It was the summer of 1994 when Laura Buxton hitchhiked alone through the Balkans. When she reached her destination, Mostar - formerly a great cultural crossroads, now cynically nicknamed the "Beirut of the Balkans" - her conscience and her purpose were not clear. Initially, she planned to execute a few sketches of the places and people she encountered, but she found herself extremely depressed by the human catastrophe. "I had to make a big decision," she later said. "Either I would give up the whole idea of painting-which I came very close to doing, because I didn't think I was able to paint anything of consequence-and offer myself full-time to a relief agency, or else just let myself feel selfish and go on and paint. I chose the painting." Unlike the mob of journalists, Buxton lived among the people. She painted for four months, leaving only when the cease-fire collapsed; she later returned for a second visit. Children thronged around her as if she were the Pied Piper. Soldiers on night patrol sat on pieces of wreckage and sipped coffee while they watched her paint. "To je slikarka!"--"It's the painter!" the people would call.
Whether one values these works most for their artistry, their lessons in history, or their wake-up call to aid one's fellow man, it is indeed fortunate that Laura Buxton resolved to stay and paint.
- ISBN10 0895872250
- ISBN13 9780895872258
- Publish Date April 2002
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint John F Blair Publisher
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 88
- Language English