Rarabird
aka. Laura Harper – Torrance, California, United States
“Rarabird” (Laura Harper) is a Native Floridian who now resides and survives as a professional artist in Southern California.
Laura signs her acrylic paintings “RARABIRD,” a variation on “Laurabird,” which is her childhood nickname, given by her father.
She relocated to Los Angeles to work at Disneyland when the Enchanted Tikiroom and the Jungle Cruise were slated to be rehabbed for the 50th Anniversary celebrations. Eventually, she became the propmaster and display designer for Adventureland in Disneyland’s “Decorating and Resort Enhancement” department, her favorite job she ever had. Laura’s final Disney project was as scenic artist for the Millennium Falcon ride in 2019.
Since the rise of the popularity of “Tiki Culture” grew steadily in SoCal from the early 2000s (right when she arrived in California), Laura has been making paintings and creating hair flower crafts for the growing amounts of tiki marketplaces and art shows in LA for 20 years. Ever since leaving Disney, she went full-throttle in her own art business, dedicating her whole life to the Tiki community. These days she travels across the country and vends her arts at Tiki conventions all year long, both local and nationwide. She also participates in Tiki art shows and has paintings in galleries on the Big Island of Hawaii. The main thread of her more serious Tiki painting themes involve a nod to the artwork and spiritual symbolism of the Tarot card deck. She also gets inspiration from the suggested themes of the various Tiki art shows throughout the year. Sometimes her paintings stem from kooky ideas that pop into her head and have no theme but to be fun tiki stuff…especially anything to do with Disney’s Enchanted Tikiroom, which still holds a special cool, dark, air-conditioned place in her heart. Laura also designs Tiki bar menus (like the one for Forbidden Cove in San Diego). Paints magazine covers (Exotica Moderne Magaxine, paints ads for Tiki bars, decorates Tiki Airbnb’s (like the Kondo-Tiki in Tampa, FL) creates high-end hair flowers for Tiki fashions and coordinates art shows and marketplaces for the local tiki community. She has one Tiki mug design completed (a mug based on Tattoo from the old television series, Fantasy Island), but more mug designs are on the way.
