Strange funny creatures come out of Laura-Susan Thomas all the time and she just can’t help it.
The artist and former Disney Imagineer spent more than 11 years world-building for themes and attractions at the house of mouse in Anaheim, but lately finds herself drawn to fine arts projects at her studio in Orcutt. As hard as she tries to leave the wide-eyed friendly animals that skip around her mind, they still sneak out and onto her canvas.
“Landscapes are gorgeous, and I would love to paint those,” Thomas said. “But I think those characters are still coming out of me. Even in the fine arts realm.”
That realm is where Thomas, who teaches part time in the fine arts department at Allan Hancock College, has a new show at the Valley Arts Gallery running through March 31. Wild Things, They Make My Heart Sing features work from the artist that embraces her whimsical side, giving in to those precocious creatures that have haunted her imagination for decades. Thomas, who calls herself a “long time geek girl before it was fashionable,” said she isn’t shy about embracing the cute or silly beings that have taken her through a long and vibrant career, which started out where a lot of young animators dream of being—Disney.
Armed with her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Thomas started out of school as a designer and illustrator for Walt Disney Imagineering, the arm of the company that “dreams up, designs, and builds all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions, cruise ships, real estate developments, and regional entertainment venues worldwide,” according to the company’s website.
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“Originally, I wanted to get in with the animation department,” Thomas explained. “But I got a job with imagineering in the silk-screening department making posters and things like that for the park. I ended up doing a lot of graphics, illustration, and themed design. I loved it so much I never made it over to the animation side of things.”
Thomas described the job as “world building,” working with a large team to contribute specific tasks and projects to large rides or attractions. During her stint as an Imagineer, Thomas worked on DinoLand USA, Animal Kingdom, The Mermaid Lagoon, and many others.
“It’s a unique job because you’re not creating a painting or a graphic design such as a logo,” she explained. “You are building a new world. It involves a lot of people. On one team you might have a designer, an illustrator, an architect, a ride developer. … It’s your job to create all those elements so when people walk in they believe they are in Raiders of the Lost Ark or something like that.”
In 1996, Thomas and her family moved to Orcutt to raise her children. While she worked remotely for the company, she also became active in the community, teaching art classes for Art Fund, based in Santa Barbara, which offers free classes to students from North County who are high school age. She is also involved with Arts Alive, which offers free arts classes to local children, and the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation, previously as a board member and now as a volunteer. Thomas is a longtime member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and also serves on the board in SCBWI-CenCal region, helping to organize events for emerging and established illustrators in the organization.
With a small studio in Orcutt, Thomas said she has a lot of time to explore the more adventurous parts of her imagination that still pulls her back to her days at Disney creating new lands to entertain guests. Her work is distinctively playful; it follows the path of lighthearted animation but never comes off as cartoonish or immature. There is a bold sweetness to her work, which seems right at home in the spaces at Valley Arts Gallery.
Thomas said her work is about respecting the animals humans share the Earth with and emphasizing good stewardship alongside them. She said as an artist, she is always looking to grow within the familiar topics she embraces.
“As artists we have a need to push ourselves and try new things, techniques and even new genres of art, to find our voice,” Thomas said. “Discovering what flows out of us creatively can be a lifelong journey.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose just imagineered herself a big slice of cheesecake. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.