Laura Shape
Denver, Colorado
LauraShape.com | Laura@LauraShape.com
Awards & Recognition
2025
Artist of the Year, The International SeaKeepers Society
2023
Juror’s Award, Breaking Ground: Art about the Earth, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in association with the Smithsonian Institution, Solomons, Maryland
Selected Exhibitions
2025
Under the Sea, Moku Art Studio, endorsed by UNESCO’s United Nations Ocean Decade
2023
Wild Muse: Animals in Art, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in association with the Smithsonian Institution, Solomons, Maryland
Breaking Ground: Art about the Earth, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in association with the Smithsonian Institution, Solomons, Maryland
Selected Commissions & Collaborations
2026
Artist collaboration with Island Conservation connecting original artwork sales with invasive-species removal
2025
Commissioned award artworks and live painting activation, The International SeaKeepers Society Founders Event, Pier Sixty-Six, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; award artworks honored SeaKeeper of the Year Jimmy Buffett and NextGen Awardee Emily Cunningham, MBE
Selected Talks & Public Engagements
2026
Presenter, Asian Carp Industry Chain Forum, Two Rivers Fisheries, Paducah, Kentucky
2025
Presenter, 11th World Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER2025), Society for Ecological Restoration, Denver, Colorado
Selected Press & Media
2026
“Laura Shape,” WHAT Women Create, Fall 2026
“Denver Creator Makes Art From the Skins of Invasive Species,” Westword, March 9, 2026
Heroes of EarthX, network interstitial programming and artist interview, EarthX Media
2025
“Making Art with Pythons and Lionfish,” Nautilus, October 10, 2025
“Transforming Invasive Species Into Powerful Works of Art,” Denver Life Magazine, October 1, 2025
“This painting uses leather from an invasive Burmese python,” Popular Science, August 1, 2025
“Catalyst Through Craft: The Transformative Art of Laura Shape,” Whitehot Magazine, July 28, 2025
“Art with Impact: How Laura Shape is Turning Invasive Species into Fine Art,” The Scout Guide, July 2025
“This Denver Artist Creates Paintings Using Invasive Species,” 5280, July 8, 2025
Collections
Paintings held in private collections in California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Washington, and the United Kingdom.
Education
1988–1992
Studies in art and design, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York