tom lauerman

i just reconnected with an old friend and artist, tom lauerman. we shared studio space from 1996-1998 at the shamrock hotel studios, formerly the blue stair studios, and were both founding members. i managed the studio and rented a room, and tom actually lived there.

it was so incredibly frustrating trying to finagle rent checks out of 8 flaky artists each month (tom excluded, of course), so when in 1998 i moved out of my apartment and into a house that had space for a studio, i packed up my paint and left the shamrock in tom’s capable hands.

i just did a web search and it looks like the shamrock still exists, to my delight and surprise. i wonder what it looks like now, and if anyone lives there anymore. i wonder if the stairs are still blue. maybe they have air conditioning and have taken care of that horrible cockroach problem. maybe i’ll drop by one day.

tom’s been busy since leaving the shamrock. i own two woodcut prints of his, but it looks like he’s been focusing mainly on ceramics. installation pieces. he’s living in chicago now