Fixing her ephemera to the collage of LMP this week is Laura Iseley!
Laura is my sister. We’re like brothers, only closer.
In her own words, Laura is an artisan. In my words, she is the Queen of Trash. In the time I’ve known Laura – which has been her whole life – I’ve always known her to be up to something. Whether it be collecting moss or making plushes or transforming herself into a multiplicity of characters, Laura has always been an avid creator and connoisseur of craft, and her crafting extends through every nature of her being.
On occasion, I’ve had the privilege of crafting with Laura. I took photos1 of her Frodo cosplay, for example, and we once attended the Jellicle Ball in costumes that she made from scratch2. Recently, our crafting has taken a more somatic approach – we’ve traveled internationally and domestically, we’ve been SCUBA buddies, and we even learned to belay together.
While I’ve always been an ardent supporter of Laura’s work, her creative spirit, and her ability to fully realize projects at gunslinging speeds, I’ve also, at times, been intimidated by her boldness towards crafts compared to my insecurity about them.
Crafting, to me, has long felt bittersweet. I love the feeling of a tactile finished project, but I loathe the shame and doubt that I feel before beginning one. I can’t pinpoint where this intimidation towards crafting began, but I do know that it has coerced me into holding myself back from expressing myself creatively because I tend to look for every reason why I shouldn’t do a craft before I even begin.
Perhaps the hardest pill of crafting to swallow, though, is that, if you want to progress, you first have to start. As a recovering maximizer, I’m not fond of this statement because it implies that the first attempts at anything might not be good – and what’s the point of doing something if you can’t do it well? There are already so many other people who are doing whatever activity I’m interested in at a much higher level in a much more creative way on a much more consistent basis. How would my efforts compete?
Well, to put it simply, they wouldn’t.
And that’s great.
Through comparison and desperation to fit into others’ molds, I became conditioned to feel overwhelm and shame towards craft. But, over the years –partially by working in an innately creative industry and partially through self-induced, creative exposure therapy – I’ve found some liberation in my crafting by these principles:
I give myself permission to create a Shitty First Draft™
I create with people who offer appreciation and encouragement
I celebrate the baby steps as well as the milestones
And so, while my energetic levels may never amount to high-yield content creation, I am satisfied by my slow pace and crafting from the heart, and I am grateful that I share the world with people like Laura whose crafts foster art and appreciation and inspiration.
Laura’s ability to live inspired is truly inspiring, and I think we could all learn something from, and be encouraged by, her authentic inspiration.
Get crafty with Laura on Instagram, TikTok, & Twitter @iseleylaura. For her collage work specifically, check out her secondary IG (@collagebylaura) as well as some of her original works for sale on Return on Art online gallery. You can also swim by her mermaid account on IG (@mermallura).
Honestly, just go to Laura’s linktree. You’ll find everything you need there.
Referenced people and materials:
Heritage Craft Association’s Red List of Endangered UK Crafts
All music for the podcast lovingly created by Ian T. Jones.
Frotos?
Pun intended.
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