Laura Cleary Williams
Signal Mountain, TN
Laura is an artist and writer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
MessageLaura Cleary Williams is a visual artist living and working in Chattanooga, TN.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Art from Tufts University in affiliation with the SMFA, Boston. Laura later completed her Masters in Printmaking in 2012 at SCAD and worked with master printer Robert Brown at Southeastern Center for Printmaking as a printer, master printer, and assistant project manager on an extensive project with Kiki Smith and Valerie Hammond, and curator Crista Cloutier.
In 2012, Laura co-founded Straw Hat Press, a fine arts publishing and contract print shop in Atlanta, GA. At Straw Hat, Laura worked as a master printer alongside nationally recognized artists and art institutions such as the High Museum, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and Burnaway Magazine.
In 2016, Laura was featured in an article in Rue Magazine showcasing professional artists and designers. In 2019 Laura participated in the exhibition Visual Thinking, celebrating the connection between thinking through drawing at the Ronald Barr Gallery at Indiana University Southeast.
Laura is has shown nationally and internationally. Her work is included in several private and public collections.
Statement
I use transparent layers to reflect the passage of time and the degradation of memory. I build the initial drawing on an image of personal significance. Then I discard the original and begin layering the piece using a self-referencing system, highlighting and obstructing. Drawing on my past decisions to create new experiences. Constantly referencing the past but never recreating it, erasing the flaws, and highlighting our favorite features.
Mark-making is not only a reflection of practice but of emotion. Each line becomes measured and balanced with the line beside it only with dedication and practice. But a profound reaction to memory will sweep that balance away. Leaving a mark that is an expression of an event rather than only a part of the whole.
Repetition can dwindle the effects of the imperfections, but they are still there until erased. And even then, a smudge of their presence remains imperfect, each drawing becoming a collection of choices, a horde of moments, like notes or breaths. Nevertheless, their sum is alive and something more than each mark alone.