Interview with Laura Erekson
Where do you search for “waking angels” in your life to inspire your creativity?
I search for "waking angels" in the everyday, in the mundane—in what is often overlooked. In creations by man and creations by mother nature herself. In the tiny stone my two year old collected for me, in a fallen seed from a nearby tree, in the shape, weight, and feel of an iron tool in my hand, or the way the light casts a silhouette on the wall, ceiling, or ground. I seek them in the movement of the wind, the buzzing of a honeybee, and the smell of the earth after rain.
If you knew you could only create one last piece of art, what would it be and why?
At this point in time my final work would be a self portrait of sorts. I would create my largest work yet depicting full scale giant mammoth sunflowers (stalks and all) in the various phases of life—from sprout, to bud, to bloom, to seed, to death. It would honor our mortal existence and experience by acknowledging both the fragility and the power of being human. It would be a tribute to birth and life and death, be it celebration, pain, joy, or sorrow—to the beauty and complexity and validity of it all.
If you could ask an artist (past or present) to create your portrait, who would it be and why?
I would be extremely interested in seeing how Frida Kahlo would depict me as her self portraits are rich in symbolism and tell stories as opposed to being solely a 'likeness."
Laura was born in Oakland, California and currently lives and works in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received a BFA from Brigham Young University in Studio Art, as well as an MAT from George Mason University. Her work examines broad themes including time, nature, identity, and faith. Using objects (both manmade and organic) in her process, Laura’s paintings are rich in detail and texture. Laura's work has been exhibited in Maryland, Virginia, Utah, New York City, and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
I search for "waking angels" in the everyday, in the mundane—in what is often overlooked. In creations by man and creations by mother nature herself. In the tiny stone my two year old collected for me, in a fallen seed from a nearby tree, in the shape, weight, and feel of an iron tool in my hand, or the way the light casts a silhouette on the wall, ceiling, or ground. I seek them in the movement of the wind, the buzzing of a honeybee, and the smell of the earth after rain.
If you knew you could only create one last piece of art, what would it be and why?
At this point in time my final work would be a self portrait of sorts. I would create my largest work yet depicting full scale giant mammoth sunflowers (stalks and all) in the various phases of life—from sprout, to bud, to bloom, to seed, to death. It would honor our mortal existence and experience by acknowledging both the fragility and the power of being human. It would be a tribute to birth and life and death, be it celebration, pain, joy, or sorrow—to the beauty and complexity and validity of it all.
If you could ask an artist (past or present) to create your portrait, who would it be and why?
I would be extremely interested in seeing how Frida Kahlo would depict me as her self portraits are rich in symbolism and tell stories as opposed to being solely a 'likeness."
Laura was born in Oakland, California and currently lives and works in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received a BFA from Brigham Young University in Studio Art, as well as an MAT from George Mason University. Her work examines broad themes including time, nature, identity, and faith. Using objects (both manmade and organic) in her process, Laura’s paintings are rich in detail and texture. Laura's work has been exhibited in Maryland, Virginia, Utah, New York City, and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.