Gleaner
Laura Lee Stay Bradshaw
sculpture, cast in bronze
(photography of the sculpture by Shawna Light, Light Photography)
Made possible by a grant from the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, Art for Uncertain Times.
Some Might think quarantine is negative space…
An artist usually looks at the space around an object in order to perceive the object more accurately because the background space can more accurately define objects. We call this negative and positive space. Some might think quarantine is negative space, Is it negative or positive? Consider this wisdom of the Sage:
We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel;
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to make a house;
And it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the house depends. Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not. -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, No. 11
We are all in a waiting mode. I chose to think of this time as being like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Metamorphosis is taking place and soon things will be changed from a crawling creature to a flying butterfly! This is a time to be useful, to be still...
We sleep and dream:
But morning dawns and if rested the nothing of night is what the usefulness of day depends on. —Laura Lee S. Bradshaw, 2020.
Laura Lee Stay Bradshaw
is an acclaimed sculptor and painter presently residing in Saratoga Springs, Utah. Born in California, Bradshaw moved to Utah at age nineteen to attend BYU, where she completed a BFA and MFA in Art. Bradshaw teaches art at Utah Valley University. She is a mother of four children and derives great artistic inspiration from her experiences at home. She is a classical figurative artist. Themes of celebration and belief in humanity run through her work.
Among her notable works are Martha Hughes Cannon, an eight-foot bronze displayed at the Utah State Capitol, Acanthus Child, a six-foot figure displayed at the University of Utah Medical Center, as well as several sculptures on display at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
To learn more, find the artist on her website or @lauralee_artist