Lori is somewhat new to the art world, starting with jewelry 10 years ago and joining Huachuca Art Association to display her bead art in 2016. Her mother Robin Lara and her aunt Patrice Plank are artists there as well.

Each piece starts out as a blank canvas and thousands of seed beads. Some pieces may have other 3-D touches or include other types of beads, and lately she has been making her bead art on one of a kind wood frames created by another artist in the association. She tends to do mainly landscapes, but is often moved to create a certain piece based on a 3d element. Such as the Verde Canyon Railroad she was inspired to make because of a broken zipper she pictured as train tracks or the San Pedro House she made because of the jewelry mesh she imagined as porch screens.

Another benefit of meeting so many talented artists in the HAA is all of the free advice and feedback you can get, especially on studio days where you can work on your project alongside other artists and learn. Some of the studio artists have 75+ years experience that they are always willing to share if you ask for it. Lori has really seen her artistic abilities grow because of this.

In March 2018 her San Pedro House bead art placed 3rd in the novice category in the San Pedro River Arts Council show in Benson.