## Breadcrumb
1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/)
2. Profile
3. [Laura Thipphawong](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/2755)
# Laura Thipphawong
Visual and Critical Studies, 2016. Practicing Artist
Contact Information
Graduation Year2016
KeywordsFaculty of Arts & Science
Visual and Critical Studies
> I love that I get to do what I NEED to do, and that is to delve into my creative work and express myself as a means of catharsis.
**What Program did you graduate from and when?**
Visual and Critical Studies Honours BA and a minor in Drawing and Painting in 2016
**What is your current title or role? (ie. freelance designer, art practitioner, etc.)**
A Practicing Artist with Coldstream Fine Art Gallery, and Postsecondary Coordinator at a private school
**Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?**
I started working after high-school and although I gained valuable life-experience, I was not on the career path that was meant for me. After careful consideration, I decided to devote my life to art and research, and so I applied to OCAD U for the purpose of immersing myself in the academic art world.
**Please briefly describe your current job/practice.**
I have always been someone who needs to multitask in order to feel invigorated, so my current position is working well for me. I am working a full-time day job as an administrator, consulting on postsecondary education and directing programs and projects at a private high-school, and I balance this with the fluctuating demands of my art career. There are periods where I will paint for forty hours a week on top of my day job; usually, this happens for the six months leading to a solo exhibit. The months before commencing an intensive painting schedule are spent doing my research writing, an integral element of my artistic practice.
**How did you get started in your career?**
It has been a long and winding road, we’ll put it that way. This is a tricky question because I took a very non-linear path regarding my career and education. I have been a self-taught artist since the age of twelve when I first started oil painting, and I had my first solo exhibit when I was nineteen, but due to illness, I was not able to focus on or pursue my art career whole-heartedly until much later. However, after graduating from OCAD U I ended up getting a lot more attention for my art. I then did my Master's of Art History at the University of Toronto, and this has allowed me to pursue my research further while opening doors into a career in the administrative and academic world.
**What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?**
I volunteered for things that I thought would be good learning experiences, like being the student representative for the human-centered research committee at OCAD U. I also did an internship at a non-profit where I had some great experiences. I think volunteering and interning is a great idea as long as those hosting you are treating you ethically. I would have done more of it had I not been working during school.
**What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?**
I love that I get to do what I NEED to do, and that is to delve into my creative work and express myself as a means of catharsis. One of my favorite things about my work is that I get to present my research papers at symposiums and conferences internationally. I love that I can explore my work in critical theory and that I have found a way to harmonize that with my painting practice. The most challenging aspect is finding the time to do it.
**What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?**
I saw an exponential rise in my painting skill level after two years at OCAD U. I knew that putting myself in the position where being dedicated to art would help, and it was clear after I started that OCAD U was exactly where I needed to be. My writing also took a sharp upturn, and it was liberating to be able to take deep dives into the research topics that interested me. Sometimes I wish I had gone sooner, but I wasn’t ready to go sooner, so aside from that there is nothing I would have done differently.
**What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice?**
I have a lot of hard deadlines, and that is what comes with being a practicing artist. I have to write statements, create presentations, and most importantly, produce bodies of work within a given time frame. Being diligent and organized is paramount to being a successful artist, and I cringe when people associate artists with flakiness or volatility.
**What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?**
I have always studied environmental science, both in my spare time, and electively in university, but going forward I plan to incorporate this more into my work. I am an avid outdoor explorer and am working to formulate a new methodology wherein I blend my experience with mountaineering with an investigation into geology and evolutionary biology in order to create my next body of work.
Fallen 
Tea Party
Countless Little Deaths