Creative Q&A with Laurie Lashlee

WASILLA— Alcohol ink artist and Paint Nights with Sara instructor, Laurie Lashlee recently participated in a question and answer interview to discuss her craft and the importance of sharing creativity supporting local artists in the community.

What motivated you to go down this path?

"I worked at a pediatrist office as a medical receptionist. That was a change,” she said with a laugh. “I had a great friend that introduced me to alcohol ink, and I was just flabbergasted with the medium. Alcohol ink made me so happy. It was a whole different medium. I call it watercolor’s big, bossy sister because it pushes things around and does its own thing. I didn’t look at myself as an artist because I couldn’t draw. I couldn’t paint. I couldn’t everything that everybody else was doing to their standards, but I realized that their standards aren’t mine and everybody can excel in different areas… I was able to leave my eight-year job and go into art full time. It’s been great. I work full time at Paint Nights with Sara and I also do my own little thing on the side. I discovered that liked art when my kids were in school… I went back to school and studied art and childhood education.”

So, making and sharing art makes you happy then?

“Oh, absolutely. It’s the release… We did foster care for a while and art was the first thing we did with our kids when they came in. Although I’m not a therapist, you can tell a lot about somebody just by the colors they use. Personal expression is so important, but also working and encouraging each other to try. Kids, if they can overcome the fear of that first brush stroke on a white canvas, they’re overcoming the process. They’re realizing the process of overcoming fear. Applying for your first job, renting your first apartment, buying your first car- those are all major fears in our life, and if you can just overcome one at a young age, then you can build on that.”

How do you like working at Paint Nights with Sara?

“I love it. You can't have a bad day when you work at an art studio,” she said with a laugh. “I teach some of her homeschool kids, and I do her admin work on the backside, and I teach the adult classes… It’s very fulfilling to be there. She's all about community over competition. That’s one of the reasons I love Tracy too.”

What do you think about the fact that Tracy’s Treasures is hosting you and various other kinds of artists to host workshops throughout the year?

“That’s amazing. That needs to happen… It’s to see to nice somebody who tries to bring everybody together and support each other. To bring those different types of mediums together and to have a place for people to explore is needed, especially out here in the Valley. Tracy has given us all one place to come.”

What big lessons or takeaways have you gained from years of practicing your craft and learning from others?

“Encourage others no matter where they’re at. I think my little mantra to live by is, ‘art is making the ordinary and making it extraordinary... You are the finished product by what you're doing... It doesn’t matter area you’re looking in from, you’re contributing to that conversation and that is so important, just to keep the artistic conversation going.”

For more information about Paint Nights with Sara, visit paintwithsara.com.

For more information about Tracy’s Treasures and upcoming workshops, tracystreasures.business.site

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@fronitersman.com