Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurie Carswell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Laurie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was teaching art full time and at the end of every semester I would question whether or not this was my work? I decided to take the leap out of the classroom and try working in a more active creative field where I could create and not just guide others in the creative process. Shortly after that I was commissioned to create a series of artworks that would be printed on cards—I could do anything and print it. I could sculpt, I could paint, I could draw, but I found myself cutting and tearing paper. I told my mom who was visiting, “I don’t know what I am doing but I am going for it.” This first tiny project reignited my love for paper ( I realized that I did countless paper projects while in art school and growing up and collected various magazines from Vogue to Spin.) Then—-the big epiphany came when we were doing a family run downtown and I snapped a photo of the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at sunset with streaks of colorful clouds and vivid buildings shining in the light. I thought, this could be a collage of paper but not a crafty collage, fine art. I then started my paper painting process and have since done countless pieces and commissions of people, landscapes, seascapes, and florals. All using only paper, cut, torn, glued into layers.

Laurie, 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?

I am essentially upcycling cast off papers in order to use the printed colors and patterns as my own “palette” to build visual landscapes. My education is in theatre design, so I naturally visualize things in three dimensions and in layers. This background makes it possible for me to break a complex image, if I am working from a photograph for a commission for example, and layer it together in sections of cut paper. I work from imagination and reference photos or from specific photographs supplied by a client. Because of my unusual process, my work is very unique and unlike any other painting or cut paper work. I love rhythm and movement so I try to create finished pieces that “come alive.” Color is my driving inspiration and I strive to communicate a sense of depth in my work, most of the time people cannot believe that it is flat! I love that.

I also love giving myself creative challenges. I have a series of pieces that I create from one page. I find an ad or a magazine page and I see what I can create using only the pieces I have from that page. The result is a highly specific color palette and the process is really cool—it is always a transformation!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love being “IN” the creative process and sharing my process with others. I have taught my method in a workshop format at various locations as well as at the Art School at Laguna Gloria. I love watching other people cut magazines and find colors to create their own landscape. For me collage is spontaneous and exciting as you might find a really cool pattern for the trees in your picture, but then you flip it over and the other side is even better! Getting to watch other people feel empowered and inspired while making art fills my bucket. I recently completed a studio on my property and I will be hosting petite classes soon!

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first began making paper art—I was thinking small. I made little designs and had them printed on greeting cards. I went to all different venues and presented my cards to see if they would sell them. I had an etsy page. Despite all my hard work “peddling my wares, ” nothing panned out. I then realized that my style of artwork with its hyperdetails and wiggly energy was not going to fit in the cut and crafty greeting card market. Then I started to get more commissions and I switched to doing full size paper art and not small projects. This was the best step I could have taken.

Contact Info:

• Website: lauriecarswell.com
• Instagram: @laurie_carswellstudio

Image Credits
Laurie Carswell,