Laura Peery is on her 3rd ArtOMatic.  “I love the complex mix of artists of all stripes, music, dance, carpenty (how it all comes togehter), electric wizardry and sheer bravado that is ArtOMatic.  It amazes me that there are so many artists in DC, all coming together here.  I feel less isolated by participating.”

This ArtOMatic, Laura is showing a series of teapots, a subject she has been concentrating on for  “years now.”  They are slab built porcelain with added mixed media.  First she makes a shell of the finished piece, then adds layers of textured clay, then adds all the extras:  both clay and other media.  Recently she has become interested in incorporating text into her work, which can bee seen on the 10th floor, Room 157.

Laura says that she has been making art since she was a child, through school, art school, grad school and 30 years of working professionaly in the art

field. “When I began working I was intrigued by how clay resembled fabric, and I made clay pieces in a trompe l’oil (“fool the eye”) style. Later I wanted to voice concerns through my work about ‘women’s work’ and how that work fit into the accepted system of art-making along with concerns about what is accepted as art in our culture.

“Right now I am inspired by the pottery from Africa and other ancient civilizations.  I love the idea that we know little about the makers of this art and that at the time it was not considered art at all but simply containers for carrying water or other necessities.  Now these pieces sit on pedestals, under excellent lights, in museums.”

About the direction her art is moving Laura notes:  “I don’t know where the  art is going.  There will be changes coming soon.  I sense the changes but don’t know what they will be or how they will show up in my work.  ‘Art’ in general is going all over the place, just as it always has historically, always moving, responding to what goes on in our lives both collectively and individually.  Artists reflect these movements, point them out to all, but initially only to the artist herself.”

Laura goes to the studio every day regardless of whether she feels she is making anything worthwhile or not.  If she finds herself in a slump, however, she reads, takes walks, takes a class, looks at other art and remembers to breathe deeply.

Her recommended list of artists to be sure to check out at ArtOMatic this year include:  Dana Ellyn, Jason Alexander, Lisa Schumaier, Gregory Ferrand, Roger Cutler, and Michael Janis.  But, she notes, that is just from her first “go-round”.  She’s sure she will find more!

Laura is currently showing at the Ceramic Art Museum in Pomona, CA, in a teapot show.  You can find out more about her at her website.  She also has a Facebook page and is listed on Linked-In.

To read more interviews and see more photographs from ArtOMatic 2012 and earlier ArtOMatics, go here.