Time for another wonderfully talented Etsian feature! I 'met' Laurie from As the Warped World Turns when my daughter told me about a blogger she had discovered while we were both getting established in the land of blogs. I found Laurie to be witty, original, honest and supremely talented. Her Etsy shop ~ Primal Painter ~ opened in July of 2010. Here you'll find "wall sculptures, modern abstract art, healing energy art, original paintings and wall decor that are sometimes psychedelic, sometimes spiritual and always cool!" I had a ton of questions for her, so let's get started! You may want to get comfy, I got carried away as usual... ;)"I'm laid back, as a matter of fact, it's been said that if I were any more laid back, I'd be in a coma! I'm an artist inside and out and always have been. I'm a creative, intuitive, sensitive loner. I'm half hippie, half hillbilly and half rebellious kid... so apparently I'm one and a half people. I'm a small town country girl who's spiritual, practices reiki and is fascinated with energy work and healing. I'm a fantasy lover, an avid reader, cartoon lover, animal lover, nature lover, sun lover, comedy lover and giggler. I'm a little spacey, a little serious and maybe a little flakey. I'm flawed and wounded but I'm working on it. I can't cook, but I can fix lawn mowers." Now, isn't this someone you would love to get to know better? Her honesty and directness are so refreshing, I knew this would be fun!
Where's her favorite place to showcase and sell her creations? " Right now Etsy is my fave, alhthough I'm in the process of getting an Artfire shop set up too. I'm new to Etsy and all online marketing, so I've had to put myself through a crash course in computers... all that technical sutff, man, what a drag!"Like many artists, she's experimented with different selling avenues, and while some were more successful income-wise, they weren't as fulfilling Laurie-wise "I've also done a million shows and had a million wholesale accounts, well, maybe not a million, but lots. Both of those were more profitable than Etsy, but I became a one-person production line which sucked, and eventually got burned out despite the good money. Plus, I started designing products just for their sales potential, and while there's nothing wrong with doing that, it took me too far away from being real and true to myself."
After reading Laurie's blog and Etsy profile, I see that she isn't afraid to change and morph her art in new and different directions. I asked her when she knows a change is imminent ~ " I can always tell when I'm getting restless because when I think about working in the studio, I'll moan and groan, drap my feet, and get distracted by the flowers, the pretty rocks, and all the faces, images, and patterns I start seeing in practically everything I look at. If I actually make it up to the studio, I'll sigh a lot and feel sorry for myself, maybe I'll bang my forehead on the table and groan. At some point, I'll accidentally stumble onto somethng that gives me that tingley goosebumps feeling, and then I'll head in that direction, twisting this way, and turning that way until I feel inspired again." Here I must add in that I intended to edit Laurie's answers, just adding in bits and pieces of the answers she gave me, so that the feature wasn't so long that I scared people away. But as usual, she had me laughing out loud, and I didn't want to deprive you of the same pleasure!
My favorite pieces of Laurie's are her chakra paintings. I believe that she sold both of them in her Etsy shop, and I'm not surprised, they are amazing. I've seen and felt the difference in myself when I take the time to balance and clean my chakras, so I wanted to find out more about what inspired her to do these paintings. "I'm determined to work my way up the chakras, slowly but surely, no matter how daunting it is to face the issues and wounding that might exist in that particular chakra. I'm ready to start on my fourth chakra painting right now, the heart chakra. (I'm skeeered!) I have the wood cut and prepped, all I need is the right timing. Timing is important with these chakra paintings, I notice." The heart can be a tough one, good luck Laurie! :)Her chakra work isn't only intended for her own healing, but also those who view her art "My intention in doing these paintings is to open and clean my own chakras, and I believe that it would do the same thing for anyone who's open to it. My chakra paintings are energy art intended for healing, each one is attuned to reiki energy. I set my intention and stay focused on that intention throughout the whole process."
As to whether or not she has seen or felt any changes since working her way up through the chakras ~ "I've noticed a definite improvement in my overall energetic, emotional, and physical health... I still have a lot of work to do, though, healing seems to take place in layers, so I can see the chakra series continuing on for a long time. Creating art that has meaning, purpose and connects to people on an emotional and energetic level is exactly the kind of thing that will hold my attention and serve a higher purpose, which is my goal right now." 
I've found how much easier and smoother to navigate this creative journey is if we are able to receive love and support from somone(s). I always wonder who is behind the artist, cheering them on, encouraging them, maybe softening the disappointment should it come. For Laurie, her daughter Andi is her biggest fan and supporter. "She promotes me.... always has suggestions and feedback for me. I'll send her photos of what I'm working on and ask her what she thinks, and being an artist herself, she gives great critiques."
Laurie has some new ideas in mind, "my brain has been percolating for a few weeks on a whole new perspective for my artwork. I haven't listed anything new in my Etsy shop for awhile, but it's coming." Here's an idea she has that I'm eager for her to get started on, I will be first in line... "One thing I'm sure about is that I'm going to create some cool, affordable, chakra pendants and more chakra paintings." I would definitely wear one of those pendants, save one for me!
"I believe that the world is poised for a transformation in consciousness, and I want to go along for the ride with my contribution being healing energy art." Thank you Laurie, beautifully said.
Laurie can also be found at:
I hope you enjoyed meeting Laurie, her blog is a must-follow! Happy, happy Friday everyone! Peace ~ Melinda