At the turn of the millennium, I was inspired to create new sculptures based on the unlikely combination of my love of the beautiful colors of stained glass and the caged, industrial gabions found along roadways. I found some hardware cloth in a scrap pile at school, some colored glass gems and wire at home, and set about making my first sculpture. From that first sculpture, which featured green glass and was 7” x 11”, I have gone on to create sculptures in a rainbow array of colors and in sizes ranging from 2” x 2” to 2’ x 6’. Some of the sculptures are flat, some are cubed, and I have incorporated mirrors, letters, and charms into others.

I have been collaging since a young age, but it was as a preteen that collage really took a hold of my soul. I would eagerly anticipate cutting up the latest fashion magazines for collage material. In my late teens I began incorporating vintage images and ephemera. I have always found the act of cutting out images from magazines and ephemera to be meditative. Pulling from my massive collection of new and vintage ephemera, I create collages that point to the absurdities and injustices of our world, as well as collages that are purely about beauty and aesthetics.

For the majority of my adult life, one of my main focuses has been on vintage. I have owned vintage clothing stores in Portland, set up at vintage shows, wrote blogs about vintage, produced a vintage map and guide of Portland with my husband, and have been featured in local, national, and international media. During this time I also set up with my art at First and Last Thursdays in Portland, ran the Portland Artist Trading Card group with my husband, and was represented by an art gallery in San Luis Obispo, California. With the recent upheavals of the world I have realized that I want to turn my focus to my art. I am excited to have this time in my home studio to explore new ideas and produce new creations.

Lulu Ludlum is a Portland, Oregon based sculpture and collage artist.