Oakhill Newsroom
Where's Coach Speer?
We sat down with her to catch up!
Quick background on Coach Lauren Speer.
I am originally from the KC area and lived in south Overland Park and then Mission, KS.
Went to college at Miami University of Ohio where I double majored in Art Education and Art Studio. I was also a captain and 4 year Varsity player on Division I Field Hockey team for Miami.
Tell us about your time at Oakhill.
Worked at Oakhill for 7 years as the head PE teacher and Athletic Coordinator. While I was at Oakhill, we built the athletic program for Middle School and quickly began to have great success in the leagues.
While athletics and sports was my major focus at Oakhill I still managed to find ways to be involved with the arts through the Summer Camp and after school classes.
It was incredibly hard for me to leave the Oakhill family and everything that I had worked so hard at, but we had to make the best decision we could for our family. My husband is a chiropractor and received a great offer to join a practice, Koerner Chiropractic out of Hays, KS. The office was expanding and starting two office in smaller towns, Ellis and Plainville KS. My husband, Gerrad Speer, runs both of these offices and we live in Plainville, KS. One of the selling points for me to move, was I had the opportunity to become a stay-at-home mom with my kiddos, Graham and Eleanor.
What happened when you left Oakhill?
Making the move was difficult at times, because I had so many changes happen all at once. The biggest two changes were: we moved from a large city to a small town with just under 2,000 people and I went from working full time (and a lot of overtime with sports) to not working at all. The best thing was all of the time I was spending with my kids and everything I was experiencing with them. However, I knew something was missing and I needed more. For so long, I was so busy that I pushed aside and stopped working on my art. I have always done Graphite drawings and had just started to show in art fairs before Oakhill. I picked up my pencil and got back into my drawings. I am a realist and draw portraits of people and animals, landscapes so much more! It is still tough to find time to work - days are not options since I have kiddos at home. Most of the time I stay up late and let myself become immersed in my drawings while everyone else is asleep.
I also began to volunteer with the Plainville Memorial Library. They have a great program where they offer FREE classes to the public with all of the materials and supplies ready to go. I have taught a lot of classes from painting on canvas, making wooden pumpkins and snowmen, coloring nights and even doing a mural class. The library is so wonderful for creating this opportunities for the public and even more incredible because they love some of the crazy ideas I come up with!
Even with all of this, I still felt I needed some kind of "work" - something that wouldn't take away from my kids and family. While teaching at Oakhill, I would pay attention to the face painters that came to events and I always thought, "I can do that!". A dear Oakhill friend encouraged me to try it out. I proceeded to watch videos online and started following some incredible face painters. Next thing I know I ordered supplies, practiced on myself and my family and picked up my first event here in Plainville for a Fallfest in October of 2014.
How is business going?
I have now been face painting for a little over 2 years and it is amazing how this hobby/side kick has grown! I book events several months in advance, my summers fill up with festivals and fairs, and I do birthday parties year round. I do all types of events: birthdays, reunions, sporting events (high school and college), town fairs and festivals, weddings, holiday parties.... I have travelled all over the state of Kansas for face painting. It is always fun to look on a map and find out where the next town is! The neatest thing about face painting is that I schedule myself and most of the time the events are in the evening or on weekends so it doesn't affect my family and kiddos too much. I love challenging myself to come up with new designs. I have several people ask if it is hard to paint my own face, but I honestly think it is easier! Face painting combines two things that I love the most: art and kids.
What else do you do with your "spare time"?
My husband and I have also created a small business - Speer Creations. We began this adventure in the summer of 2015. Gerrad has always loved to do woodworking as a hobby. We combined talents for a birthday gift for our daughter, Eleanor. Gerrad built a wooden step stool, I designed the lettering, cut out the letter blocks and I painted it. We posted a picture of the kid's puzzle step stool on my Facebook page and we immediately got great feedback from family and friends. We decided to go with it and now run Speer Creations. We create wood designs for kids including: puzzle step stools, growth charts, pop guns, hair bow organizers, baby doll cradles and kids size picnic tables.
I have always had dreams about where I want to take my art. My drawings have always been a part of it and the face painting is something that has even surprised me! The sky is the limit and I plan to keep growing with my art. I am now looking into teaching art classes and possibly creating an art studio! "All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney
Want to follow Coach Speer and her art? Check out her Facebook pages:
Lauren Speer Graphite Drawings
Update:
Since last speaking with Coach, she has taken on a new role as Director of the Plainville Recreation Commission in addition to continuing her art and face painting business. Congratulations Lauren on your new role!