ODES [to things]
An amalgamation of work by Laura Baisden



This is my first show since graduating college two years ago. To make myself proud and re-earn my diploma (so to speak), I aimed for a cohesive body of work—worthy of a thesis. As I started creating things, I realized that instead of sticking with something nice and structured, I kept jumping ship and drawing whatever I wanted. I felt like the parent of a spoiled two year old, who—in an effort to maintain some sense of efficiency and productivity—says, “FINE. You feel like drawing squirrels when you were supposed to be making landscapes? Whatever. Just have fifteen by September 12th.” Which in turn, became the antithesis of cohesiveness. Or so I thought…



ODES [to things] is about what image, thing, or person was valuable or striking enough that I felt like taking the time to make it art. To a Wayward Bison, for instance—I’ve never seen a bison. I don’t even know the difference between a bison and a buffalo, and yet…I wanted to make him. I thought he was stoic and beautiful. A conversation about hitch hiking inspired me to make Ode to Wishful Thinking. When I made Your Father Wants to Have Breakfast With You, I recreated a memory from a visit home when my dad mentioned he wanted to take me to Audrey’s and have pancakes. At the time, my mom said, ”Did your father tell you that he wants to have breakfast with you?” It was a quietly momentous occasion, so I put it down on paper. The moral of the story is, for whatever reason, I’ve made what I’ve made.
Hope you like it.