As a visual and conceptual artist fluent and working in many media, my core belief is that art should not exclude.  To this end, and because of a certain fascination with appropriating the cliché of the “melting pot”, my work aspires to be multi-lingual.  I “speak” not only of and through languages of the tongue, but also of and through the soulful and archetypal languages, which stem from our human core.

Languages are meant to connect– without that, they serve no purpose. I have time to sit deeply with this fact during the slow, methodical process of lettering calligraphy, which is my passion and trade.  To me, however, all art is or should be a connective form of expression. It should include the voices of those who have been considered “other” by the mainstream: mothers’ voices, visions from the young and the old, the stories of survivors, of every ethnic group, of the so-called “minority” voices.

Art-making for me is like entering a deep cave.  In it, I can approach the more hidden recesses of what is there but not so easily acknowledged or given voice and form. I feel around, touching corners, old stone walls, and I come upon injustice, fear, REM dreams, dirty laundry, balance and imbalance. The stories and fragments of stories that wait there (sometimes ironically without words), I weave through and into the images I create.  These stories are about forgotten people & places, empty wallets, tightrope walking, fences and veils. Human stories that are inclusive and which art can bring into the light.

BIO

Laura holds a MFA degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. Laura lives in New Hampshire and her studio is located in White River Junction, Vermont.  She teaches calligraphy workshops at AVA Gallery and for Dartmouth College’s Book Arts department. For a formal CV, please send an email to L.dipiazza@yahoo.com.