Austrian jack-of-all-creative-trades leaves mark
When Laura Feller left high school she had to make a decision between two very different life paths.
Playing professional soccer or studying art. “I chose art,” the 30-year-old Austrian native said.
She ended up becoming a creative Jack-of-all-trades. She has a degree in interior design and furniture building, a masters in architecture and is an illustrator, designer, and painter.
Her distinct style of sharp lines and clean illustration was now appearing in shop windows and on signs around Taranaki.
Using acrylic markers she had branded businesses such as House Wine Bar on Devon St East, which she covered in drawings of wine glasses, and Toret Cucina Italiana in Oakura, where she drew a number of building landmarks from the owner’s hometown of Turin in Italy.
“At the start of last year I went around and spoke to a bunch of businesses, showed them my work and my portfolio, and got three jobs from that.”
Feller had seen window art in other cities such as London and Amsterdam and wanted to use her skills and give it ago.
She makes a draft but then draws on the window freehand.
Feller likes that the art form combines illustration and architecture as she has to work with the building space to create.
She was born in Austria and grew up on an organic farm surrounded by rolling hills and cows. “Similar to Taranaki, apart from the ocean.”
She moved to Taranaki for love after meeting her husband Tom, from the region, while on a surfing trip in Portugal.
They chase summer year round splitting their time between New Plymouth and Austria, where Tom recently got a contract to coach the national Austrian rugby team.
In Austria, Feller also runs kids’ workshops teaching sustainability, and she has a children’s book coming out over there this year.
From a young age Feller knew she wanted to travel and knew she loved drawing and painting.
She combined these during her studies when she did an exchange semester in Bali.
She began carrying a sketchbook with her everywhere and focused on drawing buildings. “I’ve always admired when people kept sketchbooks, a lot of great architects use a few distinct lines on paper and transform it into a building.”
On her second trip to Bali she sold her first piece of work which made her realise she wanted to pursue a creative career. She now does a range of creative endeavours. Feller is available for commissions and can be found online at www.laurafeller.com and on Instagram @laurafellerart.