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Artist at Work: Laura Wennstrom

Laura Wennstrom is the 2014 Boneyard Signature Artist. The signature image, Reticulation, is a network, a web, and lace, all at once. Reticulation is environmental, cellular, and architectural.

Wennstrom is MFA candidate in New Media at U of I. She received her undergraduate degree in Studio Art from North Park University in Chicago in 2009.

Wennstrom has worked with children in underserved neighborhoods across the Midwest and in rural Ecuador teaching art, reading, and special education. She has developed and implemented art curriculum for after school programs for students in pre-kindergarten through high school seniors. In addition, she has created several public murals in collaboration with children and adults from local communities.

“In the process of making art, I am interested in gathering those materials and objects — the cast off, the forgotten, the incidental, the profound – and through combining and layering, I find new ways to tell stories. My art represents the intersection of my life with the people I have worked with while honoring their experiences and trying to make sense of my own.”

The 2014 Boneyard Arts Festival (April 10-13) is presented annually by 40 North, Champaign County Arts Council. For more infomation, visit 40north.org.

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