We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Stewart DeRosa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura Stewart below.
Laura, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
I have incredible parents. They’re kind, generous, thoughtful, patient and open to and supportive of any career path their children choose. They raised three creatives (me in visual art, the other two in the food world) and they rarely bat an eyelash at the *unique* things that we sometimes expose them to.
I will never forget bringing my parents to a grad school art show featuring painting, drawing, installation and many performance pieces. While taking in a variety of media on a wide range of topics not typically interwoven into the daily life of an insurance agent, I watched his expression shift in seconds from pride to shock to concern, then to interest, appreciation and pride again.
Laura, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My current studio practice is a combination of working on my own series and creating commissioned pieces for clients, as well as a bit of teaching.
My artistic focus lies in 2D media including oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, as well as all types of drawing media. I typically draw from my life as a woman and a mother to depict intimate domestic scenes and sentiments. I am interested in exploring concepts related to the human condition, specifically in regard to motherhood, love, loss, grief, and intimacy.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson that I needed to unlearn as an artist is something that I instilled in myself once I was out of school. When grad school was over and I was outside the academic world, I felt a paralyzing inability to focus on what was truly important to me, art-wise. I lost sight of what I actually wanted to create and worked to create what I thought was expected of me.
Following nearly a decade of parenting, teaching, and unpredictable pandemic life, I am regaining my footing here. My takeaway is that there is a lot of art out there. There is something for everyone. This means that some things will not appeal to some people and that is okay.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
To me, supporting artists and the creative ecosystem means, whenever possible, buying original art! Beyond that, it means seeing shows, following artists on social media, commenting on work and carrying on the dialogue that creatives are infusing into their work and intending to bring into society.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Amber Ratliff