CREATIVE STATEMENT
I am an artist and a gardener. Have you ever grown anything from seed? It's an exercise of hope and faith.
My recent work, extracted from plants, involves a creative close-up of nature’s elegant linework. Delicate patterns mimic networks within our solar system, tree roots, even our own vascular systems.
There’s much to take from nature for inspiration. I choose to wonder about what I can’t see. What hidden force pushes a seedling through dark earth or even concrete? What motivates optimism despite the evening news? Through my work, I choose to honor nature’s remarkable and mysterious forces by directly using her designs to explore creative contrasts and combinations.
ORIGIN STORY of HYBRIDS
2015-PRESENT One day in the studio, I decided to take a break from papermaking and just play around.
At the time I had a garden. Lettuce, radish, kale, and (sometimes huge) squash. I gave one of those zucchinis a whirl using my pressing and drying equipment for making paper.
Several years of trial and error have kept me on the fascinating path of creating stained-glass-like images from vegetables. They are beautiful, with endless possibilities and exciting results. Sophisticated and elegant to look at, thought provoking at the same time. These images give a glimpse into the architecture of plants and of ourselves, our universe. Nature is quiet, yet powerful. She deserves all the respect and dignity we have to offer.
“A seed grows with no sound, but a tree falls with a huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence. Grow silently.” —Confucius 551-479 BC
BACKGROUND
Laurie is a native of New England, recently moved to Windsor, MA on a mountain top field ready to garden. She transitioned to fine art after a career in advertising with its design, color and composition having a strong influence on her work today. She has spent many years volunteering for organizations like The Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations and as a docent for the Clark Institute in Williamstown, MA. Miles has a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.