Time, Truth, and Other Immeasurables opens Fri, Sep 11. Image: L, 03 49 09.7, +24 03 12, 2017. Airbrushed pigment on canvas. Collection of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church History Museum.
Time, Truth, and Other Immeasurables opens Fri, Sep 11. Image: L, 03 49 09.7, +24 03 12, 2017. Airbrushed pigment on canvas. Collection of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church History Museum.
September 11, 2026–May 31, 2027
A few months ago, I saw somebody at work counting money, paper money! I realized that I don’t see that very much anymore. People use their phones and computers to pay for things. I realized how much I miss paper money, the feel of it, the different designs and artwork that is used to tell you how much the money is worth and what country it is from. This observation gave me the idea to make my own money using paper and watercolors and call it Creative Currency!
I did some research and found out that the first recorded paper money was made in China in the late 10th century which is the 990’s, 1,036 years ago. This paper money is called Jiaozi, and it was invented since it wasn’t as heavy as coin money made from iron and copper. Jiaozi was called “Flying Money” because it was so light it could fly away.
The paper used to make Jiaozi was from mulberry bark, I have used mulberry paper since I was in college forty years ago. At that time, I used mulberry paper for wood block printmaking. I love mulberry paper because it is soft and tough, almost like fabric. You can print on it, paint, collage, sew and twist it.
A United States dollar bill measures 6.14 x 2.61inches so I started cutting mulberry paper out in that size and decorating it. I imagined different types of money like “Mermaid Money”, “Mad Money”, “Smart Money” and “Milk Money” and painted those too. I thought about the idea that I could make “Flower Money” and pay for some flowers with it.
Now you can design, draw, and paint your own Creative Currency. Think about what you are creative at, you can be creative at anything, maybe it is math, writing a poem, playing an instrument, or planting a garden. Or maybe you have an idea for a type of money that could pay for something specific like a soccer ball or a pair of cowboy boots.
Supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, POPS (Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools), ZAP, Zions Bank, Salt Lake City Arts Council, Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, and Promontory Foundation
Laura Sharp Wilson was born in San Juan Puerto Rico in 1965. Two and a half years later her sister Elizabeth was born in Panama. Since Spanish is spoken in both Puerto Rico and Panama this was Laura’s first language. When the artist’s family moved back to New York and then New Jersey people were speaking English and Laura felt too self-conscious to speak Spanish. It is possible that she felt drawn to visual art making because it is a way to communicate without using verbal language.
As long as Laura remembers she has made art, when she saw what other people made, she wanted to make it too! When her grandparents took her to a puppet show that had hand painted posters of circus characters hanging in the lobby she made her own versions. Laura loved her weekly art class in school with Mr. Bradford. On the weekends her dad would drive her to a local art center for Saturday art classes with Mrs. Marzell. Lillian Marzell was a printmaker, she wore platform shoes, and a flower in her hair and always chewed gum. Mrs. Marzell taught Laura to be a creative, free spirit, she also taught her how to make a rainbow roll with printing ink and how to carefully use a big printing press.
Laura went to art school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for college…..the same school that the famous POP artist Andy Warhol went to. Warhol painted a Campbell’s soup can and said it was ART! In art school Laura learned to draw from life, mix oil paint, build stretchers, make wood block prints, weld, soldier and cast metal. She also learned to look slowly and ask questions.
Since then, Laura has had the opportunity to have so many great art adventures! These have included studying surface textile design and being an apprentice at the Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia. Her artwork has been shown all over the world including Amsterdam, Rome, Lyon, France and Doha, Qatar. In 2016 Laura designed the terrazzo floor for the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. In 2018 Laura got to have an artist residency at her favorite paint company Golden Artist Colors in upstate New York.
One of the best things Laura has done is the Artist in Residence at Huntsman Cancer Institute where she taught weekly art projects to patients, caregivers and staff. Currently Laura organizes and teachers Creative Aging workshops at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. This is the best job ever! Laura gets to be in a beautiful art museum and gets to encourage people who might be your grandparents age or are retired to be creative and sometimes make a mess in the process!