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Business & Tech

Home Is Where The Art Is

Laura Gaffke, Groton-Based Artist, Teacher and Entrepreneur Creates A Life Of Beauty

I first met Groton Artist Laura Gaffke at the Above Elite open studios last December, but only after her miniature dragonfly paintings caught my eye and captured my heart.  Her artwork, mingling on the edges of abstraction, is often nature-based, exploding with a full spectrum of effervescence.

As we meet at her studio, Laura’s demeanor is infectious, filled with optimism, light and humility.  I’m drawn to the juxtaposition of the understated beige walls adorned with paintings of vermilion, chartreuse, persimmon and frosty pink.  Vignettes of handmade postcards are interspersed with vintage leather suitcases and baskets of collections.

I see sketches on her drafting table of orchids and seasonal flowers which Gaffke created earlier in the day while sitting in her treasured garden.   She will eventually work some of these into paintings, but is clearly inspired by nature and the first signs of spring.

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What began for Laura in New Hampshire as a landscape painter and elementary school art teacher, became a deliberate entrepreneurial journey in Groton, leading to her own business of teaching, blogging and soulful painting.

Brought to Groton in 2006 by her husband Brett’s work, Gaffke left a lifetime of family and friends in New Hampshire and unknowingly embarked on what she considers the journey of a lifetime. 

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“Moving here changed everything.  Home was all I knew - I grew up there with family and friends and taught at the same school for 14 years.  I didn’t know anybody here and had to find my way, and I did it through art,” says Gaffke. 

Once here, Gaffke received an M.F.A. from Goddard College in Vermont.  Graduate school taught her instead of creating ideals such as typical landscape paintings, to dismantle the layers of “shoulds” and seek her own personal expression.   She left the scenic paintings by the wayside as color and natural forms emerged into what I think of as an exciting Gaffke soufflé.

“Bluff Point became my sanctuary.  My work emerged through this place. I’ve always been drawn to the ocean so coming here to walk, sketch and draw was my saving grace,”  says Gaffke.

Now, years later, with a successful Etsy store and a recent seven-page spread in Artful Blogging featuring Gaffke and co-author Tina Hirsig, Gaffke’s efforts are gaining wide-reaching recognition.

Locally, Gaffke teaches classes for children and adults at the Mystic Art Center and her studio Above Elite in Westerly.  A few of her upcoming classes are Soulful Landscapes, Altered Books, Travel Journaling, Folding Book Sculpture and Art Collage. 

Gaffke, who lives on Poquonnock River says, ”My garden is central to who I am.  When we moved here, I started planting beds and sowing my seeds.  My garden has been a metaphor in my work - you have to put the time in, nurture it and practice.”

Ultimately, Gaffke has discovered that home is where the heart is.   

“This journey has taught me to appreciate everything and embrace the moment - not sweat the small stuff,"  she says.  "You choose your heaven and hell - I thought heaven was a place to aspire to, but now I see it’s within me.”

For class information Laura can be contacted at www.lauragaffke.com

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