MY PROCESS
Hello dear ones.
I wanted to write to you today and share about all my projects and why I am doing them. I sometimes feel as though I am not communicating that clearly on IG and wanted to take the time to attempt to do so here. I say attempt because so much of what happens in these containers defies LANGUAGE. THATS WHY I AM AN ARTIST>>>I NEED OTHER WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE THINGS WORDS LIMIT.
PASSION and PURPOSE. This is my THEME for the year. These two words came to me in meditation. Meditation is a place where I receive most of my ideas. Dropping into my intuition and listening. When I received these two words I felt very clear that this was the year for me to really hone into WHAT I want to offer the community I inhabit. I think a lot about the world at large and how I would like for it to be and ask of myself, “is there a small way I could contribute to that goal?” You know, create what I want to see in the world…
My contribution would be to create spaces to facilitate classes and teach others about my process. My process is and always has been an intuitive process followed by action. This process is not OUTCOME driven. The process is setting an intention and opening myself up to follow my intuition one step at a time and allow for the Great Mystery to unfold. It’s like walking with God, I suppose. This is a way of life. I realize I developed these skills as a child and have relying upon them and refined them as I have gotten older.
I decided to begin “INNER VIEWS” (every Friday at noon on IG LIVE) out of a desire to:
1) listen to ARTIST tell their story and promote them. I ONLY buy art from ARTIST’s I know and I try to BUY DIRECTLY FROM THEM. I wanted to expose artists I love that I think are doing really cool and interesting work in the world AMPLIFYING their voice and work.
2) I am deeply curious about how other artists create, their process and WHY they create what they do.
3) most artists are isolated and I wanted to create more community and collaboration
4) Educate others about ARTISTS and CREATIVES and how we operate in the world.
“INNER VIEWS” was an idea that I had and just went and did the damn thing. What will become of it? I have no idea…this is the mystery and faith part. Sometimes there is no way for me to ever know why I am doing this thing. After years of practice I do know this…it is a stepping stone into the BIGGER PICTURE. It may not make sense to me now…but in 10 years I’ll be able to look back and understand it better. And that is true of all of my “fails” and “successes”. One thing leads to another.
“Studio Sessions” is an offering that I would like to do monthly as a community offering. It will give people THE EXPERIENCE of my process and practices.My other intentions behind is to create the thing I WANTED when I began painting. Which was a to learn from other intuitive artists. There wasn’t anything like that in GEORGIA. I had to travel to NYC, CALIFORNIA and PORTLAND. These places had communities and artists who had what I wanted…
I studied with SABRINA WARD HARRISON in NYC.
FLORA BOWLEY in Portland, OR.
ORLY AVINERI in California.
JENNIFER MERCEDE in NYC.
There were more ( Discussed in previous entry)…I appreciate deeply that these women created spaces that I so desperately desired and needed to learn from. I am an EXPERIENCIAL LEARNER. I have to BE in IT. They provided containers for me that nourished my SOUL. THIS IS SOUL WORK. It is special. These women really go out of their way to give back to others. Each one of them lives in my work today. I am deeply grateful for what they gave me.
A BIG PART of my wanting to create this IN PERSON communal experience is WE NEED TO BE WITH PEOPLE. These spaces create connection that you can’t get at a dinner party. You have the opportunity to support and be supported. It creates a ripple effect in your life. Stepping outside of your day to day ROUTINE creates DISRUPTION. Makes room for change. Creates ACCOUNTABILITY to your creative self. Gives that part of you a place to be nourished and nurtured.
The tricky thing about an offering like this is that it is difficult to describe with words what these containers provide. Each one has it’s own “FLAVOR”. They are a work of art unfolding in real time and each person that shows up will have a part in the creation of the experience. I just CREATE THE CONTAINER. It is like cooking and each participant is an ingredient.Together we make a dish that will nourish us all. It requires an open heart and mind. COURAGEOUS WILLINGNESS and not to limit yourself by being outcome based. It is present MOMENT/CHOICE based.
What we collectively accomplish in these containers plants seeds. These seeds will grow if they are tended to AFTER.
I have to speak about them in metaphor because these processes are complex and unknown. RICK RUBIN has come the closest to being able to describe it in his book, “The Creative Act: A WAY OF BEING”. I highly recommend this book. It is my creative Bible.
I am also planning to have a course called, “ THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY”. This will be a cohort offering. I will take 8 women through a process that lasts a year. We will meet every season to journey together through specific process that ties together NATURE AND CREATIVITY. The teacher is NATURE. We open ourselves to commune and learn from the seasons. I did a BETA offering recently and it was BEYOND my WILDEST dreams good. This offering was created in an effort to HONOR our natural world and REMEMBER our NATURE. WE ARE NATURE. I want to facilitate a space for women to commune with their WILDNESS. This is my call to ACTION in a world going more and more into AI. I am going hard in the other direction. BACK TO NATURE. I will Have more information coming about this offering to be launched FALL 2025.
That’s all for now.
I have one spot left for “STUDIO SESSIONS” this Saturday 2-24-24 from 11-130. Message me to claim it!
Much LOVE!
L E S L I E