We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura McElfresh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Laura , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
Early in my journey I was managing to pay my expenses fairly easily, until I got to my first outdoor art show. It was out of town so I was planning to stay in a hotel. I had spent everything in my bank account to buy the tent, pay the cost of the booth, and frame and finish all of my art work that I planned to sell. I think I had about $20 leftover. It was not enough for gas, let alone to pay for my hotel. I was contemplating what to do. Should I cancel the show?, See if someone could loan me the money? I decided to sleep on it and see if I could think of a better solution. The following morning I got an excited call from a woman who wanted to purchase a painting I had hanging in a local recreation center. She had to have the painting – could I meet her at the center so she could buy it. As luck had it — It was just enough for pay for gas and my hotel. It felt like a glorious sign from the universe that this was in fact what I should be doing. I sold the painting and left that Friday for my show.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been creating and doing artwork since my early childhood. My Grandmother was an oil and acrylic painter and from a young age we painted together in the times I went to visit her. I dabbled in every medium you could imagine as a child. Needlework, basket making, quilting, drawing, painting, printmaking, jewelry making, stained glass and even took a batik on fabric class in grade school. As a young parent I loved seeing the changes my children went through and the people they became. I loved watching the transformation as they grew. I love process and change and evolution. And after years of focusing my art as an adult on watercolor I became bored. At that time I found a technique that married my love of fiber, and paper and process in a new way. Watercolor batik is a process very similar to the centuries old batik technique used to decorate fabric. Layers of hot wax are applied to a substrate or base material.. in my case I use delicate rice paper. Using multiple layers of hot wax and watercolor pigment on rice paper a painting evolves. Once all of the layers are complete the painting is crumpled, which creates fissures in the wax – pigment is once more washed over the entire painting and seeps into the cracks. Then all of the wax is removed with a hot iron and newspapers. I love the growth and evolution of the process and the final reveal as you remove the wax is surprising and invigorating. My art is a process of evolution and I am the witness and the driver behind it! I seek to connect with myself and others and to share that evolution through my art. I feel a deep connection with nature and so most of my subject matter are subjects found in nature. I love it when a person finds a piece of my art that connects them to a memory, a person or even themselves in a very personal matter.
I’m often asked if I miss my paintings once they are sold and gone.. and I always answer no. The joy I get from them is in the creation. The process is my happy place, and knowing that they continue on and give joy to others in a different way is a wonderful thought.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I had known how welcoming my fellow artists would be — and how they would share their wealth of information with me. And to ask them for advice, information, help, etc… I think as adults we think that we are supposed to figure out this artist thing on our own. That being a creative is like any other small business and it really is a whole different thing. If I had asked and reached out more early on I think I would have been so much better off. I’m always shocked at how much information and good advice there is to be had if you just ask for it. Other artists have given me some of the best advice I’ve gotten, and helped me in ways I could never have imagined.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I really love the Lisa Congdon Book “Art Inc”. and Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”. Both are fabulous in their own way. Through my daily habit of writing as taught by Julia Cameron I’ve pushed through mental blocks and allowed myself the time to wonder.. which is so important to creative people. And the never ending ideas and practical information found in Lisa Congdon’s book are helpful and inspiring.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lmcelfresh.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraevesart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtbyLauraMcElfresh
Image Credits
all are my own photos