Carol Lara Pictures Small Businesses Through Her Art in Illinois

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Carol Lara is an award-winning photographer, visual artisan, and creative small business owner based in Alton, Illinois. She is the founder of Carol Lara Creative Studios and Alton Art Revival.

Photography found Lara thirteen years ago through a simple idea — she wanted to photograph the handmade artwork she was already making. It evolved from there into portrait photography, then into something larger. She comes from a family of hardworking small business owners, and that spirit shaped her early. Dance and movement became her photographic passion: her studio is known as a collaborative, inspiring space where dancers and movement artists can express themselves freely. But the studio is only half the story.

Alton Art Revival—her art supply thrift store and community art studio, housed in the same space—is built on the belief that creativity should be affordable, sustainable, and accessible to everyone. She hosts classes, workshops, and art events that bring people together across the St. Louis and Illinois communities she serves.

Lara is currently based in Alton, where both Carol Lara Creative Studios and Alton Art Revival remain open to the community.

Silver Lining commissioned this work from Carol Lara as part of the small.artists Fotografía series, supported by Wells Fargo.