Workhouse Artist of the Week: Laura Markish

Mixed-media artist Laura Markish said that for her, “texture is everything.” Her April 6 through May 8 featured exhibit Anticipation, in Building W-6 at the Workhouse Arts Center, includes items ranging from glass to roofing shingles.

Markish said that mixed media – the combination of traditionally distinct visual art media like paint, ink, collage, etc. -- allows her freedom to experiment with common yet possibly quirky textures. She said the colder days preceding the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms inspired the name of her exhibit. “A few colorful blossoms can brighten one’s spirits, creating enthusiastic anticipation,” she said.

Markish comes from a family of artists, writers and musicians. “I remember sitting in my aunt’s lap, being inspired by what she was doing,” said Markish. Her aunt, Jane Asher, an artist in her own right, was also secretary to editorial cartoonist Herbert Lawrence Block (Herblock). 

Her own art career developed one class at a time. Growing up in Rockville, Maryland, she attended arts and crafts classes at the regional parks during the summers, then became one of the camp counselors the year she was 13. As an adult, Markish continued her studies while she cared for her husband and two children. “I started with photography, then went on to drawing, sculpture, painting,” said Markish.  “As my children were growing, I told them that while a paycheck is important, it also is important to do what you want to do,” she said. In 2008 she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies in studio art from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Both of Markish’s grown children love art. “I think they had to enjoy it because my work took up the whole kitchen and even the garage,” she said. “A multi-medium artist can’t get rid of anything because of the persistent idea that this ribbon or glass or whatever might belong in the next piece,” she said. 

Markish says her powers of observation play into her creativity. “My dad and I used to go fishing together,” she said. “As we walked through the woods he’d tell me to get my head down before I tripped and fell over a log in the path. My attention was everywhere.”

That quality of seeing influences her art. “I look at the pattern in a carpet and see a face.  A cabinet handle looks like something else,” she said. “I usually start with a core of water and trees then add to it,” she said. By comparison, Markish works much like Louise Nevelson in her found object art. “I do feel like I could mimic her,” said Markish. As an example, Markish uses glass in her work called Lizard Lunch because it reflects like water. “The mosaic pieces of glass were once a refrigerator shelf,” she said.  

Markish obtained her Workhouse studio, the first outside her home, in 2009.  Previously, she’d been volunteering at the Workhouse, “because I wanted to be around art,” she said. She is preparing to teach in a classroom setting, and currently is available to teach one-on-one.