Laura Drake

July 31, 2022 – October 30, 1953

Laura Drake, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Purdue University, passed away on July 31, 2022 following complications from a bone marrow transplant received earlier this summer and a long struggle with cancer.

She was born on October 30, 1953 in Bellaire, Michigan, the second of five children of Mary and Allen Johnson.

Mrs. Drake was a 1972 graduate of Crawfordsville High School. She held a BA degree from Herron School of Art, IUPUI, an MFA degree from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and an MA from Purdue University.

Her career spanned more than four decades. Her early work in small sculptures using telephone wire and papier-mâché spawned an interest in sculptural furniture design while in New York. She exhibited often at Art et Industrie starting in the early 1980’s as a solo artist and in collaborative pieces with her first husband Terence Main as Main + Main.

Returning to the Midwest in her late 20’s where she met and married her second husband, Kevin Drake, Mrs. Drake pursued an interest in casting metals and a degree at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. In the early 1990’s she began teaching at Purdue in the School of Design and found an environment that supported her interest in making beautiful objects and teaching students.

Over the years, she worked with hundreds of design students and often traveled throughout the world with them to shows and exhibitions. Mrs. Drake took great joy in her student’s accomplishments both at Purdue and, later, as they launched and grew their own careers in the field of design.

Her recent exhibitions include the Yodex Exhibit in Taipei, Taiwan; the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, NY; the Neocon World’s Trade Fair at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago; BECA Gallery in New Orleans, LA; the Fine Furnishings Show in Milwaukee, WI; and exhibits affiliated with the Chicago Furniture Designers Association. Mrs. Drake’s work which received numerous awards over the years is held in both private and public museum collections including a piece acquired in 1994 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Her curious mind, optimistic spirit and brave approach to life will be missed by family, friends, and colleagues who loved her. All we can think to say is “well, just keep sanding”.

Survivors include her husband Kevin Drake; daughter Courtney Bannister (Thomas); six grandchildren Ethan, Roslyn, Penelope, Olivia, Vivian and Kora; four siblings Allen Johnson (Rose) of Greenwood, Indiana, Nora Smith of Philomath, Oregon, Robert Johnson (Anita) of Jacksonville Beach, Florida and Rebecca Johnson (Neal Finkelstein) of New York, New York.

She was preceded in death by her parents; maternal grandparents Opal and Robert Early; and paternal grandparents Helen and Walter Johnson.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, October 29, 2022. Details to follow.

Memories of Laura can be shared at https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/LauraDrake/. Updates to plans for the memorial service will also be posted to this site.

Donations in memory of Laura may be made to the Reuff School of Design at Purdue, https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/rueffschool/index.html