Art & Life with Laurie Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Smith.

Laurie, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve dabbled in artistic pursuits since childhood. As a kid, I wanted to be an artist and a writer, but well-meaning adults in my life consistently advised that I couldn’t “make a living” or make any money doing either of those things– which baffled me, because as an avid reader, I could see clearly that somebody had managed to do that in both realms!

I started out drawing and painting– pen & ink, watercolors, colored pencil– for the love of it quite a bit in my twenties. Entered a few things in local fairs and contests and came away with a few awards. After my husband and I had kids, the paints and pens sort of had to be put up out of reach, as our kids saw the living room walls as their canvas a few times. Out of sight, out of mind! But I always encouraged our kids in their creative pursuits as much as possible.

Having toted a film point-and-shoot camera around to record our family’s evolution, I also started shooting other subjects now and then. Clouds and skies were my favorite, for a time. Funny how living in California I took for granted the natural beauty I was surrounded by, and didn’t really take up photography seriously until we moved to the Midwest in ’04. Having come from the agricultural breadbasket of California, Kern County, I guess the love of all things farm-related was inspired to germinate once we were living here in Illinois. Surrounded by farms, and bigger, smog-free skies here, I began shooting in earnest. I moved from a film point-and-shoot, to my first digital camera, a Kodak Easy Share CX model received in 2001, to a Kodak Z700 in 2007, and finally to a wonderful Canon Powershot SX10is in 2011. The latter camera really opened me up to more possibilities. I was pretty well-hooked, at that point. My husband gifted me with a Canon EOS Rebel T6 last Christmas, with additional lenses, and it’s a fabulous camera, I love it. Best gift ever!”

I spent the last several years learning, experimenting, and again entering fairs and small competitions, honing my skills and actually garnering some recognition locally. It wasn’t until 2016, it dawned on me, “This is my passion; I was not meant to just work, pay bills, and die. THIS is what I was meant to do.” So in January 2017, I began seriously building a plan, and putting together my website, and getting my work out there through social media platforms and so forth. It was just time to get out beyond the county fairs and local softball games. When you run out of wall space in your own home, it’s time to put that passion to work, and get it out there into the world, where it belongs.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I basically shoot what speaks to me. It’s kind of hard to pin it down to one subject, but I would say at this point in time, I’m drawn most to farm and ag subjects, landscapes, and nature shots. I discovered the fun of macro photography last year, and have messed with that a bit. I do love driving around on the backroads and discovering abandoned farm houses and old barns. I feel a need to record these. I love imagining the stories they could tell, or what the lives of their former inhabitants may have been like. There are a lot of old barns and farmhouses I have shot since 2007 that are no longer with us. Either Time and decay finished them off, or they were razed to make way for a couple more bushel acres, or new construction.

I think the latter pains me most– tearing down of the old to be replaced with “progress”. That bothers me a lot. I always feel joy inside when I see individuals or towns caring for, restoring, and preserving their history and architecture. I realize nothing physical lasts forever, and I know the cost of rehabbing old buildings is sometimes impractical. But I guess my love of history in general, and the knowledge that eventually, no one will even know these things (or people) were here, is why I shoot the things I do.

I think that same logic is applicable to my nature and landscape shots; I like to show things that most of us, in an ordinary day in the life, would most likely not even notice. One of my favorite photographers, Dorothea Lange, said “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” Safe to say, this is what photography has done for me. I hope my images can do that for other people as well.

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
As a kid, I was driven from somewhere inside my heart and soul to create, yet at the same time, I wanted to “make a living” doing what I loved to do. Of course, your parents always tell you that just doesn’t happen. But I have known for 54 years all the naysayers were either just wrong, or jealous. As an adult, I still feel the same way. And while my goal for 2018 is to get to the point where I am earning a little living with my photography, that “drive” to create is still the primary thing for me.

But I don’t think the quantity of prints you sell, the multitude of times you’ve been published, how many people approve of your work, the number of Instagram followers one has is really the barometer of success; personally, I feel like one’s overall success is made up of all the “little” successes and things that have made you happy along the way. It all adds up. It should be about the journey, not the just the destination. If you are doing what you love, and able to share it with the world, and YOU are happy with what you’ve created, that itself is success. True happiness doesn’t come from external conditions; it comes from inside. You have to be happy with you.

If you can pay the bills by doing what you are passionate about, then that’s just buttercream frosting on the cake.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
This year, I had a new opportunity pop up for me. There is a new art gallery in our small town of Greenville, Illinois (45 minutes east of St. Louis, MO.). It’s called Arts and Experience Gallery and Shop. I stopped in one day, shortly after I had lost my job with a large corporation. The job was a horrible fit for me, and after three years of struggling to make a go of it, I was glad they freed me up to spend more time with my camera! The gallery owner mentioned she was in need of photographers to show in her gallery. She really did, because she has an overflow of beautiful handcrafted jewelry, a lot of abstract painting, and some beautiful woven wall hangings, but no photography. I was happy to join the co-op, for two reasons: one, it is my first experience with gallery representation, and a good way for my work to be seen by those who don’t realize I have a website, and two, because I really want to see her gallery succeed in our town.

Greenville has struggled somewhat with keeping interesting businesses and shops open on our square, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest. Back in 20th century, it was the Eisenhower Interstate projects bypassing the old Route 66 towns, and killing them off. In the 21st century, it’s now the economy and the “big box” stores doing damage. People don’t do road trips as often as they used to, or always take the interstate and therefore miss the heart of America. The pervading mindset seems to be, it’s always about the destination, screw the journey. Or, don’t waste the gas, just by stuff online and don’t shop local. This is a mindset I have worked really hard to overcome myself. But I realize, when you just stay in your comfort zone, and do what is easy, you sure do miss out on what could have been, many a time.

So, Arts and Experience Gallery in Greenville, IL is one place one can see my work. The main places currently are on my Instagram feed (@imaginationranch) and on my own website, ImaginationRanch Photography (https://imaginationranch.wixsite.com/lauriesmith ). I’m currently interested in selling prints, and I’ll be happy to talk over print sizes and pricing. I’m also available for commissioned work as well, so feel free to reach out to me about that too.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1242 Ayers Road, Greenville, IL 62246
• Website: https://imaginationranch.wixsite.com/lauriesmith
• Phone: 618-704-5184
• Email: lauriesmith@photographer.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginationranch/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImaginationRanchPhotography/

Image Credit:
Portrait of me was taken by Eryn N. Smith

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