Portfolio

you're gay, girl (2024)

paris; september (2022)

accumulate (2022)

by a single thread (2020)

can we talk? (2022)

i'm ready now (2019)

time is irrelevant (2021)

mirrors for us (2022)

intimate+vast (2023)

narcissus (2019)

think+drink (2022)

sneak-peek (2017)

underdone (2022)

washington square where (2022)

we can't settle (2020)

mantra (2021)
tarot who (2019)
lara’s tarot
My take on the tarot deck really began as a way for me to grieve by counting my blessings; to map out my community and give them their flowers while we’re all here together. I love ritual and romance, and wanted to make the experiences that shaped me and the people who love me into something really sacred and deeply personal. As I’ve grown into my queerness, I’ve found comfort in referencing the “almost witchcraft” my babcias practiced - herbal remedies, the laying of hands, prayer card altars. I’ve found tarot to be magic because it’s an alternate way of looking at big questions - the same way I view creating artwork as an abolitionist practice because it informs dreaming of something better and more tender than what we have now. I see tarot as a tool to hold that tenderness and help guide through challenges.
I wanted my deck to be visually legible to a tarot card reader with familiar motifs and figures, but have an element of my own vulnerability. Each card references a photo of a person or event in my life that is truly significant, and deserves to be honored. I chose to complete this newest series, the suit of cups, because cups symbolize the emotions, desire, and the inner self. This an extreme exercise in vulnerability and wearing my heart on my sleeve.

lara's tarot: ii of cups (2024) | when your cup is empty, i pour from mine to replenish yours. BH, our bond spans years, eras of our lives. a partner in all, it is a joy to intertwine my life with yours, and you with mine.

lara's tarot: iii of cups (2024) | my life is full of queer joy! AO & IS, every gathering together is a holiday, a cause for celebration, an invention of a space to live and thrive. i am always in good company.

lara's tarot: iv of cups (2024) | a wake up call, Lar, you need to take a second look. your apathy has clouded your ability to feel gratitude. maybe this is more than a passing mood? why do you always think you must process the violence as it happens to you? you cannot reflect if you do not survive.

lara's tarot: v of cups (2023) | pick up the pieces, and move forward. LK, what is done is done. there is sureness in finality. opportunities are always above; but every open bottle is not yours to drink from. your cup runneth over with all that is to come.

lara's tarot: vi of cups (2024) | when you came home, BH, it was a dream coming full circle. nostalgia for the past put you right where you were meant to be - within arm’s reach. there is warmth and safety in the familiar, but don’t get caught up in the past.

lara's tarot: vii of cups (2024) | OB, take care in making your choices. you have options, but weigh your dreams against reality in your search for purpose. your search for purpose could be right under your nose; seek guidance from those who listen but don’t speak.

lara's tarot: viii of cups (2024) | you choose to turn away from what no longer serves you, of your own volition. AB, it is never easy, i wish it was. i promise the release will lead you in the right direction - stepping away from the familiar will serve you well.

lara's tarot: ix of cups (2024) | let yourself desire! Lar, detach an expectation of the outcome from the desire and just enjoy the pleasure. indulge, but don’t overdo it. the wish you have is granted.

lara's tarot: x of cups (2024) | i’ve been choosing my family my whole life - NL, AO, RD, BC, how safe and protected i am in your embrace, under your guidance.

lara's tarot: page of cups (2024) | something new enters into your life. JL, your ambition knows no bounds. align your goals with your values - you finish what others start, but what do you want to start? you make everything seem possible.

lara's tarot: knight of cups (2024) | LW, god made the sun to shine upon your skin. a hopeful romantic, you must lead with your heart - everyone you meet is captivated by your grace. you love like it’s worth the risk; with me, it always is.

lara's tarot: queen of cups (2024) | one of the greatest comforts is to be loved by you. AB, you nurture those around you with a compassion and tenderness that could replenish anyone. remember to let yourself receive that tenderness in turn.

lara's tarot: king of cups (2024) | accepting of your emotions, JV, i drink from the cup of your wisdom. balance logic with the romance you seek - you’ve taught me as much. you hold all the answers within; no matter how hard you must work, make sure it is for something you love.

lara's tarot: the lovers (2023) | be secure in the knowledge that the choice you made was right. AB, you are my gemini; a glass of wine, a perfectly ripe strawberry. in a past life, we would have been lovers, resigned to the daily heartbeat of contented domesticity.

lara's tarot: temperance (2023) | you will encounter what it is you need at precisely the time you need it. negotiate to get what you deserve without surrendering to the desires of others. you can find harmony, you have found it. you will find it again.

lara's tarot: the empress (2023) | nurture all that you are, so you will become all that you are meant to be. Lar, you govern your own world. your life overflows with abundance. you nurture all around you. what if you let someone else be your sanctuary?

lara's tarot: the tower (2023) | change, no matter how abrupt, will bring you new opportunities and a fresh start. the choices you made were necessary, if not...volatile. things must fall apart in order to fall back together. weather you feel ready or not.

lara's tarot: the world (2023) | what if the journey itself is actually the goal? what if all this time, you have always been moving closer to who you really are? what if you have overcome your limits? what if it all works out? find the sweetness of victory - taste the ripened melon, dip your feet in the sea.

lara's tarot: the magician (2023) | you have the power, the very magic to change your life within you. M, mercury itself glides through you. listen to the wisdom of your body, your dreams are within reach, just as the squash rises from the earth to touch the sun. you are made of magic.

lara's tarot: the emperor (2024) | ever drawn to order, OB, you make it all make sense. you create opportunity everywhere you go, basking in the benefits that are well deserved. go after what you want, you already know what it is.

lara's tarot: the fool (2024) | MM, meeting you was my fresh start. you teach me to be a fool more frequently, that feeling the sorrow leads to more joy, that life is a foolish, senseless journey, but made worth living by sharing joy. a sorrow shared is half the sorrow, but joy shared is double the joy.

lara's tarot: the sun (2024) | the warmth with you is palpable, RB. you are the sun on my back after a long winter, the heat of the sand beneath my feet, the rays filtering through the sky at dusk. your warmth is a portal, a space to enhance and welcome love in with open arms.

lara's tarot: ace of cups (2024) | lar, too long you have avoided your heart. the love you have extends to your community; why would you ever think you must water it down? any love you give is theirs to keep; delight in the knowledge that grief is proof you loved well.
Commissions

for AH - 27 pages (2025)

emily + ian (2023)

three of swords, reversed (2023)