BIO

Laura Gibson graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a BA degree in film production in 1989. After working in the industry for 7 years as a location scout, camera assistant, and stills photographer, she moved to Atlanta for 3 years and worked in special effects and animation. She later returned to school to study fine art and 3D animation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 1997. Following her education, she worked as a multimedia designer at a large corporation for 10 years, and in 2020, she decided to pursue her own business as a mixed media artist and surface pattern designer. She currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Artist Statement

I’m inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which celebrates the beauty and humble simplicity of life's transient stages, like the beautiful blue-green patina on a piece of copper over time. I hope to inspire viewers to slow down and see life through this lens.

When I was 8, my Grandfather gave me my first camera as a birthday gift, a Kodak Instamatic. He taught me to look through the lens at the frame, compose a shot, and tell a story. With 24 frames in a roll, you had to be thoughtful and slow down, each shot capturing a sliver of history. At that time we were visiting family on their farm in Central California, and I captured a picture of a rusted Red Radio Flyer wagon sitting in a small puddle with a cornfield and yellow tractor in the background. I loved all the texture, reflections of the cloudy sky, and the impermanence of the puddle, never to be seen in that exact way again. It resonated with me and inspired me to start my creative journey as a young photographer. To this day I look at life as though I am looking through the lens of a camera, I strive to slow down and see the beauty in the transient stages of life. Through my art, I hope to inspire others to slow down and embrace their own imperfections and impermanence in this constant world of change.