Laura
Caffrey
CATTAILS
2019, Wire mesh, glass beads, paper, vintage sheet music, diamond plate, earring backs, straight pins, thread, decorative tape, framing, 18.25 x 22.25 x 1.25 in
Laura
Caffrey
SENOR ADEY
2019, Textbook, metal plate, faux leather, diamond plate, thread, bottle caps, paper, glitter, bead chain, resin, glass beads, nail polish, framing, 24.25 x 18.25 x 2.25 in
Laura
Caffrey
SHE'S SO FINE
2018, Paper, paint, ink, metallic marker, US currency, vintage sheet music, plastic mesh, copper wire, metal charms, peridot, glass beads, twine, watch parts, thread, glassine, sequins, framing, 11.5 x 14.25 x 1.375 in
Laura
Caffrey
KWIK SEW
2019, Paper, plastic beads, thread, pins, plastic, watch parts, adhesive letters, upholstery tack, framing, 19.125 x 16.25 x 1.875 in
Laura
Caffrey
ERRATA
2019, Paper, metal washers, steel hanging strap, scrapbooking notions, monofilament, packing tape, bead chain, glass beads, dental samples, framing, 21.5 x 27.5 x 1.25 in
Laura
Caffrey
1951
2019, Paper, plastic mesh, chain, plastic beads, glass beads, wire, copper tag, plastic rounds, metal studs, framing, 19.5 x 16.125 x 1.5 in
Laura Caffrey - Reject/Respect (Austin Art Talk: Episode 32)
This podcast explores the successes, struggles, life experience, and wisdom of the people featured, most of whom live and create in Austin, Texas. These long form interviews explore the origins, stories, lessons, lives and work of those in our community who are at the forefront of creative expression. Hosted by photographer and art enthusiast and collector Scott David Gordon.
AOD (Area of Design) Interview
2008 interview with this group with a great mission: Area of Design was founded in May 2002 and is based in the United States. Over the past 18 years, we have been dedicated to building a premier educational resource for art and design, and showcasing creatives worldwide. We are a completely free resource. No advertising. No profit. Just art. Enjoy!
About the Artist
When I was five, my family moved into the house where my grandmother had been born. The structure was cobbled together from available materials, and was filled with heavy, dusty old furnishings. The unfinished basement is was stocked with ancient canned fruits, mysterious medicinal preparations, old tools and family portraits hang under domed glass in tiger-striped oval frames. Rusty tins and dusty bottles of buttons and bottle caps of several generations of my thrifty and resourceful ancestors filled the place. This seemingly endless supply of bizarre old things was precious to me.
After earning a Bachelor's degree, I was a picture framer for ten years, the last seven at Fine Art Services. In 2005, I earned a Master's Degree in architecture from UT, and after a summer stint documenting archeological dig for in Cyprus, I started a career as an architectural historian. My first task was with FEMA in post-Katrina Louisiana, identifying historic buildings state-wide. In 2014, intrigued by idea of self-employment, I formed LC, LDo, a successful one-woman handywoman business. In 2018, I began serving on the Travis County Appraisal Review Board and returned to manage Fine Art Services. In September of 2020, I purchased the business.
Artist Statement
I find beauty in the intentionally discarded and the inadvertently abandoned, the crumpled and cracked, and the back sides of things. I am drawn to the varying effects time has on different materials. I get great joy from calling attention through carefully assembly the curious bits and pieces people may not have had the opportunity, or taken the time, to notice. With my lifelong fascination with art, architecture, history, travel and sustainability, I have been producing art while learning and working in these related fields. Avidly pursuing my interests has allowed me access to people, places and materials which others do not have, and in most cases, yields the very materials with which I work. I find amazing things on the ground wherever I go.
The Austin Studio Tour is a program of Big Medium.
