I create art with mixed media, repurposed or sustainable materials that explore the emotional content of my experiences and my relationship with others and the environment. Art-making is an investigation of both my inner self and the physics of the natural world. I am pulling out what I feel about someone, something or an experience I had while also exploring the way in which color, form and materials flow from my brain through my body and onto a surface. The process becomes about movement, light, dark, action, reaction, and ultimately a search for order or understanding in what seems inextricable.
In addition to my studio practice I collaborate with communities, schools and organizations to bring an arts experience to all people and underserved populations in the form of interactions that are about the creative process and self-discovery.
I initiated an ongoing social project that engages people to contemplate the question "What matters?". The project has brought together over 11,000 people from all walks of life to share their thoughts via live events, workshops and interactive exhibits since 2012. The project has spanned the literary arts, visual arts, music, movement and drama being awarded a prestigious grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to serve the public. A mural of seventeen universal responses to this question, "What Matters?" was painted by 88 individuals who range from age four to over eighty. The mural is installed in the heart of Peekskill, New York as a piece of enduring public art.
As an educator I work with people of all ages and background including adults and children with disabilities and with those who perform at the highest levels, tapping into each person’s unique perspective and talents. I have taught thousands of students in art/design and environmental awareness/artistic practices from the preschool to professional level in schools, museums, libraries, community and mental health settings. I am a recommended teaching artist within the ArtsWestchester teaching residency program.
My goal as an artist is to continue to find my personal voice while also helping others find theirs. I believe the greatest gift we can give to others is living from our deepest passion and purpose. I believe compassion for ourselves, each other and our environment to be the highest of human values to express in both life and art.
As a designer I am fascinated by how words and pictures can convey powerful messages and create strong emotional responses. I have worked as a graphic designer, art director and creative director for over twenty years. I started creating art in 2004 after having a dream about observing other people's art. I awoke to realize that my own subconscious created all the art in the dream and that I already had what I needed to be an artist. Each day is a process of discovery as my art tells me who I am.
Education
B.A. in Design, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA),
Coursework at Parsons, School of Visual Arts, the Center for Book Arts and the American Film Institute.
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Got free time? Inspire yourself! Write your own personal mantra and make it into a one of a kind art object to inspire yourself everyday
August 2020
Cultural Renaissance in Peekskill, NY
Livia Straus and Lana Yu on Speak Out with NY State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef
August 2015
TV Interview about What Matters
Living Arts Westchester TV Show
Aired on Cablevision on Dec 22 at 5:30PM
Channel 15 in Peekskill/Westchester County
Forces of Nature
Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce
May 20 - Oct 4, 2013
Natural Order
Lana Yu Shares her Creative Process
2010
