Allow me to introduce the next artist in our profile series.
Laurie only recently started swapping with MMSA, but she has jumped in with both feet!
Since February, she has participated in nine swaps, sending an impressive 33 pieces of art.
Here's her story in her own words:
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I
am Laurie Morris, Floridian for the last 24 years, New Yorker by birth,
retired in June 2011, artist wannabe. Blog, no; website no; FB yes. My
'studio' is one wall of the master bedroom.
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| Laurie and her ragdoll cat, Susie. |
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| Love of her life Lulu generously depositing some fur on her paper stash |
My
start, about 10 years ago, was as an accidental scrapbooker. A dear
work colleague was retiring and I decided to make her a memory book, not
that I knew how, but that's how I got started. After that, I mostly I
shopped for and hoarded cute little embellishments and papers while
producing the occasional scrapbook page and attending the occasional
crop. Meh.
My life changed when I discovered the book True Colors: a Palette of Collaborative Art Journals,
published by Somerset Studio. Art journals? Collaboration? Who knew? In
2005 I journeyed to Santa Ana, CA to gaze in awe upon about nine of the
sixteen or so artists represented in the book, and to take classes with
Teesha Moore and Michelle Ward. Wow. So my socks were knocked off, but
it would be several years until I had the energy and/or time to try and
make art of my own.
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| A collage Laurie made in Portugal while studying and touring with Teesha Moore |
Since I
retired I've done some traveling in pursuit of learning opportunities related
to mixed media art journals. I've had a lot of input but still not much output.
Hmmmm, I see a pattern there. Anyway, I'm a big Tim Holtz fan and an even
bigger Dyan Reaveley fan. My current passions are Dyan's journal + her
Dylusions sprays + just about any stencils I can get my hands on. Recently I
fell head over heels in love with my Gelli Plate, so there's been lots of
messy, paint-y experimentation going on using all kinds of paper, cheap paint,
and stencils. Making postcards and ATCs and the occasional gift album are what
I enjoy but the most fun I have is when I'm playing around in one of my many
art journals or on my Gelli Plate. Someday I might even figure out what
to do with all those interesting monoprints. In the mean time, I'm having fun
and it keeps me off the streets.
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| A piece under construction for a round-robin journal project |
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| Laurie in her studio/bedroom |
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Thank you, Laurie!
It was wonderful to meet you.
Who would like to be next?
Tell us your story. No matter what your experience is, I guarantee what you say will resonate with someone. It's by sharing sharing our hopes, dreams, fears and experiences that we find our tribe and realize we are not alone.
So tell us about yourself, and what put you on the road to art.
Click on the "artist profile" tab at the top of the blog for general guidelines and links to past profiles.