Laura Phillips was born in Tennessee in 1958. As the daughter of Helen Phillips, Laura Phillips was exposed to art everywhere her parents traveled, but was bored by the whole scene. When she went to college she had no intention of studying art, but a year in Japan studying the language, tea ceremony, calligraphy and pottery changed her mind. She completed her undergraduate studies in art and Asian studies. After a summer clay program at Alfred University in New York and a workshop with Jun Kaneko, she was accepted for graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. Her biggest lesson there, she says, was learning to go into the studio and work 70 hours a week. Since graduation she has taught at two universities and now teaches independently.
Phillips talks of having to work through problems. She expresses an interest in hand-building techniques, impressionistic surface manipulation and particularly enjoys the matte colors of low fire glazes. In her work she depicts animals and people with a child-like innocence and spontaneity. "That child is still operating," she says, but the "child's energy is being channeled by an adult." She goes on to explain that for her there is always a struggle to have the material and the idea meet on equal footing so neither is overwhelmed by or inadequate to the other. She tends to work in series and her most recent work incorporates written messages.
Alan DuBois, Curator of Decorative Arts
Arkansas: Year of American Craft 1993 exhibition catalogue