Summer Beauties by Mari LaCure!

We're in the thick of summer and it's hot! For those of you who have jobs and wear uniforms you wouldn't normally wear (me) you may need a little relief for your eyes. I'm not sure what I'm really trying to say other than.... here's some great great art and a fun interview with Mari LaCure! I met Mari like I meet most of the fantastic artists I know, at Frogman's. The famous print and paper workshop is currently going on right now and I'm beside myself with sadness that I'm not there. So I'll fill up my time with beautiful art and swimming.

Here's Mari!

A: Hi Mari! Thank you so much for doing this interview. I've been such a fan of your work ever since we met! If you had to explain your work in the amount of time it takes to ride the elevator from the bottom floor to an eighteenth floor in a fairly slow elevator what would you say about it?

M: My work is abstract and I draw mostly from my imagination. I build up lots of small, repeating marks to make a larger, more complex picture. I’m inspired by images of nature, both microscopic and macroscopic, such as plant cells, tree branches, stars, and galaxies. By layering different structures and using unifying patterns, I try to convey a sense of interconnectedness between all things.

A: When I first met you you were working on a very small scale. At Frogmans you started making a really large piece. Did making that piece start to change your work at all or did you continue to work on a smaller scale?

M: I think that the most valuable thing that I took from that workshop (Monoprint with Anita Jung!) was the idea to combine mixed media with traditional print processes. Because I had been focused on making etchings, I was limited in part by the size of the plate. My MFA thesis work which followed the workshop did end up being larger in scale, and combined woodblock printing with mixed media drawing.

A: Now that you have graduated from grad school what are you doing? How are you finding the world post-school?

M: I have been enjoying myself quite a lot since graduation. I think there are opportunities for artists, but it takes a lot of applying and rejection to find the right ones out there. I’ve been finding residencies to be a great way to travel and meet other artists, while keeping a home base in Lawrence, KS. This summer, I’m participating in an artist in residence program at Emmanuel College in Boston. Part of the program is to talk to students about our creative process and influences. So although I don’t currently teach, I do find that I use direct experiences from graduate school to share my work with others.

A: Do you have any advice for post grads who are trying to figure out what to do with themselves now that school is over? Someone like me?

M: I’m afraid that I will always be trying to figure out what to do with myself! I couldn’t have anticipated when I graduated doing any of the things that I have been in the last year, but I really think that you find your place eventually if you are flexible and have an open mind to new experiences. For example, I recently started working for a local craftsperson painting lawn ornaments, which is not like any job I’ve ever had before but I enjoy it a lot. I try to find work that I feel brings me a little bit closer to what it is that I really want to be doing.

A: What are your future plans? Where do you see your work going in the next five years or so?

M: Working for a small business has encouraged me to put more effort into selling my work. I hope to have some sort of way to make work available for purchase online in the next year. For the long term, I try to keep learning as many new techniques and skills that I can for my art. Right now I’m trying to become more skilled at Japanese woodblock printing methods. I’m also enamored by the possibilities of the artist book format and hope to make more.

Isn't Mari's work fantastic? It was so inspiring being in a workshop with her. Go to her website here to see and read much more!