Area artist channels coronavirus fears … and encourages individuality - Herald-Banner

Area artist channels coronavirus fears … and encourages individuality - Herald-Banner

Area artist channels coronavirus fears … and encourages individuality - Herald-Banner

Posted: 05 Apr 2020 12:00 AM PDT

With coronavirus constantly filling the headlines, many people across the world are experiencing higher levels of anxiety with every cough or instance of typical springtime allergy congestion.

Lone Oak-based artist Laura Irrgang has started turning that anxiety into an entertaining-yet-relatable comic featuring a pickle/potato-like "coronavirus anxiety monster," named Gregg. In each one or two panel comic, Gregg expresses worry over coughing, how to ration toilet paper, or guilt over buying the last jug of milk in the grocery store.

"I've found this whole thing very stress-inducing," Irrgang told the Herald-Banner.

"I do a lot of journaling and keep a sketch book, and one day I drew a bunch of anxiety monsters," she explained. "When I looked at what I drew a day or two later, I decided that this weird, pickle/potato-looking creature was my favorite, and became Gregg.

"I've been posting comics with Gregg on social media, because I think a lot of us are Gregg these days, unfortunately."

Irrgang used to be a director at F8 Art Gallery in Austin, where she met her husband who eventually accepted a job at L3Harris, which is what brought them to Lone Oak.

In addition to creating her own art, which includes the Glitterville comic series, Irrgang has taught art and has served as director of the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce's summer art program.

Recently, she also completed a mural behind the Uptown Forum, titled "You Be You," which depicts an aquarium-like display populated by fish sporting a variety of human accessories, with the words "In the sea of humanity, be completely yourself."

"As a person that's always been in the arts, I appreciate individuality and wanted to encourage people to be themselves, even though there's always a lot of pressure to conform," Irrgang said.

"I enjoy making public art, because it's out in the open instead of in my studio," she added. "I spoke with area fishermen so I could depict fish that are in our area.

"The mural also has 'selfie areas,' like in the middle of 'You Be You" and in the mouth of the large-mouthed bass, because people like to make it look like they're sticking their heads in it."

Irrgang's mural was financed by the Hunt County Public Art project.

"It's been a joy to find another artist in Hunt County that we previously didn't know existed," Byron Taylor, co-founder of Hunt County Art, said of Irrgang. "She's a unique individual and her mural is our 13th piece of public art, so this completes our original plan to create 12-16 works of public art in the county, and we've done made 13 pieces of public art over the last seven years."

Those who would like to see Irrgang's Gregg comics and other work can visit her website at www.laurairrgang.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu
Read more

NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire

Image
NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire Posted: 11 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PST ALBANY, Ore. , March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NilocG launches a new website for planted tank enthusiasts to gather and make THRIVE, a plant fertilizer that assures planted tank aquascapes flourish while eliminating the need for multiple products more readily available online. The company also takes it a step further in the industry, making its flagship product easy to dose, super-concentrated, and an all-in-one solution based on an effective EL dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients. Continue Reading Thrive fertilizer: North America's most trusted aquarium plant fertilizer Colin Grice , CEO, a self-described planted tank lover, re
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year
Read more