By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
Recently someone asked what I write about in this column during the summer when the music ensembles Joni and I are part of are not performing. As any regular reader is aware, I write about much more than just music. I appreciate all of the arts and try to incorporate as many as I can in this column. Did you know that architecture is one of the fine arts? I am seeking an architect to interview for a future column.
As an artist I am always working on something, in some discipline. Summer is a change, not a pause. Our quartet, The Gavin Warren Quartet is busy rehearsing for Oktoberfest. Joni and I have begun meeting and planning for a play I am directing in Sarnia in May of 2026. There’s practicing to do, planning to stay on top of and contemplating to be contemplated.
This column started as “Arts in The Burg” and while it is still that, at its core, it is much broader in scope today. As I have pecked away at this column over the past 6 years or so, I have become increasingly informed about the influences and opportunities for arts, artists and lovers of the arts in the greater CK area, or GCKA!
This week I chatted with my friend Laurie Langford. I have known Laurie for exactly 4 and a half years. I know this because we met at the initial board meeting of the then, Chatham-Kent Arts and Culture Network in January of 2021. Laurie has been a driving force for arts in C-K for over two decades. Before coming to C-K, Laurie was in the GTA, it’s like the GCKA, but way more chaotic! Prior to her time living in Toronto, Laurie hailed from PEI. Laurie is a visual artist, writer and a leader in the local arts community.
When asked about the earliest memory she has as an artist she recalled walking along the beaches in PEI with her family. They would go to swim and since she was not a fan of swimming, she would wander the beach gathering shells, beach glass and sticks and occupy herself as she created unique sculptures with her finds.
Memorable moments in her development as a very young artist were when she wrote a poem about Snow in grade one. Her teacher was very impressed with the poem, awarding the young poet with a highly coveted gold star. A truly pivotal moment was when she was awarded 2nd place for a poster she created inspired by a book she wrote in school. These early influences guided her path as she grew into the multi-disciplinary artist she is.
While her degree is a Bachelor of Arts Degree, focusing on English Literature and Art History, Laurie would become busy with life and family and her career as an artist would quietly wait in the background for space to appear. It would be early in the new millennium, after sending her youngest son, Charles, off to school that space, and inspiration for her artistic career would appear. She returned home from dropping him off at school and noticed an action figure leaning against a limb in the yard in an unusual position. She grabbed her camera and snapped a few shots. She felt inspired and started looking for more action figure poses to shoot, eventually adding in a Barbie or two. After being accepted in the Eye for Art exhibition and selling her art, Laurie was all in.
Carl Levoy, the curator/director of the Thames Art Gallery (TAG) suggested Laurie attend a print making class. With the knowledge and skill she gained at this workshop she was able to take her pictures, add clips from The Globe and Mail and create images and words that made statements on society while incorporating her sense of humour.
This process led to her first solo show in C-K. The show, with the tongue in cheek title Guys and Dolls, was at ARTspace in 2009 and Langford’s art utilized her unique style of posing dolls, and or parts of dolls in her prints with the quotes that encouraged patrons to question long held sexist narratives.
Laurie continues to create unique and thought-provoking art today. To view her work, you can go to her website https://www.laurielangford.com/.
Laurie’s process is a fascinating one. She gathers subject matter that happens to inspire her, it may be from a thrift store, antique or second-hand store. Langford does not normally have a plan when she creates. She notes, “My art is a reflection of what I’m thinking.” She will assemble her material, take pictures, clips from written materials and assemble them. Often, it is not until the work is created that she sees the message in her work. It is inspiration that drives her creation, not intention.
Like most artists, Laurie is aware of and connected to the world she inhabits and her work is often philosophical, expressive and a thoughtful narrative about the direction the world is moving. It is a vehicle for her to make sense of her world. She notes that this creative release is crucial to many young people and in today’s chaotic and hyper digital world, an arts outlet is a necessary component of a healthy mindset for many.
If she isn’t creating, Laurie finds that something builds up inside her and she feels like she is going to explode. This is a common articulation by creative people. It is a necessary outlet, not a frivolous afterthought. Her creative eye influences everything Laurie does, from decorating her house and garden to the clothes she chooses. At a glance, you can tell Laurie is an artist. It is not an affectation; it is who she truly is.
In my next column, I will focus on Laurie the published and accomplished writer as well as her role with the CK Arts Council.
