influences

It’s very important to me to understand and to communicate to those I work with that I am constantly in a state of learning. I want to take some space to thank some of the people who I have learned from and who continue to influence who I am.

First and always, the family I was born into: my mother, Laura Lawrie; my father, William Lawrie; and my sibling, Cailix Lawrie.

Just as important, the family I have chosen through my life: Sam Casagrande, Flint Green, Rowyn Peel, Josh Hartman, Emery Kerekes, Nick Slaggert, Ekin Ozturk, Aidan Rosa, Liz Cheung, Nick Cravens, Olly Manning, and many others whose names I will probably add later.

I want to put a space on this page for the people whose journeys have overlapped with mine for a time and who no longer walk the same road as me. Their names matter less than the lessons they taught me.

It would be remiss of me not to include artists whose work has deeply influenced and/or moved me here: Daniel Handler (pen name Lemony Snicket), Tamora Pierce, Lucy Dacus, Toni Morrison, Zuill Bailey, Salvador Dalí, Jon Curry, Stephen Balderston, Tamsyn Muir, Naomi Novik, Henriëtte Bosmans, Casey Crescenzo, and — again — many others whose names are simply slipping my mind at this moment.

Finally, I want to take this space to thank everyone who has taught me. Whether or not I learned what you were trying to teach me, I learned something valuable anyway. You have contributed in no small way to the person I am today.