Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Elizabeth Knox.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
When I was three years old, my mom enrolled me in ballet classes at a small studio in my hometown of Fort Smith, Arkansas. At age ten, I started attending summer programs every year in places from Kansas City to New York City. For two years in junior high, my mom drove me back and forth to Tulsa, Oklahoma (two hours each way) nearly every day so that I could train with Tulsa Ballet, the closest professional ballet school, and at age 15, I attended Walnut Hill, a performing arts boarding high school in Natick, Massachusetts.
When I was accepted into Houston Ballet’s year-round program, I moved to Houston and finished my senior year of high school online. The following year, I was offered a job with Tulsa Ballet, where I was a professional ballet dancer for four years. I continued my college education in the evenings and during the summer months, and in my last two years of dancing, I started photographing rehearsals that I wasn’t involved in. When I decided that I was ready for a change, I moved back to Boston to study journalism with a concentration in photojournalism at Boston University. I absolutely love Boston, but it’s too cold, and I wanted to be closer to family – my mom, dad, three brothers, a sister and two sisters-in-law. (Now, there are two nephews as well with two more baby boys on the way!) So after graduating, I lived in Birmingham, Alabama for a short while, working for the Exceptional Foundation, a nonprofit for people with special needs, and freelancing for a few publications. Although I enjoyed the city, I quickly realized it wasn’t big enough for what I wanted to do, and I decided to move to Houston, a place that has allowed me to combine all of my passions – writing, photography, and ballet – into one career.
Please tell us about your art.
I am a freelance journalist and photographer, and I also teach adult ballet classes at Houston Ballet and METdance. I pitch stories to and write for a variety of publications, such as Modern Luxury’s Houston Magazine, Arts+Culture Texas and Southern Automotive Alliance Magazine. I contribute regularly to the arts section of the Houston Chronicle, previewing classical music concerts in the area, and for a few years, I’ve previewed dance performances for The ARTery, the arts website for Boston’s NPR news station.
I photograph rehearsals for Houston Ballet, all types of events for a few different event planners, and local businesses for Main Street Hub, a social media marketing company based in Austin.
Whether I’m typing away on my computer or looking through my lens, my goal remains the same. I strive to accurately capture people’s stories,and to portray them and their mission to the best of my ability. I particularly enjoy sharing stories of those who are making a difference in their communities, using their talent in their own way for a better good. In the last few months, I’ve written profiles on heroes of Hurricane Harvey for the Houston Chronicle, as well as a feature about Camp For All, a barrier-free facility for children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs in Burton, Texas. My job allows me to meet so many unique individuals, sometimes face-to-face and sometimes over the phone. Regardless, I love learning about and being inspired by their passion. Photography-wise, I aspire to show this same realness, capturing the raw emotion of a single, fleeting moment.
Last February, I went on my first mission trip to Guatemala with my hometown church, an experience that only further ignited my love for people, other cultures, travel, and charity work. For this reason, I hope to incorporate more humanitarian photography into my career in the coming years.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
For me in particular, and I believe this relates to all artists as well as any type of entrepreneur, it’s been a challenge to find the right balance in my life as my own boss – the artistically fulfilling work alongside the business responsibilities – while also having time for myself. I’m a perfectionist (a personality trait that has outlived my life as a ballet dancer), and although it has worked to my benefit in regards to motivation, it can be hard to put everything away and simply enjoy life when there is always something else I can be working on!
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My website (lawrenceelizabeth.com) and my Instagram (@lawrenceeliz). People may reach me through my site to inquire about my services as a photographer or to send story ideas that I might be able to pitch to my editors.
My work has been published in the Houston Chronicle, Southern Automotive Alliance Magazine, WBUR’s The ARTery, Texas Monthly online, Dance Magazine, Modern Luxury’s HOUSTON Magazine, Modern Luxury’s Weddings Houston Magazine, Entertainment Fort Smith, Houston Press, Arts+Culture Texas, CURE Magazine, Dance Source Houston’s The Dance DiSH, PaperCity Magazine, Good Grit Magazine and Weld for Birmingham.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lawrenceelizabeth.com
- Phone: (479) 739-4441
- Email: contact@lawrenceelizabeth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawrenceeliz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceEliz/
Image Credit:
Portrait by Francis Nichelson
All other images by Lawrence Elizabeth Knox
Image 1 & 2 – Mary Beth Events
Image 3 – Dancer Allison Miller, courtesy of Houston Ballet
Image 7 – Little Coterie
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
