Call for Participation!

I Left My Heart In Your Backyard

I have a huge heart with a lot of love to give and share. Too much love to focus completely on one, end-all be-all, significant person for my entire life. Love can be shared in many different ways with many different people. I prefer the passing moments with strangers when a real human moment happens that breaks the anonymity of the daily grind. More often than not, it is easier to hate the unknown instead of finding the common thread or seeing the beauty in the difference.

I want to open up a dialogue with you, whoever and wherever you are, by sending you my heart. Once you get my heart in the mail I want you to bury it in your backyard and see what happens. A full list of instructions of photos I want you to take and mail back to me will be included with my heart.

Sign up by sending me your mailing address to {laura.gorzek@gmail.com} with ‘I Left My Heart in Your Back Yard’ in the subject line by April 15^th, 2011. Hearts will be mailed out by April 22^nd, 2011.

Note: any written or spoken dialogue we have may be used in final presentation along with the photos you send to me.

Questions? Email me at {laura.gorzek@gmail.com}

Photo Restoration

Looking for that perfect Mother's Day Gift? I have a great idea! Have me restore her fading photo memories. I also digitize photo collections. 

Email me {laura.gorzek@gmail.com} to set up a consultation.

Waterlogged {gone fishing}

I vaguely remember being a social creature. Roaming with a pack through the city streets. The weather is warming up and the days are getting longer. I hear sounds of life outside the walls of my house. The backfiring of a tailpipe at 2am while I am trying to sleep triggers the recollection of days gone passed. The problem with these memories is that real time only moves in one direction. All we have left are the vague memories of biking into the sunset and staying up all night. My wild pack is now scattered across the world; some trapped in cubicles, some struggling with a home life, some on the run, some stuck in Milwaukee. Either my broken memory is taking a toll on my relationships or I feel myself growing away from the life of a pack that hunts together for new opportunities. The springing sounds of nightlife have woken me up and I have decided to quit the race.

I patched the hole in the bottom of the boat that has been decaying on the side of my garage and I set off to the center of the water. It is calm and quiet out in the middle and the sunshine on my closed eyelids. The deep cobalt blue water meets the gradient of white turning to bird’s egg blue sky and I toss out my lines to that crisp horizon line. Into the darkness my bait goes. I kick up my feet with a newfound confidence of not worrying about what the next opportunity may bring. Blessed with a memory full of darkness, I have no regrets holding me back from the darkness of what the future may hold.

Waterlogged {cloud watching}

I’m staring at the clouds. Images morph and shift and evolve. What once was changes as the wind blows in the sky. I’m lying on my blanket just watching it all drift by. A T-Rex becomes a stallion becomes a beautiful lady becomes a space ship becomes a day dream becomes a nap on the beach. He chased me, he was sure it was a match. How quickly that certainty turned into doubt and disinterest. I can’t quite remember the end anymore. The pieces of that story disappeared.

As my skin absorbs the sun and the wind makes the hairs on my body stand up I dream of the beginning, that storybook start morphs into all the passionate opportunities that may have happened. Those moments when a hot summer thunder storm sends waves of electricity through the air and into your skin. When the first sent of a life-filled, green garden wafts up after the winter ice defrosts the earth and youthfulness takes over your actions. Songs go by, one after another, memories of loves once shared.

No regrets just memories playing like movies in my head as I nap on the shoreline. The waves crash and I disappear. Traffic goes by and I am gone, traveling through fragments of a life lived to the fullest. I can feel him here with me and in my mind there is comfort, protection, companionship, and friendship. Times goes by and the tide works its way up to me. A startling cut to my wandering mind’s daydream. Shaken, I jump up, shake my blanket and work my way up the shore. Feet pushing in the sand, my memories break apart and disappear, crushed into tiny grains of what once was. 

Frozen Pre-Apocalyptic Day Dream

So I caught wind of 25 foot waves on Lake Michigan. After shoveling my drive way and realizing I have two Snow Days, I went to explore. Failure to investigate the details, I realized that the winds that bring the great waves are coming tomorrow. Today is an intro, and I plan to go back tomorrow for the Frozen Post-Apocalyptic Day Dream. Stay tuned for Part II.

Organizing on a Budget

Every place I've worked, I've picked up tricks for a more efficient workflow. During my time assisting Sarah Pelsoh with the DIY Studio at MAM After Dark, I mastered how to create projects for a large quantity of guests on a very little budget. Resourcefulness is a skill needed by every artist. I also learned great organizational skills for an Arts Educator at the Racine Art Museum. All the supplies was grouped, labeled, easily accessible and visible. The supply closets at RAM's Wustum Education Wing are a desirable dream after bouncing around from different workplaces.

I am taking it upon myself to organize the supplies at my current work place on a $0 budget. Starting with the crayons which are in two deep buckets. For 6 tables, the crayons are usually tossed in piles in front of the children while a handful end up on the floor and get stepped on. When it's time to clean up, the crayons usually get thrown across the room.

I started handing the children plastic bags and assigned them each a color to pick up. Even the rowdiest children respond well to this. It helps focus their energy in a positive way. 

Now that I have all the colors separated I need a useful boxes for future use. I ended up making 6 divided boxes out of copy paper box lids, scrap mat board, and duck tape.

First I measured the the box. 

11.5" x 17.5" x 4"

Then I cut 3 pieces (per box) of mat board for the width. 

11.5" x 3.5"

And 2 pieces (per box) of mat board of the length. 

17.5" x 4"

I made the length pieces half an inch taller than the width pieces so I can wedge them together nicely later.

Next step: Cut 3 hash marks evenly spaced along the longer length pieces leaving a half inch on top.


Draw a 3.5" line at 8.75" middle mark Also Draw and 3.5" line 4.375" and 13.125" quarter sections.


Cut along the lines.

Evenly space and wedge the width pieces inside the hash marks on the length pieces to create a compartmental grid.

Snuggle grid inside copy paper box lid. Make adjustments as necessary.

Then reinforce compartments with duck tape.

Focusing in Chaos

Teaching kids art can be overwhelming and rewarding at the same time. A big challenge is getting a room packed full of energy to focus. So many voices wanting attention and to be heard. As the adult excited about teaching and creating it is frustrating when you can’t even get a full sentence out of your mouth before the room erupts in outside voices. But don’t give up. In that sea of laughter, squeals, and pranks there are a good number of children quiet, focused, and in deep concentration.

As an adult, it is easy to get thrown off balance by the fast pace of life and all the outside distractions. When I look at the art that these children can make in an over-crowded chaotic environment, I am completely inspired at the high level patience and care some have. It’s a good reminder that regardless of what the conditions you have no control over are, you can still gain control in the space in your own head.