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Photo by Kevin Ward
Local artist Laura Alexander has cuts and stitches on her arms, and frequently has bandaged fingers.
Two years ago while driving from a show with a carload of her etched-glass artwork, she stopped short and six pieces shattered. “I didn’t turn around, and I didn’t unload the car for two days,” she said.
Though glass is delicate, dangerous and a pain to work with, Laura enjoys playing with shadow and dimension.
“I draw with light instead of drawing with a pencil.”
Laura Alexander’s newest show, “Effervescent,” opens this week.
A reception will be held Thurs., Nov. 5 from 6-9 p.m. at the Ohio Art League’s new space, 1552 N. High St., adjacent to Landmarks Theatre in the South Campus Gateway.
Snacks from Surly Girl will be served. Somer Mager will curate the show.
Laura uses solely “reclaimed glass” from old windows. And she opted for glass because “I like to draw in nontraditional ways. Sometimes I draw with my sewing machine.”
Her desire to work with her hands may come from her father, a Pataskala fireman with four daughters who builds street rods for a hobby.
As a little girl, Laura went through a phase of drawing everything pregnant. “Animals, people, everything had another little baby inside of it. I was five.”
Taking a two-year artistic hiatus to deal with post-grad school burn out, Laura moved from Seattle back to Columbus and began renting a studio at Junctionview. That was nearly four years ago, and she hasn’t stopped since.
Her work has been seen at Agora, Urban Scrawl, Kick Start, Roy G. Biv, Haiku, and the Columbus Metropolitan Library. And she has helped coordinate shows for Couchfire Collective and the Franklinton Arts District. Recently she assisted with the creation of CAW!—the Creative Arts of Women.
She said that she would like to travel and expand beyond her current work, if only to return to it with fresh eyes.
“If you’re a realistic painter, sometimes you have to start painting abstractly so that you can come back to realistic painting with a new perspective.”
“Effervescent” will be on display through November. OAL’s hours are noon – 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. More information can be found online at www.OAL.org.
Based on the great work I saw at the last Agora, this show will be great. Congrats to LA for being shown in this great new space.
Laura stuff is some of my favorite in Columbus! I’ll be there.
i was SO EXCITED to see Laura’s show… then i got word that i had to cover a shift. : o( Laura is my FAVORITE local artist!
Oh no :( I’ll go with you any time you get a free minte, Vivy. Or maybe you can kill some time between class one day. Bummed you’re not coming though. And thank Bob, for an awesome article!
Looking forward to checking this out tomorrow. ;)
I’m for sure going to this one! Take ‘me little lady out on the town!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this show for months. Laura’s work is full of wonder and beauty. I’m so stoked to see the new stuff. Congratulations Laura!!!
I am so excited for this show!!! Thanks for posting about this, she is an amazing artist, and more people should get to experience her work.
LOVE this! Laura’s show has been some of my favorite in Columbus – so excited to see a dedicated show!
Definately gonna be there, can’t wait to see what she’s created. Laura’s been sequestered away in her studio for quite some time, so, I’m sure its going to be AMAZING…
This looks awesome! We’ll try our best to make it tonight.
out-o-town for this opening tonight, but will be sure to stop by this weekend to see the new work. i highly recommend having an original LA etching on your walls. congrats to Laura and Somer for curating.
awesome show. and the stuff is selling fast. you need to get down there post haste! nice job LA!!
Yes! Very cool show, Laura! Glad we finally made it to the new OAL space too. :D
Going to try and make it out tonight before Rad Dogs Hal & Al’s Debut! Congrats on the success of your show Laura!
thanks so much to everyone that came out for the opening! it’s great to have so much support! i also want to thank somer for being an awesome curator, she cracked the whip, kept me focused, and is a truly great friend. it was really helpful to have her opinion and well, if you were at the opening you saw that great spread of food. also, thanks bob p for the article. it was fun sitting down with you though we were pretty slaphappy by the time you left. i’m bummed it was the same day as pecha kucha and i had to miss presentations by friends:(