About me
My journey, like most, has a winding road.
I have always been encouraged to create and therefore confident in my ability to do so and yet I also struggled with unresolved, unconscious beliefs of not enough-ness and a fierce will that would try to control the outcome due a fear of the unknown. I found myself in this spin cycle of wanting to create things and a longing for connection in my life but struggling to do that without being driven by these beliefs.
I became acutely aware of how I was operating from a place of distrust, lack and fear which meant that from very early on I became interested in accessing practices that would give me insight into how to deal with this. Over time, I knew I also wanted to support others who may be feeling the same.
Having gone on to work, study and train in practices ranging from yoga, massage, energy therapy, group facilitation and community engagement, I now have over fifteen years experience working with individuals, groups and organisations utilising creative and embodiment practices to build self compassion and inner connection to become the co-creators of our reality. Ultimately, I believe we find freedom by re-connecting to our wholeness that is the complete inclusion of everything and the exclusion of nothing. I found that from a pure, unfiltered place of creating we connect to our eternal state of presence knowing there is nothing we need to change or prove and no where else and nothing else we need to be.
Here is a bit of a story about how I got to where I am now…
In October 2009 I went to Australia on sabbatical from my job as a youth arts producer at The Roundhouse in London. I’d split up from my first long term boyfriend and I was looking to be far away and immersed back in the practice of drawing to work out how to heal. On reflection, I was lost in the best possible way, looking for a new direction and following a fairly undefined journey to seek it. The allure of summer in the Southern Hemisphere and the opportunity to be far, far away took me to Melbourne. I had friends who put me up, and with it, a sense of feeling safe to explore on my own terms. After a few days settling in, I attended a life drawing class in Melbourne. It was the first time I'd put pen to paper in several years and the level of anticipation was quite overwhelming.
Conversation was going on around me whilst people of all ages were arriving. A range of materials were being laid out, everyone seemed to have their favourite spot. More and more people were coming through the doors, it was busy and full of energy. Everyone seemed to know each other, they must have been coming for years. As I looked over my materials I was taken back to being a child in my Father’s art studio. The smell of oil paint and turps came flooding in. A state of bliss and calm fell over me, I was transported.
At this point, Ron Curran, the workshop leader, came over to me and offered an introduction. He had the hands of someone who’d really mastered their craft, which I soon learned was the craft of life and self. He had a warmth and familiarity that has led me back to him time and again. I trusted him instantly, I liked him immensely. He asked a few things about me: Where am I from? How much drawing had I done? He pointed to some extra materials I could use and talked a little about the “Dynamic Drawing” Philosophy.
I grew up with a father who paints. In order to paint, he had to keep me and my brother distracted somehow, so he did that with drawing. Both painting us and giving us something to draw with. It would be a “conversation”, which he would often document, and there would be music: Roxy Music, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, the list goes on. The act of drawing and the ritual surrounding it felt about as familiar as things can get, it took me straight back to dad’s studio. Being there in that room in Melbourne gave me the feeling of coming home. Drawing was guiding me back to myself.
Ron opened the session with a brief overview before putting on some music by Eddie Vedder and inviting us to draw the model. A series of short exercises began to warm us up followed by longer poses.
Not long into the session he came over to me and took a look at my work. With an air of encouragement and support in his voice he said “I think there's more to you than this Laurie. See what happens when you let go a little more. Maybe try closing your eyes while you draw.” With a degree of trepidation and firm grip around my charcoal, I closed my eyes and let it happen. Sure enough, when I reopened them something had emerged that was a far cry from what I had seen before. I’d let go of the outcome (to a degree) and I felt a huge sense of release, I felt more free. This exercise got easier and easier over time and with practice. Before long I was tuning into more of an interest in the sensations in my body rather than the image that was unfolding. Without necessarily knowing it, I was starting the process of allowing the line to draw itself from a place of feeling, from a place of connection.
I stayed in Melbourne for two months attending the drawing sessions 2 - 3 times a week. I got to know the community and Ron well, but I got to know myself even more. I breathed a little deeper and I saw things a little clearer. Without knowing where I was headed, I knew it was the start of something and off I went to my first yoga class.
Not long after Australia, I ended up in Barcelona where I began drawing with gusto. Obsessed with Gaudi and his timeless architecture I spent months on the streets drawing his buildings, pouring inks and pastels over large sheets of paper. These drawings started the basis for what would soon become Laurie Nouchka the clothing brand, linking my love of yoga and swimming with my drawings of urban architecture. For over five years I went on to create city based collections of activewear featuring my drawings as the fabric patterns. This included global brand collaborations and a platform for me to begin to explore and expand my horizons as an artist.
Fast forward to 2017, five years as a practising artist, having trained as a yoga teacher and massage therapist, I was invited to be artist in residence at Soho House Miami. There I ran my first “Drawing from life” session. It was intended as an experiment to share my drawing process and the techniques I have learnt through training as a yoga teacher to use drawing as a way to connect deeper to myself and the world around me.
Over 50 people attended as we drew both from the architecture of Miami beach and from a life model. I guided participants through drawing as a process, as a time to play and experiment. To connect with the body and our breathing. To dial down and tune in. The resulting outcome was palpable. The connection to self was felt and shared and I knew there was something in this approach.
Between 2017 and 2020 i then continued to run over 200 workshops with residencies at Soho House, H Club London, Second Home and Villa Lena as well as running workshops for organisations such as Google, Siemens and DeepMind.
As the pandemic hit, I took to Zoom running over 75 sessions to more than 3500 members of the public. They took on a whole new meaning, format and title during this time. “Drawing from life” included breathwork and meditation followed by drawing to a curated weekly playlist. I led participants through a series of dynamic, creative exercises to move us out of our heads and into our bodies.
Each week would be centred around a theme such as awareness, silence or truth. Drawing upon ancient yogic and spiritual lessons as well as art, contemporary science and nature’s wisdom. In reference to these teachings, different breath work, meditations, words and drawing techniques would be offered.
As lockdown eased, I began taking the sessions offline, out into the parks and back into the “real” world. Reconnecting with nature as a part of us, not as separate, has become an integral focus of this work. Through this process we re-connect to our wholeness through the ever changing, yet entirely interconnected, cycle of the seasons.
I now run workshops in person, online and in the last two years have been working increasingly with individuals on a 1:1 basis. This work teaches me so much and it’s a joy to be able to share it. If you would like to know more, please explore via the options below.
