Laura Capron
Did you have the spark for design and craft at an early age? If so can you
remember something you made that you were particularly proud of?
My mother is an artist in a variety of mediums and my dad a collector of art, so I grew up exposed to
that world. My mom had a studio in the house I grew up in, where she designed jewelry and painted.
She would set me up with my own little space in there and let me craft alongside her. I’m sure I
made a mess and lot of throwaway pieces, but she always encouraged creativity and exploration.
When I was a bit older, I started taking art classes outside of school; everything from drawing and
painting to ceramics and sewing. If it could be crafted, I wanted to learn how...that motto rings just
as true today as it did in childhood.
I don’t know if there is any particular piece highlighted in my memory, but I was always making
something. That process of constant ‘making’ is really important, regardless of the end product. It’s
the driving force in finding your own voice of personal expression. You have to be willing to
experiment, expand and fail. I am still learning and hope I always will be. You can’t approach design
with an attitude of mastery. You have to have some humility and vulnerability in the process.
Otherwise it just feels like a mindless, soulless massage of the ego.
47
THE CONE - ISSUE #9 - SPRING 2016