Artist of the Month: June 2021
All Original Artwork created by Laura Feller
JUNE ARTIST OF THE MONTH
LAURA FELLER
Every now and again, it is important to do something that is outside of your comfort zone! While visiting my favorite local taproom to grab a local craft beer, I noticed some locally-made artwork. The art wall caught my eye and I stopped to view all of the handmade art hung up. The next month, there was a completely new artist with paintings! Just like a rotating tap list, The Beer and Now switches out the artist on the art wall so there is always something new to look at while you sip.
I talked with Mary, the owner of The Beer and Now about the paintings on the wall and she planted the idea that I could apply, if I was interested. The last time my artwork had been on display was in May of 2013 at Aurora University for my senior show. I had a whole semester to plan for that show! A lot of time had passed since then and it was hard to imagine having the time to select and prepare my drawings to be displayed. But I decided that it was time to do something out of my comfort zone. I applied to display my artwork on the 9’ x 12’ art wall at The Beer and Now. The next time I stopped in, Mary congratulated me and we picked a month for me to officially hang my artwork up!
Two of my drawings from my senior show were featured on the wall and can find them below, “Take” and “Lost”
I first sifted through all of my drawings I had created in the past 8 years. I knew I wanted to feature only black and white drawings so it was easy to sort out my favorites. I settled on about 25 drawings in two sizes. I bought frames, cut the mats, and started filling them with my artwork. My drawings are very intricate and rather small so I was unsure how they would look in such a large space! I used Adobe Illustrator to map out a few layout options until I found one that stuck with me. This method helped me easily move things around digitally. It also helped me to determine that I wanted to include two bigger drawings (and then, eventually two paintings!) to help fill the space. Once I started hanging the frames, it was really cool to step back and see my idea come to life!
In addition to handling the sales of any pieces, The Beer and Now also hosted a special opening night for me to invite friends and family out! My favorite part of the whole experience was listening to what people saw or imagined in the details when they got closer. It was an awesome experience and a great environment. Thank you so much to The Beer and Now for hosting me and thank you to all who supported me in this new adventure!
And thank you, for reading.
Laura
