Lauri L. Lewis

I’m Lauri L. Lewis of “Unhinged Art”. I grew up in Portland, Oregon in a large family of nine.  My favorite possession as a child was a jar of buttons.  I spent many, many hours sorting, organizing, polishing and building my collection.  I’ve entered into the art world after a career as a public school teacher and administrator.  But, I will argue that teaching is an art form and every teacher is an artist.  I am still a collector of things.  Today, they mostly include metal, wood, fabric and ephemera.  I also have many, many jars of buttons.

Words I would use to describe myself are: curious and brave. I decided upon retirement that I would learn a hundred ways to create art and I’ve fearlessly explored many so far. I often make mistakes, but have also created some wonderful things and best of all I’ve learned so much in the journey. 

I work out of a small studio in my backyard that looks a bit like a curio shop. I like being surrounded by color, texture and ephemera. I believe every object has a story to tell.  Most of my creations are constructed from recycled materials. I love the notion of an object, designed for one use, being “reborn” into something entirely new. 

I have three dogs, Panda, Soji and Vinny and a cat named Phoebe.  Phoebe likes to join me in my studio and unravel threads. 

If I were a muppet I would be Bert, a serious collector of paper clips, bottle caps.