Living A Creative Life: Where Art and Nature Have No Boundaries.
- Laura Hallen
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Since I was a young girl, I have always been drawn to working with my hands. Whether helping my dad build furniture, baking cakes with my mom, my previous career as a Picture Framer, or painting. Creation has been my constant. Today, my world spans art making, gardening, herbalism, skincare formulation, and fermentation. This creative life keeps me engaged with the living world, keeps me young, and—above all—keeps me scrappy.
I love solving problems and thinking beyond pure aesthetics. For me, interacting with nature is rooted in utility and self-sufficiency. Faced with an abundant garden harvest, I immediately ask: What can I create with this? The same problem-solving drives my botanical skincare line with formulations made with living ingredients that enhance skin vibrancy. To my fermentations where living cultures aid digestion and vitality of health. With every passion, I push the limits of my creativity: How should I score this sourdough? What flavor profile will elevate this kombucha? What are the ideal botanical pairings that support healthy, vibrant skin?
Maatila Beauty marries all of these threads together: art, herbalism, and skincare. I am endlessly grateful to live this creative life—supported by a clean, bright studio, a functional kitchen, and a garden bursting with abundance. My passions overlap so seamlessly that I can no longer separate them; there is no distinct line where one ends and another begins.
At its core, this journey stems from my love of art and a deep reverence for plants. I've been an artist for over 35 years and a gardener for nearly 30, I owe much of my spark to my grandfather—an inventor, artist, and my greatest influence. His innovative, joyful spirit taught me priceless lessons. It was during a high school field trip to local artist studios solidified my path. I realized a creative career was possible, came home, and announced I was applying to art school. My parents hesitated, but ultimately supported my journey.
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. Art school taught me to approach every situation with wonder, resilience, and a creative eye. As a Picture Framer for 25 years, I learned the art of presentation with skills that contribute to my art to this day. With gardening and botanical skincare formulation, I feel a union that is a divine collaboration with nature. I mimic nature’s intelligence in my paintings, harness its best elements in my kitchen, and channel its magic into my skincare line to improve health inside and out. These skills have gifted me self-reliance, wisdom, and a truly vibrant outlook on life; an outlook that anchors and empowers me that fills me with peace in a crazy, uncertain world.
