Laura Marie Jameson (D)
Laura's second career. After leaving a job in manufacturing as a Process Engineer in 1992 and a period of side excursions and she thought, “ What do I want to be when I grow up”, Laura loves trees, their beauty and character, even when they have fallen to return to the earth. She finds a special inner beauty in working with these woods. Since the onset there has been a long journey to where she is now. She sometimes sits back and marvels at herself, then gets back to, “Where can I go from here?” She has self-taught herself the technical skills, the artistic and design have just flourished.
For the past 16 years, she has been doing a varied Art Fair schedule throughout the Midwest as well as having her work represented in Galleries. Laura uses mostly indigenous woods for her pieces; she does use exotic woods for the inlay work that graces many of her works. The individual piece of wood dictates what the shape will be, what it will look like. Most pieces are turned twice, first rough turned while the wood is green or still at stages of having a higher moisture content. They are then sealed and allowed to dry out slowly. When completely dry, anywhere from 3 months to a year and a half or more, they are re-turned and closer defined, and sanded. Inlay work, texturing or carving is then done, more sanding and shaping, then immediately a sealing coat of a two part Epoxy Resin is applied. The vessel is allowed to dry for two days then lightly sanded, then repeat the process of applying another coat of epoxy is applied, this is repeated from 3 to 4 times. Finally they are rubbed out with a series of rubbing compounds, the vessel is then stood on end, the foot is turned or carved, the bottoms signed, numbered, dated and wood typed and then finished; an effort of love. Shapes are an appealing Symmetry, Native American, Oriental themes and Some Tea Pots of late. Some are turned thin some are not, it’s not always important. Some are flawed, or you could say, have been broken. Laura says, “It’s the character”, like our lives. Passed away on November 3, 2022 |