WHERE ART MEETS NATURE
Working from her ‘shed on the fell’ Laura Brown creates unique, original artworks to bring the spirit of the local countryside into homes throughout the UK. Gail Bailey finds out where it all began
Being the daughter of a farmer and growing up in a rural landscape was the inspiration behind wildlife being pivotal to Laura Brown’s artistic creations. Deer, hares and robins were the first of her creatures to take shape, inspired also by wildlife spotted while walking on Longridge Fell with her trusty chocolate Labrador Seb.
Laura, who is originally from Carlisle, studied a Foundation Degree in Art and Design before completing a degree as a jeweller at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery. She then interestingly became a community artist working in mental health in a hospital, supporting in particular those patients suffering with dementia: “Art helps those suffering with dementia and memory loss, re-connect with their lives by reminiscing and recalling early years – often this involves looking at old photographs to evoke times gone by,” she explains.
It was while working and studying in Birmingham that Laura met her husband Steve, a musician from the Cotswolds and together they decided to move closer to Laura’s family and chose Longridge as being both mid-way and rural.
“I left art for a decade when I had my children and worked for a number of different charities,” says Laura. Her charity work was varied but it was while she was managing a community centre that her husband persuaded her to create Christmas cards for the family: “My first love was always drawing, and designing the cards re-ignited my passion,” she recalls.
With the support of her husband she created more papercut greeting cards which he then took to local shops – where they very quickly sold out!
People were using the cards as prints and putting them in frames, so this led to Laura being asked to do originals for customers and being commissioned to do bespoke pieces of work: “I began to exhibit my work in galleries and local shops which gave me the confidence to explore my own techniques,” Laura explains.
“I was invited to attend the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate in 2017 and this led to me working as a designer for other companies including well-known homeware retailer Shruti.”
Laura uses collages in her work which bring texture to the fur of the animals she draws and will often include words hidden in the pictures that are meaningful to the piece: “I love the wildlife I see up on the fell and bringing it to life on paper is important to me. I work from memory or from photographs that people give to me, especially of their pets, but sometimes it can be from a number of different sources for one piece,” she says.
It was in October 2016 that Shed on the Fell was born, a beautiful cabin at the end of Laura and Steve’s garden: “I wanted to celebrate where we live at the bottom of Longridge Fell and also have somewhere at home to work from,” Laura explains.
She shares the space with her husband and it really is a haven of creativity, him for his music, and a peaceful place for Laura to work on her collections.
“Having the shed helps me be disciplined and gives me somewhere quiet to work. It’s a lovely relaxing space and helps me unwind to focus on one thing.”
When asked how she would describe her own work Laura says she hopes it shows her love of colour and vibrancy: “I always work with an initial ink sketch which makes it energetic and fast paced. I learnt to work with collages during fashion classes at university and these meant that you got used to working at speed and with colour and texture. This is what I hope is seen in my pieces now.”
Laura still has a passion for her charity work too and currently works for Headway based in Preston and Chorley which supports people affected by acquired brain injury. Presently she is working on a project to create a piece to go in the neurological garden in the rehabilitation unit at the Royal Preston Hospital: “My previous work has shown me how important art can be to help people. Looking at and interacting with art stimulates the brain in substantial and long-lasting ways,” she says.
Visiting Laura in her Shed on the Fell it is clear to see the passion she has for embracing the beauty of the Ribble Valley’s wildlife and even more for sharing it in an individual and very unique way.
