Cary Artist: Laura Kasperlik

Cary, NC — Artist Laura Kasperlik started her own business called Pretty Clever Words in June of 2014. I asked her about her art and about how she turned her craft into a business.

Cary Artist Laura Kasperlik

I met Laura Kasperlik at Downtown Cary Food & Flea last week and was immediately intrigued by her artwork, as every piece I saw contained words of some sort. Laura, who lives in Cary, exhibits her work at the market once a month and runs an online store.

Getting Started

“In 2008,” she told me, “I opened an online store on Etsy. I was still working in the corporate world at that point, so I dabbled on the weekends learning various techniques, attending craft shows, researching small business challenges and dipping my toes into the online sales world. After six years, I created Pretty Clever Words and went full-time with it.”

After working 34 years in healthcare and corporate HR, I am fully exploring my creative passion. And, while the exploration is scary, it’s always exhilarating – I am constantly building on all the experience gained in my former roles.

Pretty Clever Words

Laura makes all her art herself. She cuts and sands reclaimed barn wood and paints and sews burlap and fabric. “My husband is very supportive,” she told me.

“We joke that he is my VP of Production, Logistics and Fleet Maintenance (although that just means he has to fill the car’s gas tank and load up the trailer for craft shows).”

I was interested to find out where she gets her supplies and where she finds all her quotes.

Laura uses a mix of reclaimed wood, fabric, paper and tin for her creations. “The hunt for these supplies can take me anywhere,” she said. She’s found materials on eBay, at the Raleigh Flea Market, at garage sales and at Habitat for Humanity.

Quotes and words are an important part to Laura’s work, because they’re on everything she sells. Laura’s friends and family constantly supply her with ideas and quotes for her work, but she also finds them in books and magazines and on Pinterest.

“I love to use funny, not-too-serious words,” she said.

Laura’s Inspiration

I asked Laura what inspires her as she creates:

I appreciate clever – not hurtful – sarcasm and love color, vintage fonts and tin toys. I embrace the concept of wabi-sabi, or the beauty of imperfection. My inspiration board is full of witty and creative words and fonts and objects with patina and rust. All of my works will have uneven edges, trailing threads, distressed wood and chippy paint.

Often, the art Laura displays at craft fairs is themed. She is currently focusing on a vintage summer theme with pieces that illustrate camping, road trips and the beach.

Her works are also directed towards different groups of people – I noticed some quotes and pieces that would make great presents for teachers to hang in their classrooms.

Find Pretty Clever Words

You can find Laura’s stand at Downtown Cary Food & Flea next month or follow Pretty Clever Words on Facebook to stay in touch with what’s happening.

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Story by Jessica Patrick. Photos from Pretty Clever Words. Read about more Cary artists.

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Arts coverage on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Elegant Stitches in Waverly Place.