Laura is a brilliant creator I met while living in Athens, GA. Her imagination and hands move as one. She dreams it up and finds the way to bring it to life. She is grounded in a way that lets you exhale the moment you’re near her. Mother to a gem of a daughter, and a constant inspiration to me. Residing in Oceanside, CA as a photographer, maker, mother, gardener extraordinaire!
From Laura..
I cut my finger and unleash a string of cussing and goddamnits.
Tissue. Masking tape. Back to work.
There is no time for bandaids when something is being made.
I grew up on 75 acres in the mountains of Southern California. No neighborhood kids. No playground. A garage full of old car parts, a pile of wood behind it, a small junkyard I was free to dig through. A 2x4 and a bucket became a teeter-totter. Various car parts became race cars in the driveway. Most of what I built was temporary. Sometimes a thing turned out terribly. Sometimes a thing turned out better than I could have imagined and earned its place in my bedroom.
I attribute those early years of creative freedom to my fascination with making; making images with my camera, woodworking, diy around the house, growing a garden, painting, drawing, and sewing. My hands are never still for long. When something wants fixing or adornment, my first thought is, “How can I do this myself.” “How can I translate what I see with my eye into my hands.”
Sometimes things get lost in translation and they turn out terribly, and sometimes they get lost in translation and they are better than I could have imagined. It’s a freedom to fail and try again that sadly a lot of people learn early in life is not an option.
I recently heard Billie Eilish on Amy Poehler’s podcast say something along the lines of “You have to be willing to make a lot of bad art in order to make good art.” That’s it! That was the gift of my childhood, there was nobody telling me how to do it, let alone why it wouldn’t work. It was everything, thanks mama.