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	<title>Lauren Odell Usher</title>
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	<link>http://laurenusher.com</link>
	<description>An artist who likes to dabble and wander</description>
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		<title>The Value of Art. (in my humble opinion)</title>
		<link>http://laurenusher.com/the-value-of-art/</link>
		<comments>http://laurenusher.com/the-value-of-art/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 19:06:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Odell Usher</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lauren's Art Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rants and Raves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the value of art]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laurenusher.com/?p=953</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As my organization, Art is Moving, is in the front end of a 45 day fundraising campaign, I was inspired to write a letter to everyone about why I am a believer in art. Here it is. &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; Dear Everyone, I believe in art. I believe in its power to bring out the best in people. It can also help them deal with the worst in life. I know this from my own experience and from watching people of various ages, ethnicity, gender, etc. make art, talk about art, look at art, and buy art. I am not the best at explaining what it is about art that makes it special, it&#8217;s just something I know to be true. I know there are skeptics out there who think that art is fluffy and just a bunch of phooey. I was asked by a friend once, referring to art, &#8220;What&#8217;s its function, what purpose does it serve for society?&#8221; He seemed to be interested in an A + B = C kind of answer. You put bread in a toaster, turn it on, then you have toast, and then you eat the toast. The bread and toaster each have a clear [...]]]></description>
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		<title>PB &amp; J Cookies are so delicious</title>
		<link>http://laurenusher.com/peanut-butter-jelly-time/</link>
		<comments>http://laurenusher.com/peanut-butter-jelly-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:56:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Odell Usher</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[From the Kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lauren's Art Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Over the Weekend]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laurenusher.com/?p=913</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My dear husband loves, I mean LOVES peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I&#8217;m not exaggerating when I say he would (and pretty much does) eat a PB&#38;J every single day.  I&#8217;m not as crazy a fan as he is, but I do love cookies.  So, I decided to smoosh the two together and make some peanut butter and jelly cookies over the weekend.  I think they need a bit more peanut butter flavor and some more fluff, but other than that I&#8217;d say they were a huge success.  Worth slaving over (not really) for sure.]]></description>
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		<title>Photographing Tragedy</title>
		<link>http://laurenusher.com/photographing-tragedy/</link>
		<comments>http://laurenusher.com/photographing-tragedy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:32:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Odell Usher</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lauren's Art Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[So, I've been thinking...]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photojournalism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laurenusher.com/?p=898</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I know I&#8217;m not alone when I say that photography has a lot to do with memory for me. There are images that I look at from my childhood that transport me back in time. I love the feeling of nostalgia and treasure it. I think about that when I photograph my almost brand new baby boy. What will he think when he looks at photos of himself? What memories will come up for him? I remember a trip my family and I took to Wyoming a few years ago. My Dad was sitting at the table with his mother and all of a sudden called me over. My grandmother, who is the reason I have the middle name Odell, proceeded to take off the necklace she was wearing as I walked over. She handed it to me and said, &#8220;You&#8217;re the only Odell left, so you should have this.&#8221; I looked over and saw my Dad crying. My instinct was to take a photograph of him. He looked at me like I was crazy. So, I didn&#8217;t do it. There&#8217;s a great deal of bittersweetness (not a word, I know) attached to photographs of events that bring up darker [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Spongebob and Casablanca</title>
		<link>http://laurenusher.com/spongebob-and-casablanca/</link>
		<comments>http://laurenusher.com/spongebob-and-casablanca/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:18:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Odell Usher</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lauren's Art Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This is too funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[classic movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spongebob]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laurenusher.com/?p=877</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A great reminder not to take oneself or art too seriously.]]></description>
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		<title>Behind Closed Doors</title>
		<link>http://laurenusher.com/behind-closed-doors/</link>
		<comments>http://laurenusher.com/behind-closed-doors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:48:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Odell Usher</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Art News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lauren's Art Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jean-michel basquiat]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laurenusher.com/?p=871</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I often think to myself that you don&#8217;t really know what goes on behind closed doors.  Apparently, sometimes that&#8217;s true.  An ex-girlfriend of Basquiat&#8217;s, Alexis Adler, has just revealed that her apartment is covered with his artwork. Besides murals on her walls she also has photographs, notes, clothing, and sketches. Why take 30 years to tell someone? Adler stated, &#8220;Part of the issue has been that I am a working biologist who has raised two kids on my own and have not had time or energy to deal with it,” Adler said. “Now is the time, however.&#8221; How crazy and cool would it be to grow up in a house covered in art installations?  The kids imaginations must have run wild. As someone who is constantly curious about how a person gets to where they get, it&#8217;s refreshing to know that the work that Adler is preparing to show is Basquiat&#8217;s early work. We get to learn something about Basquiat that we may have never known had she decided not to share that part of him with anyone else. So, thanks Ms. Adler. (more here)]]></description>
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