I have always been drawn to line, shape, volume, color and space as narrative forms. As a child, I would seek patterns in the things around me: how many people in a crowded room, how many petals on a blossom, how many holes in a pegboard or lines on the chalkboard in my classroom, what are the different shapes and configurations of windows and doors on a building as we walk around the neighborhood? What about the patterns formed by waves crashing on the shore or by the formations of the birds skittering about in the sand? Or the puddles on the sidewalk and the way they reflect the sky? This was just my way of pausing long enough to notice and enjoy the order or random nature of my visual environment — appreciating the wonder of the natural world and what human beings create or destroy — and connecting this to my vision of the world.
I have always enjoyed messing around with different materials: pencils & crayons & chalk & ink, paints & dyes, fabric, handmade papers (including my own) and printed pictures & texts, to name a few. Found materials like rope, stones, sticks, dried grasses and leaves & glass, too. This interest in our visual world and how to create or recreate it led me to take studio arts classes in a variety of media. I have worked in the paper making studio of Carriage House Papers (Brooklyn NY) and the Chinese brush painting studio of Master Qingxiong Ma (Lexington and Waltham MA); done life drawing, oil painting and pastel drawing at the Corcoran School of Art & Design (Washington DC); the MFA School (Boston MA); and Featherstone Center for the Arts (Oak Bluffs MA); and engaged in print making at MassArt (Boston MA). I have studied the works of other artists in museums, galleries and public spaces around the world. In each case, I’ve learned new skills that have served me well as an artist who continues to develop and grow.
On occasion, I’ve been courageous enough to display my work in local juried art shows where my pieces have been purchased by people I don’t know. My work has won prizes in the professional category in these shows. Many friends who have admired my works have also purchased some of my pieces. Others have offered to do so but I haven’t parted with them yet. As an artist, I am increasingly glad to have my pieces launched into the world, even though I miss seeing them.
In addition to the works you see on this website, I have displayed my photographs (a few of which you will see here) in galleries and on my Instagram feed (since 2017): @jlaartist.
My hope with this website is that some of my work will grab you and inhabit you as it has inhabited me. I hope that you will say to yourself: what is this piece about, why do I like it, and what does it say to me? For me, the successful visual image gives someone a reason to stop, to look, to listen to what you are thinking and to contemplate the wonder, the whimsy and sometimes the tragedy of the world around us, in all of its weirdness and its beauty. There is so much there for us to see. We just have to take the time to see it.