Laura Weiler

Laura Weiler
Portland, Oregon, USA

STATEMENT

I began collaging as a means to develop a creative skill that would serve as both a therapy and catalyst for artistic growth. I am drawn to the process of process within collage—cutting, tearing, gluing diverse source material, and the recontextualizing of both tangible two-dimensional objects as well as elements of my own interior world onto the page. The meditative act of placement and the physicality of arranging and rearranging appeal to my desire to dismantle an existing perspective and unify seemingly disparate images, philosophies, and moods into something new.

Layering paper into playful, surreal, and surprising narratives and abstractions drive the current themes of my work. I feel inspired by the process of exploration and bringing vintage paper to life by synthesizing it with rich colored paper and photographs using a modern lens. Working mainly in photomontage and antique ephemera, my collages emerge from an interdisciplinary background folding cinematic and photographic notions into the body of my work.

Influenced by collage artists Conner Dainty, Lola Dupre, Sarah Jarrett, among many others, I derive additional inspiration and fellowship from the broader collage community. I look forward to deepening my skill and creative identity through collage and other mediums.

BIO

Laura Weiler is a cross-disciplinary artist living and creating in Oregon, by way of Chicago and Michigan. Working primarily with antique newsprint, cardstock, vintage magazines, books, and digitally sourced photography, Laura combines her love of paper ephemera and narrative design to create dynamic and unexpected images. Characters cut from the past are recontextualized into vibrant environments exploring human relationships, psychology, and dimension.

With a degree in Art Direction and Cinematography from Columbia College Chicago, Laura brings a strong sense of composition and drama to her collages. Her background in photography, floral design, film, and mixed media is synthesized into texture, line, color, form, and placement. These attributes have continued to coalesce as Laura has engaged with social media as a platform for experimentation and visual conversation.

Laura has shown her collage work regionally and internationally and is part of the permanent collection at The Scandanavian Collage Museum. Floral design clients include Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Studios, and Polo Ralph Lauren. Laura has art-directed films screened at Chicago’s 43rd International Film Festival, Best Of at Columbia College Chicago, and several commercials and independent films. She has been published in multiple print and online publications around the world and has worked in mural and album design, as well as several other collaborative projects. Laura’s collage work can be found hanging in several Oregon businesses, commercial buildings, and private collections around the globe.

In January 2021, Laura founded the Pacific Northwest Collage Collective with friend, educator, and fellow Oregon collagist Kellette Elliott. The PNWCC hosts regional and international open calls, public and private exhibitions and works closely with collaborators. Laura enjoys hiking and making art with her family in her spare time and volunteering as an Arts Literacy Coordinator in the Oregon Public School system.

A lifelong maker working for decades to hone and foster creative energies through her hands into the world, Laura continues to enjoy finding the flow within her artistic orbit through the evolution of her work.

ARTIST CONTACT

[click to email]
www.cutandplaced.com

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