Artist Statement

 

Growing up my first love was ice skating. I savored the feeling of gracefully flowing to music while dancing, jumping, and spinning on ice. Beautiful sparkling designs were formed as a result of my relationship with the surface. It was as if every movement painted a masterpiece, a magical dance that was captivating.  But life has a funny way of throwing unexpected challenges our way, and life was about to change. My mother became very ill and priorities shifted. My dreams of skating were put on hold. Even though this loss made my heart ache I found solace in my artistic abilities.

As a child I was always drawn to the world of art. I spent hours sketching and painting, allowing my imagination to run wild on the canvas. But it wasn't until I became a registered nurse working in the bustling level 1 trauma center, that my artistic inspiration truly ignited.

Surrounded by the intensity of life and death, I felt a deep longing to express myself artistically. So I began to merge my two passions-skating and art. With each stroke I recreate movements I once made on the ice, capturing the essence of that magical feeling.

I study the way water shapes the earth, transporting pieces of land to the canvas. As the spirit of nature inspires me the paintings reveal themselves as if I am skating over the surface with long compassionate strokes. They seem to come alive in the midst of an intimate conversation with the pigments, coaxing them to show their hidden depths.  Exciting dialogues result while allowing exploration into imagery and encouragement of promising accidents that invite unplanned but chosen harmonies.

I am compelled to intertwine lines weaving in and out of windows revealing multiple patterns. The surface of much of my work is comprised of several layers of imagery. The ground preparation is intuitively and aggressively thrown on the canvas with various sizes of textures, brush strokes, or several different types of material application.  I may simultaneously grind charcoal, pastels, graphite or posca combining painting and writing. This achieves visual effects of highlighted and contrasting textures that play off  backgrounds of patterns.  In this complex layering, it is unknown how many patterns will be laid down as one move initiates another. The power of this improvisation yields a stating and restating that evolves into the coming and going of imagery each a new perceptual result. As several consecutive layers are in progress various shapes may be separated and united by lines both appearing and disappearing simultaneously as if coexisting in parallel veils. Their  existence is one we can touch and perhaps one we can only sense.

My art is a reflection of my journey- the resilience to stand in the face of adversity, the beauty I discover in unexpected places, and the depth of my emotions. These paintings tell the story of love, loss, and the indomitable spirit that resides in all of us. Each piece is a testament to the power of following one's passion, even when life takes unexpected turns. Through my art I invite others to embrace their own unique journeys and find solace in the transformative power of creativity.

Christine Laubach