About Laura's Artwork
Like music, I had given up on art for many years. I was blocked by a voice in my head that said, "You're not good enough. You're not a 'real' artist."
During the pandemic, I was inspired to write and illustrate a children's book. Although self-doubt protested, I self-published the The Sun Is Shining in December 2020. Achieving that gave me the courage to start doing more art.
Now I am always studying and exploring different styles of art, and I have started offering art classes for fellow sensitive souls who may have given up on their creativity. I believe we are all artists, and I hope to inspire more people to create.
In addition to traditional artwork, I also love to offer my art to the community through inspirational chalk messages and snow heart sculptures. There are pictures of some of my offerings below.
Artwork
While I was working on my book in 2020, I discovered alcohol-based markers. I really loved them, and they inspired me to start to draw more.
Since then I have also started to play a lot with watercolor, acrylic painting, and fine-line pen drawings (mandalas and sketches). I love learning and am always reminding myself to play with each medium as I test things out.
Chalk Art
During the pandemic, I started writing inspirational chalk messages on my mom's sidewalk in Buffalo, NY. Then I started leaving chalk hearts in front of a few neighbors' houses and that eventually expanded out onto the blocks around our house.
I sometimes do chalk art when I travel, too, but sharing the hearts in our neighborhood always feels the most special. I love seeing how excited little kids get about them.
People often ask me, "Why are you doing this? What's it for?"
The answer is, I do it because it makes me happy.
Snow Hearts
During the pandemic, I moved to Buffalo, NY with my mom. The long, snow-filled winters inspired me to start making snow hearts, since chalk art was not an option when the sidewalks were icy.
In 2022, the hearts were featured in Buffalo Rising and were also on WGRZ Channel 2 News on Valentine's Day (you can watch the clip HERE).
My favorite part about sharing them, besides playing in the snow, is when people come up and tell me how much they enjoy them. I have even had a few people give me hugs while I'm out there making them, which I loved!
