Joanie Lawlor: Simple Beauty
By Jonnie Lawlor
How did this all happen? I believe I manifested it through deep knowing…
My life took an unexpected turn on November 23, 2023, when I was laid off from my job. I am a single mother of 3 adult children, I have been on my own for years, and supporting myself was all I knew. I had to choose paycheck over purpose. Or so I thought. My story is deep, and I will share it fully one day, but for now, this is how Simple Beauty came to be.
I have always felt the pull toward service for those less fortunate. I have a special place in my heart for helping and supporting women because I know firsthand what it feels like to need that help and support. Enter DOVE, Domestic Violence Ended. This is an important organization that provides hope, healing, and safety to women of domestic violence. I needed their support at one time, and I knew in the future I would find a way to give back to them.
Being an artist was never on my radar. I still feel a bit funny about calling myself one, but I am learning to own it with lots of gratitude and growth. In my mind an artist was someone who created visually pleasing pieces, in many different forms, from nothing. I literally still draw the same as I did as a child and that is 100% the truth! But, I have learned that for my art, I use a camera lens to create visually pleasing photographs and that is the growth part.
The journey to Simple Beauty started long ago with my phone camera, my love of the ocean, sunrises, sunsets, and all the beauty they possess. Nature brings so much joy and healing to my life. I took pictures to always have that with me.
I then began to put my slightly crooked, maybe a bit blurry sunrises and sunsets on Facebook, accompanied by my thoughts on the pictures, and to my sheer joy people responded positively! Reading the comments was so uplifting and motivating, it gave getting up every weekend to an early alarm a purpose, and that felt important to me. The idea that people needed the healing of nature as I did really inspired me to keep being out there, eyes and heart open for what felt good and shooting it to share.
It wasn’t long before some FB friends suggested I create a calendar, which was so flattering, but I wasn’t sure if turning what I did for my peace of mind into a job was something I wanted, and to be honest, it felt a bit overwhelming. I had a motto, ‘I see it. I shoot it. I share it’ and it was enough for me at that moment in time, but the seed was planted. I purchased a used Canon Rebe, set it to auto. I felt like I was in heaven!
When that life-changing layoff happened, I ran the gamut of emotions, but in the end, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It set me off on my journey of why I am truly here! Everything that was bubbling inside of me wanted to come out, and I welcomed it.
Simple Beauty is a culmination of my love of nature and its ability to provide healing. I feel like I was called to support women in need, by supporting non-profit organizations and fulfilling an important part of my true purpose. My vision for Simple Beauty is to bring people together, and I am only getting started.
I will always have a place in my heart for Bridget because she saw my prints on display at Fearless Angel Boutique and inquired about them. She saw there was a story behind these pictures of nature, and she was right. Knowing she wanted to meet me and learn what was behind Simple Beauty was another sign and a huge confidence boost to keep moving toward my dreams and goals.
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