K.J. Laramie’s portfolio is nothing short of a genuinely creative experience. Doubling as both artist and poet, she blends together these different crafts to get across her distinctive and uniquely individual perspective of life. Laramie and her husband, Steve Johnson, are happy, new residents in the Nonahood, and we’re quite glad to be able to welcome them home!

Nonahood News: What drove you to become an artist?

K.J. Laramie: It wasn’t a choice! It was so obvious.

NHN: When did you realize creating art was your passion?  

KJL: As a small child, I would bring bags of Quahog shells home from the beach on Long Island and paint them for hours to my heart’s delight! My watercolor set was nothing elaborate, but it gave me a sense of triumphant joy! The endless variations of color and design displayed on those thick and sturdy shells lasted a long time, which endured as my collection grew, and were not easily broken. The poetry came years later after I started meditating. It was transformative. My art and poetry are connected. Influences grew from meeting early abstract expressionist women painters, like Elaine de Kooning, who was an awe-inspiring eye-opener; she gave me a green light to become more bold at a time when women artists were barely recognized in the early ’80s. Painter Grace Hartigan of the original New York School liked my work in Maryland. I was encouraged and flattered. Lyrical abstraction! Color! That’s what I was drawn to, with textural, imagistic references. Revering colorist Wolf Kahn (a student of Hans Hoffman) sealed my fate. To look at the pioneers who influenced all of them made my path clear and my passion more resolute.

NHN: How often do you find yourself creating art?

KJL: It’s an all-consuming business, a 24/7 watchful practice. I paint every day. Poetry comes to me effortlessly in the middle of the night. Together, with the canvases, it is almost like creating a symphony; fortissimo, bright parts, and pianissimo, quiet parts, all blend and balance, giving the words a colorful and limitless language in paint. Listening to Renee Fleming while I paint is pure bliss and certain moving classical music as well. Some Beatles tunes with profound verses have the same effect.

NHN: How long did it take you to discover yourself as an artist?

KJL: As I described, not long! But, I never thought painting the compassionate aspect of myself would ever be part of my career. It was a discovery brought forth from my heart in 1988 in a visionary moment on the environment, after Brazilian environmentalist Chico Mendes was assassinated (see “Funerals Won’t Save Amazonia”). The “oneness” in plants, trees, animals, oceans, and all of humanity, down to the smallest bee and butterfly on Mother Earth, beckoned. The reality of painting “meaning,” painting non-verbal affirmations amidst all the chatter of the world, was uplifting work. Not long after that, traveling up the Nile brought more intense, intuitive inspirations as well; personally touching 5,000-year-old paint still visible on ancient Egyptian monuments and columns and making hand-rubbings was an artist’s dream.

NHN: Which of your projects would you consider to be your favorite?

KJL: All of them! Who can name a favorite child? The most pre-planned project was stopping off at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., for hand-rubbing supplies (archival paper and special wax crayons) before flying to Cairo. I captured hieroglyphics from many temple and tomb walls there, including Mereruka’s Mastaba (an artist priest). I also gathered pebbles from quarries for mixed-media collage and multi-canvas constructions (see “Saqqara Intensity: Above and Below”).

NHN: Which of your projects were the most time-consuming/challenging and why?

KJL: Travel and research of real-life places of historic and artistic significance – a kind of pilgrimage – would top that list, all of which informs my work, whether it’s the café in Arle from Van Gogh’s paintings; the churches in Italy and France where Michelangelo and DaVinci are entombed; where Monet spent much of his life painting; where pharaohs walked or were buried; or museums and cathedrals housing reliquaries of bones, statuary, and ancient paintings of saints, kings, queens, artists, scientists, and philosophers. My multi-canvas constructions (many with irregular outer dimensions) emerged from seeing the enormous blocks and columns of ancient Egypt [in] January 1990. The current multi-canvas work in my latest Peace Series utilizes the same metaphor, bringing fragments together and coalescing them into a harmonious whole. It’s exciting but challenging, only because it’s physically demanding.

NHN: What are some of your dream projects?

KJL: Our new “pay it forward” business of creating a venue for fledgling thinkers to access the deeds and wondrous projects of other successful and valuable endeavors, addressing important topics, covering a myriad of categories – with the ideal to leave this planet secure, undamaged, and healthy for the next generation: Creative Consultant Consortium, LLC. 

NHN: What serves as your inspiration on a day-to-day basis?

KJL: Meditation … prayer … scriptures! One teacher said after somebody stole from him, “I am that man.” When I quizzically looked at him, he elaborated, “He had to feed his family.” Now, there’s compassion. I believe the biggest tool is my fontanel (yes, everyone has one!). It’s simple. Close your eyes. Look up. Feel the energy at the top of your head. Stay there. Go within.

NHN: Future goals/plans?

KJL: Through my work, I strive to emphasize goodness and strength, encourage all people to create (not just artists) and to follow through on their dreams, to persevere. Cultivating kindness and service to others continues to be my goal. I enjoy making one person smile a day, at least. And, to remember that keeping your light under a bushel serves no one. Looking at the greater picture of life, what’s really important, propels me forward in every breath.

Photos Courtesy of K.J. Laramie