Nestled in the sprawling farmland that makes up the Bootheel of Missouri sits a small little town where everyone knows each other and long before the invention of cell phones and the internet, your Mom would know what you had been doing before you walked in the front door. A place where a common thread among us was our school and how we were all proud to be a part of the classes that made us all Gideon Bulldogs.
I grew up in the small town of Gideon, Missouri where my families lived and worked on farms. I walked along the cotton fields and dirt roads from an early age,but dreamed of seeing places beyond the stretches of fields and those dusty roads. Little did I know that those magical moments of fields, farms, one lane wooden bridges and small town life would be one of the most powerful forces in my own creative world.
My mom taught me how to use an old Brownie film camera when I was a young girl. Eventually, I was just the family photographer and keeper of all of the old family photographs. I was always wanting to take photographs. When we got a Polaroid One Step camera I went through so much film just trying to get the hang of using that camera. While my photographic style and vision have changed over the years, I can always bring a unique perspective to the subject in front of me.
It has been an honor to show my artwork internationally and to win several art show awards. One of my favorite things is meeting other artists and photographers and finding inspiration in those relationships, as well as new places I visit.
In addition to portraits and art, I have had the privilege of doing commercial photography for a number of clients, including Blink-182, Backside Bags, Flying Tiger Motorcycle, Good Citizen Skate Co, and many others. My work has appeared in magazines, which was a dream come true. My images of skateboarders have appeared in several skateboarding magazines and some of those art pieces have even appeared on a few skatedecks,
My former Gideon teachers Ruth Day and Joyce King helped foster a love of writing, which allowed me to proudly become a writer for Digital Photography School and local area publications. That confidence led me to publishing two books on photography and art. My former Art teacher was Ann Walker and she taught me to trust my artistic vision. She always said that the worst thing that could happen would be I would scrap it and start over and then she would say "it's never too late to start over".
As long time of collector of the "unique and odd" I collect vintage gas masks, books and cameras, medical slides, and animal bones. I also love collecting art from local artists and proudly display those in my own home as though I have my own little art gallery!
Inspiration is a wonderful thing and finding artists who make you fall in love with art all over again are absolutely the best medicine for a case of the artist blues. My favorite photographers are Julia Margaret Cameron, Gertrude Kasebier and (the previously unknown) street photographer Vivian Maier. Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter, is a huge inspiration and influence for me. Her use of color and telling the story of her life, her pain from her body and life make me want to be a better artist. I can talk about Frida for hours when given the chance!
While I have traveled many places, my love for those small town roots embedded so deeply inside of me have only strengthened over time. Every chance I get, I go walking through cotton fields and driving down gravel roads. I love being reminded of the places and the people that gave me the opportunities to live, dream and create in my own unique way.
No matter where I am in this great big world, I am and will always be, as the band Journey sings so beautifully, "just a small town girl..."
Here's where to find Lori:
Exhibitions and Awards
2022, Art of Darkness, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2022, 63848, author
2022, PFSTL, (art exhibition), St. Louis Community College - Meramec (in conjunction
with the Kristen Peterson Lecture & Exhibition Series), St. Louis, MO
2022, Juice, (skate magazine - May), photo published
2022, Naughti Gras, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St. Louis, MO
2021, Coughin', (skate magazine), photo published, St. Louis, MO
2021, Skate Jawn, (skate magazine), photo published, St. Louis, MO
2021, Ace Toth, Cooler BnB (Hip-Hop/Rap, album cover)
2021, Cake Muscle, artwork on skate deck (Happy Dogs)
2020, Filthy Ditch Crew, (skate magazine - Issue 11), photo published
2020, Filthy Ditch Crew, (skate magazine - Issue 10), photo published
2020, Filthy Ditch Crew, (skate magazine - Issue 9), photo published
2020, Filthy Ditch Crew, (skate magazine - Issue 8), photo published
2020, Sauce, (skate magazine -Issue 7), photo published
2019, Skate Jawn, (skate magazine), photo published, St. Louis, MO
2020, Naughti Gras, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St. Louis, MO
2018, 33January, (art exhibition). The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2018, Naughti Gras, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St. Louis, MO
2018, Wonderland, (art exhibition), 2720 Cherokee, St. Louis, MO
2017, Lensbaby Life, (cover art)
2017, Steampunk Broken Hearts Ball, (art exhibition and fashion show), 1900 Park,
St. Louis, MO
2017, Luck of the Draw, (art exhibition), The Foundry, St. Charles, MO
2017, Open Studios, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
2017, Night for Visual Artists, hosted by City of Night St. Louis, (art exhibition), The Ready Room, St. Louis, MO
2017, Homecoming Featured Artists, (art exhibition), Gideon, MO
2014-2016, Digital Photography School, writer & contributor
2016, Finding Focus, author
2016, Art Budapest, (art exhibition), Budapest, Hungary
2016, Old North Exhibition, (art exhibition), Old North Restoration Group Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2016, North by Old North, sponsored by City of Night St. Louis, (art and music exhibition), St. Louis, MO
2016, 33July, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2016, Flying Tiger Motorcycle, window display, Maplewood, MO
2016, Let Them Eat Art, (art and music exhibition), Maplewood, MO
2016, 33May, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2016, Sensory Overload II, (art exhibition), The Ready Room, St. Louis, MO
2015, Quadratfuss, (art exhibition), Berlin , Germany
2015, Dia de los Muertos, sponsored by the Hispanic Festival, (art exhibition), Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO
2015, Art, History, Culture, Sustainability, (art exhibition), The Screwed Arts Collective, St. Louis, MO
2015, 2nd Annual Arts Festival, hosted by City of Night St. Louis, (art exhibition), St. Louis, MO
2015, Seeing Red, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2015, 33June, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2015, Naughti Gras, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St Louis, MO
2015, 33April, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2015, FVC Art Exhibition, (art exhibition), Friendship Village, Chesterfield, MO
2015, St. Louis Magazine, (image published)
2014, Migrate, (art exhibition), William Kerr Foundation, St. Louis, MO
2014, Mysterious Monsters, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St Louis, MO
2014, 33October, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2014, 33September, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2014, 33 August, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2014, Urban Eats Cafe, (art exhibition), Urban Eats Cafe, St. Louis, MO
2014, ArtBar STL, (art exhibition), ArtBar, St. Louis, MO
2014, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2014, Open Studios, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
2014, Shades of Green, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2014, Naughti Gras, (art exhibition), Koken Art Factory, St Louis, MO
2013, She Speaks Art, (art exhibition), The Factory, St. Louis, MO
2013, Fear II, (art exhibition), Soulard ArtGallery , St. Louis, MO, 1st place
2013, 33November, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2013, 33August, (art exhibition), The Old Orchard Gallery, Webster Groves, MO
2013, Heroes, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 1st place
2013, Fear, (art exhibition), Soulard Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO