I saw people doing this all month; it was all started by growly for International Women’s Day: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10088419/ I know I’m a little late to the party (last day of the month!) but I still wanted to get it done.

My name is Laura, I am 23 years old. I was born November 4th 1989 in Casper, Wyoming. My family moved to Utah when I was 6 years old and I’ve lived here ever since! I grew up in a family with six kids; I have three older sisters, an older brother, and a younger brother.

I am very actively religious; I am a member The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly called the LDS church or the Mormon Church. My religion is a very important part of who I am I Know that this church is true. I know that I have a loving Heavenly Father in Heaven who sent his son to earth to suffer for the sins of the world. I know that through Jesus Christ I can return and be with God again.

I have always loved art and animals my whole life, I started out by asking my sister to teach me how to draw horses when I was 6. I haven’t stopped drawing ever since. My sister was one of my big influences to draw, even though she has stopped drawing since then. Another influence to get me into art was my grandma. She was a really great painter and sculptor. I loved looking at the painting we had at our house of hers and seeing her work displayed in her own house. She taught me some painting techniques when I was in elementary and she helped me paint a picture for Reflections. I made it to state and she was so proud of me. I wanted to learn more from her, but it seemed I was always too busy. She passed away suddenly when I was a junior in high school while I was away on Music tour. It was a really hard time for me and I miss her a lot, but I know she is still watching over me and that I’ll get to be with her again in the life after That motivates me to increase my skills and become the best artist I can be. I know she is proud of where I’ve come. My dad also inspired me to become an artist. He noticed that I was always drawing on printer paper and sculpting with pencils. He wanted me to grow my skills so he bought me my very first sketchbook and sculpting tools when I was in Jr High.

I am a very hardworking person. My mom told me that the moment I learned how to crawl I was in to everything; I wouldn’t sit still. My parents taught me the value of hard work, they encouraged me and helped me plant a garden of 100 tomato plants to take care of, harvest and sell the tomatoes for profit. It was a difficult experience, but I learned that hard work is rewarding. To this day I always have to be doing something; I carry my sketchbook and a baggy of clay with me nearly everywhere I go. Being lazy is my least favorite thing to do.

I have had my share of self doubt and depression. The hardest time was in high school, I felt like I didn’t fit it, I was always stressed because I didn’t know if I could reach the goals I had set for myself. I struggled with having confidence, I back out of many great opportunities because I was too shy and didn’t think that I was good enough. I really found myself in College, I was accepted to my major (not an easy thing to do), made true friends, and grew closer to God. My confidence started to go up, my art started to improve dramatically which further boosted my confidence, I began to truly love myself. I still had some lingering problems with stress, low self esteem, etc, but it was significantly less than it was. That was when I met my Husband In the years that we dated and have been married his love and support has been all I need. He is my voice of reason when I get stressed, He picks me up when I’m feeling down, he is my best friend, he is someone that I trust and can talk through all my problems with. With him by my side I know I can do anything. I am truly happier at this time in my life than I ever have been and I know my life will only get better.

Right now I work full time at a video game studio as a 3D animator (using my BFA in Animation) but in the future I plan to be a stay at home mom. I really appreciated having my mom at home growing up, and I love being in a large family. I am really close to my family and I want to give our kids the life that my parents were able to give me. And I know I can be just as happy working on my own art projects from home as I can in the industry.

I reason I make art is because I love to create! I love making cool things! I have been very blessed in my life that I am able to make money by doing something I love so much.

**Gallery Dump from FA 2013**