Lauri Andersen '93
B.A. '93 (College of Liberal Arts)
M.L.S. '03 (Graduate School)
Alumni Association Member
About Native Traditions and Treasures of Joy
Lauri is Ojibwe and from Minnesota, enrolled at the White Earth Reservation and creating is her passion! Whether it is handcrafted greeting cards or intricately beaded jewelry, her heart and soul go into each piece. She loves seeing a piece from creative thought being honed into a beautiful bracelet or earrings. Lauri learned simple beading techniques from an Indian ‘Grandma’ when she was about 14 years old. Just recently, she expanded her beading horizons to include peyote stitching, which results in beaded projects that look and feel like beaded tapestry.
Along Lauri's journey, she learned how to make dreamcatcher earrings and thoroughly enjoy working on this style of jewelry. She has several styles of dreamcatcher earrings and creates necklaces to coordinate with them. Lauri also has a line of gemstone jewelry and she loves working with color and creating jewelry with movement. She is always amazed how from a pile of mixed beads, gems, and stones – CHAOS, becomes BEAUTY. Being American Indian, Lauri is inspired by nature in terms of colors and she uses organic materials in a lot of her art. Her latest joy is creating all-occasion greeting cards. Many of the cards are made with recycled materials and all are blank inside, ready for your personal message. During her years of employment, she always looked forward to coming home and working on her art. That has always been her ultimate form of relaxation! Lauri and her husband, Dave, retired in October 2020 and they recently moved into a larger place – one that has an extra room dedicated solely for Lauri's art!
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