Later, Lawson returned to the United States, and soon became part of an underground art culture in New Orleans that included working in tattoo, T-shirt and mural designs.
The items he has covered with intricate bead work include mannequins, pianos, and drums, as well as a fifty-three-foot-long bar top at the Audubon Hotel.
He and his wife, Aimee (who is the cousin of author Andre Dubus III), lost their home and his adjacent art studio to the storm.
[5] Before Hurricane Katrina, Lawson’s primary medium were his trade mark Mardi Gras beads, picked up from the streets on mornings after the parades and parties New Orleans is famous for.
The LA Times wrote of the movie: "Cleverly juxtaposes the apex of American bacchanalian excess with the sweatshop-like conditions that facilitate the fun."