Introducing Laura Frankstone

I believe that restless spirits attend the birth of those of us born on islands and, in our lives thereafter, we are propelled by them. I started life on a tiny volcanic island in the middle of the Bering Sea, during a blizzard, literally encompassed by water. Though we left that island when I was a baby, I have carried those images of primordial water with me through my life. As an artist, I've turned and returned to watery motifs, most recently at the beginning of this year, when I embarked on an extended, multi-faceted search for water, in the face of a terrible drought in my area.

My islander's innate restlessness manifests itself in the variety of ways I've explored the topic of water and the watery life,

from fountains to sea creatures to rocky bays,

and to the trips I've taken in pursuit of water, from Hawaii to Paris to Iceland, with some stops in North Carolina creeks along the way.

As I painted and drew this year, I realized that it is NOT vast panoramas of water that interest me as an artist, though I admire this approach when it is taken by others. And I am not drawn to painting specific locales or rendering picturesque scenes.

What excites me is the play of water around rock - the old idea of the irresistible force and the immovable object,the elemental calligraphy recorded by wave, rivulet, and reflection.

In the next year, and who knows how many to follow, I aim to find and refine my personal artistic watery idiom, always hoping (and sometimes trusting) that I will be equal to the task.