Small Beginnings
Hello again everyone,
thank you for your patience over the past couple of weeks while I got things set up and rolling for the website, we are finally live and ready to go for all things to come!
I guess my first post here on the blog was quite short and vague as I was still unsure where to start on what feels like an immense work in progress. There's still things to do to make this the best platform for my work, but so far so good I think the site will just have to grow as I grow as well, seems only natural anyway.
I didn't really do much in terms of presenting myself last time, so apologies for that I'm never really sure the best way to start on that front especially when speaking into the great void of the internet. Keep in mind also this is really my first time ever starting a blog and I'm a bit unsure how to go about it, but I will do my best in managing this new experience so please bear with me as I figure things out!
I guess, just like when meeting a new person, the best place to start is from the basics so here goes:
Hi, my name is Lily Small and I'm the creator behind Art by LAS. I was born in Boston Massachusetts USA and at a very young age my family and I moved to Italy where I grew up. Currently my main "base of operations" for the past three years has been in the UK due to my taking on a BA degree and MA degree here. I think that's a good summary of my my complicated geographic history for the moment, maybe some day I'll go more into depth.
No differently, my artistic career has also been somewhat of a collage of things since I do experiment with quite a few mediums, but mainly I've always focused on photography and drawing. It may sound cliche, but I can't remember a time in my active memories that I haven't been drawing, even at the age of 4 I remember filling binder notebooks with dozens of sheets of paper to the point my parents weren't sure where to put them anymore. I guess that isn't exactly a huge achievement for a toddler, but everybody needs to start somewhere right? Either way it must have stuck with me because I never stopped drawing, it did become in issue no matter what school I was in there were always teachers reprimanding me for doodling in class all over my notebooks and school books, but despite the trouble I would get in it never stopped me drawing was a part of who I was and no matter what I would continue with it. It is certainly the basis of everything I do even now.
As far as photography well I obviously haven't been practicing as long, but I remember one night sitting on the floor our old apartment while my mom was loading film into what at the time was a shiny new camera, she beckoned me over and told me to look through the little viewfinder and when I was ready to click the big button on the side I must have been so marvelled by it because that Christmas I was given my very own plastic pink Barbie disposable camera fit with exactly one roll of film which I basically consumed within a day taking pictures of all the other gifts we had gotten for Christmas, I have no idea if my parents actually ever got those photos developed but to me it didn't even matter it was just such a magical feeling being able to capture the world around me with a single click of the button the exact moment forever captured in a picture. My parents were always taking pictures and recording us whenever they could, I guess it must of rubbed off on me as well because I was always eager to get my hands on whatever new camera my parents had around to experiment with it. Eventually my whole family decided I was the photographer of the household so from being the subject of hundreds of my parents pictures eventually I became the one behind the camera and I they say the rest is history.
If there's a definite theme behind my artistic development is my parents enabling me in my mad lust for art, but jokes aside I do thank them immensely since it's because of them and their own love for art and art history that I got to where I am today. So for all the great past and contemporary masters I could thank, they could still never come close to the impact my parents had on me and my art thanks to their endless support.
I feel like I'm rambling now, but the beginning is a good place to start to get us here to now and this website which is all my more recent professional fine art projects. It's always funny to look back on what got you motivated, it’s always a surprise when you think of how you got started versus where you are now. I can't help but think just how impressed and proud younger me would be if they knew that all the effort put into something people told me was useless would lead to my place in the world now. It's motivational really that even these moments some day will be looked back upon and I’ll see that it will have all been worth the tireless effort and love put into it, no matter what others or my own inner demons may say. The small beginnings will have all been worth it.
Anyway enough with the deep thought, I wanted to talk about a few plans for the blog. I was really convinced I'd be able to write a post every week, but I soon realised that I had already failed that right at the starting gate seeing as we are already half way through October. So as a compromise to myself and you my readers, I have decided that posts will be more or less about 3 times a month which is as much content I think as I can muster per month without being too boring or too overwhelmed. If I ever decide to change this I will let you know of course, but for now keep an eye out for new posts at the begging, middle and end of each month (on Thursdays)!
I will still be updating the site more often with new works as I carry on with new projects, so if you like what you see so far stick around for new content coming very very soon. In the meantime please enjoy what I have put up for you so far and consider following me on social media for more personal and artistic content. Also please do not hesitate to contact me with any enquiries you may have, the details on how to do so are in the contact section of the website.
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading, hope to have you back again soon.
-LAS xo