Our Story
Growing up in costal North Carolina with three sisters and very traditional parents, my parents put a lot of emphasis on the meaning of our names. Sarah meant princess, Emily meant industrious, and Rebecca meant captivating. When they would behave a certain way they would say, “ Well the name Sarah does mean princess.” or “That’s Emily, just being industrious.”
When I would listen to the meaning of my name, Laura, I was told it was derived from Laural. I was so disappointed. That’s it? A plant? So boring. It’s just a bunch of leaves. I mean, my favorite past time as a kid was climbing trees and riding my bike in the woods behind our neighborhood, but I failed to see how my name could add any clarity to who I was or what God wanted me to be.
It wasn’t until I went to collage at Appalachian State that I discovered that I loved being in the trees. Growing up on the coast was fun, I loved it, but I felt a different kind of connection to nature when I was out walking in the woods with the flora and fauna.
During my time at App, I spent time on an Art Minor. Art was something that I always have loved, but at that time it was just something to to curve the intensity of the business classes that I was taking. I loved doing all the assignments but a particular medium or subject matter never stood out.
After college there was marriage to a Navy Sailor, 3 kids, a few moves, (one international) 2 dogs and some deployments. Art fell by the wayside.
When I moved back to Jacksonville I had an opportunity to work as a middle school art teacher. Once the day was over and I was cleaning up, I noticed how much waste was being generated. So many scraps of paper that still had life but were just being thrown away. I immediately started to figure out what could be done with all this waste that was fruitful and beautiful. I saw that collages were in the curriculum but they were basic and uninspiring. I turned to instagram to see what others were doing and was completely blown away by all the detailed and intricate things that were being created. I started to play around with it myself before introducing it to the kids and was completely hooked. A lot of different subject matters were tested but the floral and fauna was love at first attempt. Once I started, I fell in love with the process and never looked back. The more I make the more I recognize that my name does have meaning and does play an important part in forming the person that God created me to be.