Laura Grothaus

Work samples

Cells

Cells
x =

x =
Nine

Nine
Winter Squash

Winter Squash with poem

About Laura

Baltimore City

Laura Grothaus is a Baltimore writer and visual artist. Interested in the politics of magic and memory, she tackles everything from robot babysitters to mermaid molting.

Her work has been featured by or is forthcoming in BUST, The Cincinnati Review, Cimarron Review, Pleiades, and Fairytale Review. It has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and garnered awards internationally, from Poetry in Pubs in Bath, England to the Nazim Hikmet Poetry… more

View Laura's Resume

Green Archives

Collaborated with Shelley Picot and Art Enables artists Debora Green, Imani Turner, Egbert “Clem” Evans, Mara Clawson, Gary Murrell, and Vanessa Monroe. Together, we created an exhibition that considers ecosystems and the stories humans have told about them throughout time. Art Enables is a Washington D.C. gallery and vocational arts program dedicated to creating opportunities for artists with disabilities to make, market, and earn income from their original and compelling artwork.

The Magic Books displayed as part of the exhibition are a series of intimate, interactive books to be distributed to strangers through free libraries.

The Wild Inviting

38" x 50" Gouache on paper
Harpy Family Reunion

14" x 11" Colored pencil on paper Collaboration with Imani Turner
Strawberry Poem

14" x 11" Gouache and paint markers on paper Collaboration with Mara Clawson
Plant Animal

14" x 11" Pencil on paper Collaboration with Deborah Green
Magic Book - Reciprocity

8.5" x 11" x 1.5" Found book, foil, polymer clay, cloth, thread, tissue paper Object performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttBVOAahIg4
Magic Book - Ink

9.25 " x 12" x 1.5" Found book, foil, alchemist gloves, pen nibs, ink in bottles Object performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awGfe5t7Png
Magic Book - Forage

9.125” x 7.375” x 1” Found book, foil, polymer clay, gouache, seeds Object performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_04Q-sBYeE

Red Ballad

Painted a thesis on red for an interactive production exploring the color. Directed by Rae Red and in collaboration with Rain, Kim Le, Theresa Columbus, and Maura Dwyer, Red Ballad is a cabaret combining visual art, music, storytelling, burlesque, and more. The paintings and accompanying writings were to be displayed at Towson University in Baltimore in the Spring of 2020. The show was postponed due to the pandemic and was performed in the Fall of 2021 under the title Red is Real by Rae Red, Cliff Doby, Francisco Benavides, and Theresa Columbus.

Triptych 1 - Red Ballad

Triptych 1 - Red Ballad
Triptych 2 - Red Ballad

Triptych 2 - Red Ballad
Triptych 3 - Red Ballad

Triptych 3 - Red Ballad
Plan for Displaying the Paintings and Zine

Plan for Displaying the Paintings and Zine

Moth Suite

Painted a set up cards––Ace through King––that could be shuffled and read in any order. This poem played with the iterations and reiterations of grief, with the shuffling of memories and the circular thoughts of loss. The instructions intoned: Draw again. It was displayed and performed in galleries at Oberlin College.

Rules
Three

Three
Four

dripping fluent equivocation
Five

Five
Six

Six
Seven

Seven
Eight

Eight
Nine

Nine
Ten

Ten
Jack

Jack

Physics

Embroidered poems on silk and wool create a fragmented narrative exploring science, myth, and family. Using the story of Daphne, the nymph turned into a laurel tree to escape assault, these pieces explore what it means to change your body for the sake of survival.

Dead stories

Words with embroidery on silver. Dead stories.
As if time has puckered

Embroidery with onion skin and words. As if time has puckered...
You stutter

Embroidery with words. You stutter.
That night on the skin of the moon

Embroidery with onion skin and words. That night on the skin of the moon...
Studies in specificity

Embroidery with onion skins and words. Studies in specificity...
x =

Embroidery with onion skin and words. X=
Each star can be found

Embroidery with words. Each star can be found...
In Spring, you cut...

Embroidery with words. In Spring, you cut...
Origin Story

Embroidery with words. Origin Story...

Portable Homes

Illustrated Portable Homes, a book of letters from survivors of domestic violence. These illustrations were displayed at the 18th International Conference and Summit on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma Art Showcase in San Diego. Lexie Bean, Director of Attention People with Body Parts and editor of the book, led workshops with me about writing to heal the body. These workshops provided the groundwork for an international tour focused on survivors of domestic violence.

Workshop participant working on body map

Workshop participant working on body map. Body maps are body tracings that are filled in with drawings and stories.
Writers dancing at a reading.

Feeling connected to our bodies is key to this project. Movement is key to that connection. Workshops and reading combined words and movement as we worked towards healing.
Old Home

Illustration from Portable Homes. House with body parts.
Bedroom

Illustration from Portable Homes. Bathroom.
Bathroom

Illustration from Portable Homes. Bathroom.
Kitchen

Illustration from Portable Homes. Kitchen
Living Room

Illustration from Portable Homes. Living room.

Selected Poems

Selected Poems:

a.      Proof
Published in the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival Book and nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2019.

b.     The Tending
Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest second place 2019, chosen by poet Diane Suesse.

c.     Home Again
Published in Sugar House Review in 2020.

d.      Larded All with Sweet Flowers
Published in Sugar House Review in 2020.

e.      Also Milk
Published by the Cincinnati Review in their miCRo series in 2019.

f.       The Selkie
Published in the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival Book and nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2019.

g.     Mary Magdalene Washing his Feet with Perfume
Published in Crosswinds in 2019.

h. Coda
Published in 2014 in International Painting Annual.

i.      Linguistics, 2019
Published in Sugar House Review in 2020.

j.     The Mountain, 2018
Published in the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival Book and nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2019.

k. Baba Yaga In Conversation with her Home, 2013
First runner up for the So to Speak Poetry Contest in 2013.

l.      Over the Body of Orpheus, 2013

m. Pinocchio Revisited, 2015
Published in Fairytale Revie and nominated for the  Pushcart Prize in 2016.

Selected Poems

Selected Poems

Dinner Sketches

Drawings of what was cooked and garnished.

Squash

Squash with poem drawn in pencil.
Chanterelle

Chanterelle with poem drawn in pencil.
Leek

Leek drawn in pencil
Plum

Drawing of a plum with a poem drawn in pencil

Baker Artist Portfolios

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Inter- and Multi-Disciplinary Work