(above, l to r: Birds of a Feather, Losing My Marbles, Three Peas in a Pod, Sings Like a Bird, and Makin’ Wishes.)
Want to pry your kids away from their video games and screens for an hour? Bring them to Laura Elmore’s outdoor art workshop at the library tomorrow — July 10, 2-3 p.m. — for some fun and creative exploration.
In keeping with this year’s summer-reading theme, ‘Tails & Tales,’ elementary-aged kids will get to sculpt an animal out of clay and search for animals in the clay slab that children decorated at the SRC kickoff.
Laura, a local artist and sculptor, will also read a favorite children’s book and talk about the author’s simple illustrations and art in general.
Email eplkids@cliu.org or call 610-965-9284 to sign up your children for this cool workshop. Some walk-in spots may also be available.
We featured Laura and her work last year when she led a sculpting workshop for adults, and caught up with her recently for an update …
How did the pandemic affect your art?
My work and how I work changed significantly this past year and a half. I have added color and humor to my pieces and fired them differently as well. The inspirations from children’s literature that were on exhibit at the library last fall we’re my first pandemic pieces. The stoneware that I work with is fired twice, first in an electric kiln to about 1850 degrees Fahrenheit, and a second time either at a higher or lower temperature depending on the type of fuel that is used and the effect being sought. I had been working with a team for my second firings to manually operate the kiln, but the pandemic forced me to work alone, using different materials and a kiln that I could operate by myself. Like the children’s inspirations series, the series that I’m working on now — “Funny Talk” — uses color and humor to emphasize certain aspects of the work.
I grew up in rural Kentucky and the language is colorful and “oldtimey,” if that’s a word. I spent the first month of the pandemic with my family there, the longest I’ve been “home” in my adult life. I was comforted being around the narrative speech that month and thought frequently about it while I was working on the children’s series when back in PA. Three Peas in a Pod is the crossover between the two series. Each piece is inspired by an idiom used in our family and constructed in an abstract, animated manner and accented with found objects to emphasize the humor and the message.
“The Grind” (left) was well received in the Lehigh Art Alliance group show last winter at the Luckenbach Mill and is one of my favorite pieces this year. I watched my brother, father, husband and children learn how to increase usage and navigate technology to work during the pandemic and thought this piece modeled after my brother captured that message. Other idioms that I’ve composed include Birds of a Feather and Sings like a Bird (an homage to Billie Holiday).
Losing My Marbles and Makin’ Wishes are currently on display at the Luckenbach Mill in Bethlehem through mid August with the Lehigh Art Alliance summer juried exhibit.
My production increased during the pandemic. I hope to keep that production going as I emerge from my basement a little more!
_______________
ART@EPL is the library’s exciting partnership with the Lehigh Art Alliance and the Lehigh Valley Arts Council. The series is funded through a grant from PA Partners in the Arts, making it possible for area residents to enjoy free art lectures and workshops from local artists working in pastels, charcoal, sculpture, and watercolor among others.
