by Julia Hall
If you spent time at the Lake Lure Arts and Crafts Festival in October, you probably met Laura Krejci and enjoyed beautiful and tasty treats from her kitchen. At each event, Laura provides an array of cakes and cookies to benefit the Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach Center’s Food for Kids program. A talented painter as well, Laura especially enjoys creating beautiful works of art from food.
Laura grew up in Georgia near, significantly, both sets of grandparents. She later lived in the South Carolina midlands. After graduating from University of South Carolina with a master’s in social work, she worked for many years for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Columbia, South Carolina, then in Southeast Network in Atlanta, and out of Washington, DC during the last several years of her tenure.
Laura and her husband Richard moved to Lake Lure in 2017 when he retired from teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina. Growing up in the foothills of Pickens, Richard always looked towards the mountains and thought “…someday I will live there.” When Laura and Richard began planning in earnest to move to the mountains, they found the Lake Lure area and immediately felt at home. They built a home on Bills Mountain, with Richard enjoying the rewards of retirement, while Laura continued to travel all over the country for the Department of Veterans Affairs. When weekly trips to Charlotte-Douglas Airport became tiresome, Laura decided to retire as well.
Laura decided to take on a “part-time job” with the Town of Lake Lure as the Communications Director to get involved in the community. Hurricane Helene put a whole new perspective on that assignment. She now handles event planning and some grant writing as well.
“I have always loved art and any creative outlet. I enjoy writing and creating beautiful things through flower arrangements, tablescapes, crafts, and decorating.
“As a painter I primarily work in acrylics, but in the future, I would like to learn more about watercolors. Whether painting or cake decorating, finding the right time to call the project “complete” might be the biggest challenge, as I am always trying to make it better.”
“Once I learned to bake, my love of both art and cooking began merging through the culinary arts. I began creating beauty with frosting and chocolate, ultimately painting on cakes and sculpting flowers and foliage with frosting.”
Laura said she was inspired and encouraged by her mother and grandparents to pursue her love of both art and baking.
“My father’s mother, whom we called ‘Buddy’, loved everything beautiful. A very creative person, she painted, arranged flowers, and decorated a charming home. My paternal grandfather was an engineer who painted as a hobby but became an accomplished artist in various media: acrylics, oils and watercolors.
“My mother, Valerie, is a wonderful cook and her mother, my Grandmother Shirley, who grew up in New Orleans, was an exceptional baker. For her, everything was a celebration. Food was central to bringing people together, for community, for family.” As a girl, I spent a lot of time with her cooking, and often we would take food to her friends and people who were ill or just not able to get out of their homes. “
When asked, Laura says her favorite recipe is her grandmother’s chocolate pound cake. It is moist and very chocolaty, but best of all for a baker, a reliable recipe. Much appreciated at family gatherings, it always brings back fond memories of her beloved grandmother, Shirl Girl. For Laura, this joy is her reward when baking for friends and family.
Though she often bakes desserts, Laura prefers savory dishes, her favorite being an old southern specialty: cheese straws. Piped out with a cookie press, they can be finicky, she says. Getting them timed to come out of the oven at just the right moment to be crispy is a challenge.
Laura wants to learn more about meringues and chocolates, and she is intrigued by a recipe for flower-shaped marshmallows. Of course, they would appeal to Laura – both beautiful and delicious.
An active member of the Lake Lure Artists (LLA) group, Laura said, “What I love about the group is that they are supportive of artists at all levels and have an appreciation for all art forms. Lake Lure artists are always learning and sharing techniques with each other and genuinely support each other’s work and growth.”
The LLA meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 9:30 am, usually at the Church of the Transfiguration in Bat Cave. Full and part-time residents of the area are always welcome. Please email artistslakelure@gmail.com to check on meeting location and agenda and to sign up to receive the newsletter.
