For some artists, creativity arrives as a revelation. For Laurel Grace, it has always been a way of life, steady, instinctive, and deeply rooted.
“I embraced what brought me joy.”
Raised in a family where art was ever-present, Laurel grew up surrounded by creativity. Her grandmother was a professionally trained artist, her mother both a painter and devoted advocate for artists, and her father had natural “mad” drawing skills. Art wasn’t something she discovered, it was something she lived. As a child, she found that creating was the one thing that could quiet her energy and focus her attention.
There was no defining turning point in her journey, only a continuous commitment to honing her craft. From early classes at Art Center College of Design and Otis-Parsons (now Otis College of Art and Design), to a BFA in illustration, to her current studio practice, Laurel has built a career grounded in discipline and joy. Her paintings often take months to complete, evolving alongside ideas for future work. Concept development, research, and sketches take time but once she starts painting she says, “I am in my happiest of places.”
Over time, her work has reflected the different chapters of her life. When she first joined the Sawdust Art Festival in 2005, she was raising young children, and her work leaned whimsical and playful. Following the sudden loss of her mother, her art shifted inward, resulting in her “fortune cookie” series with pieces centered on hope, affirmation, and emotional resilience. “As I processed grief it was extraordinarily important for me to give myself a bubble of positivity.”
The Sawdust Art Festival has become central to her life, not only as a place to share her work, but as a community she actively supports through leadership and collaboration. “The Sawdust is a gift [that] allows me to keep creating.”
Today, Laurel’s work feels freer and more exploratory. Her current series of imagined B-movie posters, what she calls “the coolest movies that have never been made,” blend humor, storytelling, and a distinctly offbeat perspective. These pieces invite interaction, often prompting visitors to stop, read, and perform the narratives aloud using ominous, theatrical, voices.
Alongside this, she continues to explore playful mashups of nostalgia and art history, pairing iconic toys with classical imagery in ways that are both clever and unexpected.
Even with this sense of humor, her work remains deeply personal. Her painting Living Oak, inspired by a tree that has witnessed generations of family milestones, stands as one of her most meaningful pieces, created over months of reflection and grief.
Laurel discovered the Sawdust Art Festival after moving to Laguna Beach and joined as an exhibitor in 2005. Since then, it has become central to her life, not only as a place to share her work, but as a community she actively supports through leadership and collaboration.
“The Sawdust is a gift,” she says. “It allows me to keep creating… and creating is what I’m meant to do.”
As she prepares new work for the upcoming season, her approach remains unchanged: explore unique ideas, exhibit authenticity.
Her advice to visitors is simple, “slow down, be present, and lose yourself in our amazingly creative environment.”
