Laura loves dogs, all dogs. But in particular, she loves greyhounds. Much of her work features one or another of her beloved hounds.
Primarily a fiber or textile artist, Laura uses a variety of techniques and media, including hand and machine stitching, paint, rust-dyed natural fabrics, embroidery, beadwork, heat-altered synthetic materials, and found objects, among other things.
Most recently, she has been exploring what happens when heat is applied to fused, polyester stretch velvet that has been stitched with cotton thread. When hit with a heat gun or soldering iron, synthetic fabrics melt but cotton thread does not, resulting in some fascinating textures, shapes, and colors. She then embellishes these creations with beads, metallic greyhounds, and other interesting items, such as watch gears.
Statement
I love the way unrelated things struggle together in my art: Natural materials in conjunction with the synthetic. Bright colors, interesting shapes, tangled threads, bits of everything. Scraps. I use texture and dimension to add bursts of energy that sometimes explode beyond the confines of the frame. I like to challenge the eye to find harmony within chaos, rhythm in randomness, similarity in opposites. Tiny details elucidate the whole; surprising combinations lead to a new interpretation of ordinary things.
WHY GREYHOUNDS?
I’m fascinated by this breed. They are a bundle of contradictions. They can run faster than racehorses, but they sleep twenty hours a day. If they lock onto prey, nothing can distract them, but if they’re relaxed, nothing can rouse them. They are strong but gentle. They are aloof and independent but their big, soulful eyes watch everything and seem to read my thoughts. They are surprising in their grace and hilarious in their awkwardness. They might carefully step through long grass, trying not to get their paws wet. Or sprawl belly up with tongues flopping out of their mouths. These seeming contradictions draw me in. I use my art to show them as the silly, sweet, funny, beautiful, fast, slow, energetic, lazy, soulful, relaxed, goofy, and graceful beings that they are.
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