Laura Cesari - Fantasy Deco Drawings and Prints

Woman in the Moon, handmade block print.

Carving the print block for Microcosm.

Original drawing for Pegasus, next to the print block.

The relief block printing process, printing Harvest Dryad in 2020.

Ink detail of Centaurs. Hand-printing allows each print to be unique, no two are alike!

Fabulous Wallflowers Ink Print Series

Plants, animals, and human forms entwine and coexist in a world of decorative fantastical beings.

Carved and printed by hand, from my original drawings, each of these prints has a unique ink blend and texture. I print in small runs, outside on sunny days, and the prints are signed, dated, and numbered.

You can find handmade limited-edition prints, as well as clothing and accessories with my art, at my shop:
Caballera.com.

Inspired by ornamental arts, folklore, archetype, and nature, these images represent the unity, harmony, and balance of living things.

I love making my own original lines; reflecting on the themes I've seen and felt as a 5th-generation Californian artist: I'm an especially big fan of Cali's folk arts evolution from our early-1900's Art Deco to our 1960's-70's Psychedelic Art Nouveau resurgence, and motifs inspired by my roots in the Mediterranean, Himalayas, and South America.

In hybridizing these elements, I've made my own unique multifaceted dreamworld of mythical numinae; in surreal nature-inspired landscapes, they show a harmony and connection between humans, animals, plants, and the Universe.

We grow up on tales of mermaids, angels, dragons, and fairies, and we accept these mythical creatures with a sense of imaginative childlike wonder. I hope my hybrid beings and multicultural deco drawings can inspire people to think inclusively and love each others' differences in the same way that we love mermaids, angels, dragons, and fairies. ♥

See what's available now and buy original ink prints at Caballera.com.

2019, in my home in the Pacific Coast Mountains, with Antelope Woman Quilt, an old favorite piece I made in 1998 in a class with legendary artist Faith Ringgold.

Arts and Crafts in Fine Art

One of my first Fabulous Wallflowers was a textile work, Antelope Woman Quilt, an old favorite piece I made in 1998 in a class with legendary quilt artist Faith Ringgold.

People like to argue and wonder where we draw the line between fine arts and crafts. I barely see any difference, as long as someone is making the world beautiful in some way, or at least making people think for a moment.

Of course, it's easy for me to say, since there isn't really another word for "someone who draws things". But plenty of my family have been artists of many different types: stained glass workers, stone workers, terrazzo designers, winemakers, and fashion designers all seem like artists to me. My grandmother and great-grandmother had a badass ravioli company: were they not artists? I like to remind myself that there might be more people out there than we think who are trying to make the world beautiful.