to co-stewards.
In classrooms and community parks, Lauren leads workshops where drawing becomes a tool for both wonder and advocacy. Pencils become passports to a world we’re part of — not apart from.
Words to Emerging Creatives
Lauren’s advice for other creatives is as generous as her work:
“Draw what stirs your spirit, sketch often, revise without mercy, and seek guidance from elders—human and more-than-human alike. When your knowledge ripens, pass the seeds forward.”
Follow and Support Lauren’s Work
Lauren Rosenfelt is cultivating a visual archive of Oklahoma’s wild relatives — and helping us remember how to see them with respect.
🖌️ Follow @LaurenRosenfeltArt for new illustrations, field sketch peeks, and mini-workshop updates.
🫶 Support her mission by sharing her work — and making space for our more-than-human neighbors in your own backyard.
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