Connection & Curiosity, Not Fear

Connection & Curiosity, Not Fear

My art does not speak directly to environmental crises, environmentalism, or even ecology. There is a lot of art that does and I’m not convinced of the efficacy of much of it to change minds or to offer a new perspective, let alone to initiate action. There is only so much crisis one can take. I know this from experience.
I choose a different approach with my work.

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Science Curious

Science Curious

My resistance to the label art-sci leads me to examine why I gravitate toward science with my art. I wanted more magic. Scientists show me how to see the world differently and expanding my mind by helping me see more complexity in the environment. But now, As an artist, instead of burying the magic, I get to draw it out and play with it.

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Time & Ritual

Time & Ritual

I am devoted to the process of integrating specific systems into my projects. Each discrete system builds upon the previous and my empirical knowledge grows alongside the more intangible knowledge. This is the space where systematic processes transform into rituals that may perhaps be spiritual in nature. The resulting wonder gleaned from the ritualistic performance of the system’s procedures feeds a part of my human spirit that systematic research for empirical knowledge alone does not provide – There is an additional intention embedded within the system.

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Ritual

Ritual

How can my process of meaning making be distinguished from the ordinary process of making? Ritual? Can I accept that? I turn away from ritual now mostly from habit. It echos a repetition of actions that are done so many times they lose their meaning. I question those assertions and assumptions, reactions that have become automatic to almost become the ritual that I habitually reject.

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The Metronome of Place

The Metronome of Place

​Landscapes are ecosystems in fluid motion. They are never static, like in landscape photograph or landscape painting. The only way to be true to the story of the land is to pay attention to the way that it sways through time. Time is the metronome that keeps the beat for the rhythm of place. Without time, there is no rhythm, no music of the land. We feel this rhythm within us when we feel we know a place. It is a part of us.

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Meaning in Negative Space

Meaning in Negative Space

Perception has a bias for objects. Objects contain information about the world and our surroundings: they can be obstacles – you need to know where they are to avoid them when walking across a room. Objects can be tools; they can be intriguing, beautiful and fascinating; they can be threatening. They frequently demand attention. We see objects for good reasons.
What is an object without all of the space around it, within it, and through it? Can an object be seen without the space? Can we understand something more complexly by switching focus on the spaces that the objects define?

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Slow Making

Slow Making

I wanted to make something fast. I see other artists producing so much work in such a short period of time. I want to do that too. Drawing, I thought, would be fast. How great would it be if I could have 30 new drawings in a month!
But the truth is, I’m slow. I am very slow. Honestly, I wouldn’t be satisfied any other way.

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Playing with Magic

Playing with Magic

Color, Light, and Climbing   Douglas-fir – Top of Crown (Air Temperature), Acrylic and Resin on Wood, 2020, 46 in. x 62 in., Panel 13 of 16 Listening to the Forest – Leah Wilson Listening to the Forest Getting Physical – The Magic Bubbly I can’t really know a place until I have physical engagements with it . Making artwork about the land and ecosystems isn’t physically engaging enough. There needs to be more, and it needs to be as intense as the art making process. The making and the physical engagement are both fundamental, intertwined aspects of my... Read More
Process and Place, Cookies and Sections

Process and Place, Cookies and Sections

A look up close.   Red Alder – Top of Crown (Air Temperature), Acrylic and Resin on Wood, 2020, 46 in. x 62 in., Panel 1 of 16 Listening to the Forest – Leah Wilson Listening to the Forest A Story of a Relationship with a Place Listening to the Forest is not about wood anatomy, or data, or science. Although what you will see is wood anatomy and lines drawn from data, it is not the basis of my work, or what compels me to persevere through all of the setbacks and frustrations that come along with making a public art project. The foundation, and the impetus to continue, lie in... Read More
Introducing Listening to the Forest

Introducing Listening to the Forest

It is an exhilarating time in the studio.   Attention-Devotion, Acrylic and Resin on Wood, 2019, 46 in. x 62 in., This is a prototype for Listening to the Forest – Leah Wilson Listening to the Forest I am excited to announce that I have been awarded the opportunity to create my first Percent for Art public art project! Listening to the Forest will be permanently housed in Oregon State University’s new Forest Science Complex. The building is beautiful, replete, as you can imagine, with intricate wood interior details and extensive windows. I invite you to follow my process as I... Read More
Harmonizing with Experiential Knowing and Data Sets

Harmonizing with Experiential Knowing and Data Sets

Harmony Experiential Knowing and Data Sets Harmony Experiential Knowing and Data Sets Climbing the Discovery Tree – Leah Wilson I climb a 200ft old growth Douglas-fir tree every season so that I can feel the light quality change as I ascend above the forest canopy. This means of knowing extends past light registered and processed by my eyes. It offers a complementary way of understanding a forest that a complex data set cannot provide. I experientialy know that the warmth of the sun doesn’t have as much power over the dark, damp forest floor as it does higher in the tree. I know how... Read More
Muses

Muses

I am not drawn to the more contemporary understanding of a muse as a particular person who inspires an artist to create work, almost like a love letter about the one objectified as the muse. I am more interested in the ancient Greek understanding of the muses. They are more like nymphs who could be found in forests and streams. They are capricious beings who have ideas of their own and they are looking for someone to help them manifest those ideas into tangible creations in the world. They are transient collaborators at best.

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In the Studio

In the Studio

I find this to be a hilariously accurate depiction of my time in the studio lately. I spend hours hand cutting Dura-Lar only to find that when I am done for the day, it looks as if nothing has happened. Studio News & EventsSo much occurs behind a closed studio door. Taking inspiration from Anne Truitt's Daybook, Studio News will provide you with a glimpse into the art making process. Sign up for an insider look. Sign Me... Read More

Studio News & Events

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