Jigsaw Linocuts and Rainbow Rolls

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I realized I haven’t done a blog post in a long time!!

2021 has been extra rough in our home. It started with getting sick with Covid in January and for the last couple months we’ve been in an extremely difficult time with my son (who is now 20 and still profoundly affected by autism among other things).
The good news is my art is my sanity so I’ve constantly been producing new work! Here’s a little taste….

Strange times but art continues!!!

November and December are usually a very busy time for me with my art and even in the times of Covid it still is.

I am a part of the current featured show at Columbia city gallery, “Not on Mute”. The gallery is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 5:00 and other days by appointment.
I have also just delivered art to Tsuga in Bothell, Art Gallery of Sno Valley in Snoqualmie and Gallery One in Ellensburg.

In addition to constantly making my own art I have gone back to teaching at Pratt after 7 months where everyone was figuring out how we do this.
I have taught a four week virtual class as well as a one day workshop. There is a learning curve but I’m really getting the hang of it since this will probably be the way art is taught for the for seeable future.
Pratt is launching an online art store just in time for the holidays. Not only will I have a page for selling my art but Trevor will have a page to sell his tote bags and cards this way. Link coming soon!

Stay well everyone!
Keep masks on, wash hands, be kind and Happy Holidays! Much Love! Leslie

Colors in the Sky

Some of my latest art. Jigsaw linocuts with rainbow roll inking for the sky.

Drawing, carving, inking, printing…

Great ART Events coming up!

On display now at Columbia City Gallery in the Featured Artist Exhibition Space:  The Paths We Travel.  The exhibition is up through January 5, 2020

I am honored to share the walls with the incredibly talented Eliaichi Kimaro and Kamla Kakaria!

In addition to the Featured Artist show there is a phenomenal Ceramics exhibition and other terrific art in the back gallery space.   

Also coming up is the 15th annual (and sadly FINAL!) South Park Arts AMAZING event, Art Under $100!  Saturday November 30th from 2-8 at the Seattle Design Center!

For those not in the Seattle area you can find my art at:

Pioneer Cafe (North Bend WA), Art Gallery of Sno Valley (Snoqualmie WA), Gallery One (Ellensburg WA), Tsuga Fine Art (Bothell WA) and DragonFire Gallery (Cannon Beach, OR)

Welcome to Holland (a message for Special Needs Parents)

In 1987 writer Emily Perl Kingsley wrote a poem/essay titled “Welcome to Holland”. When you have a child with special needs is a pretty safe bet someone will send you it (and you’ll cry uncontrollably!).

My son Trevor is profoundly effected by Autism and turned 18 years old last February.  People warned me that this milestone would be especially difficult in every way and it was!   Navigating the services (or total lack of) once my son became an “adult” has brought me to tears and feeling of hopelessness on many occasions.  And yet… we move forward.  My art is my therapy so doing what I do best, I grabbed a piece of linoleum and my carving tools to create my own “Welcome to Holland” piece of art.  Here’s the poem I was sent all those years ago (and have then sent on to other new special needs parents) ….
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like you’re planning a vacation to Italy. You’re all excited. You get a whole bunch of guidebooks, you learn a few phrases so you can get around, and then it comes time to pack your bags and head for the airport.

Only when you land, the stewardess says, ‘WELCOME TO HOLLAND.”
You look at one another in disbelief and shock, saying, “HOLLAND? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I SIGNED UP FOR ITALY.”
But they explain that there’s been a change of plan, that you’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

“BUT I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HOLLAND!” you say. ‘I DON’T WANT TO STAY!”
But stay you do. You go out and buy some new guidebooks, you learn some new phrases, and you meet people you never knew existed. The important thing is that you are not in a bad place filled with despair. You’re simply in a different place than you had planned. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy, but after you’ve been there a little while and you have a chance to catch your breath, you begin to discover that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. Holland has Rembrandts.
But everyone else you know is busy coming and going from Italy. They’re all bragging about what a great time they had there, and for the rest of your life, you’ll say, “YES, THAT’S WHAT I HAD PLANNED.”
The pain of that will never go away. You have to accept that pain, because the loss of that dream, the loss of that plan, is a very, very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to go to Italy, you will never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

More Teredo Clam wood framed woodcuts

These are a lot of work from cutting down, sanding and making the frames to drawing, carving, painting and then inking up the woodblocks.  I really enjoy making them!

UPDATE!!!!!! Look for this body of work at DragonFire Gallery in Cannon Beach OR!!!!! Honored to have my woodcarvings at such a wonderful gallery!

 

 

Blog absence but still making art!!!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts but at least I never stop making art!  Things have been a bit rough emotionally since Trevor turned 18 (like how I spent 4 hours AGAIN this morning at social security office with zero results)

Thankfully my art is here to fill my cup up as the stress of life drains it

Much love to all!

More New Seattle Themed Art

Here are some more linocuts from my latest series… SEATTLE