Beginnings

No doubt the blogisphere is streaming with gazillions of New Year's resolutions, 2008 recaps, well wishes, and plans for the upcoming year. Why buck the system? I have a few announcements and plans of my own for 2009. First and foremost, I was accepted in to the MFA program at East Carolina University's School of Art and Design. I realize that some of you may be thinking, "Leslie, you already have one Master's degree, why torture yourself"? Well, my internet friends, my answer is simple and humble...I still have so much to learn. I already know that my biggest challenge will be in narrowing the scope of my work. I find that I can easily go back and forth between abstract/non-objective work that is predominately about shape and color; and the narrative work I do, that blends realism, text, and texture.

I am, and will probably always be trying new things, experimenting, pushing the boundaries, mixing materials, and exploring multiple ideas. Within the last two years, I've taught myself to screenprint, work with epoxy resin, do wood working, learn various computer programs like Adobe In-Design, more Photoshop, and I've designed several websites by learning Dreamweaver. I find that as I try new mediums, it sparks new ideas. These ideas don't always flow together in one overall "world view" or "central theme" in my art making. Sometimes I do things to make money, and sometimes I do things just because it's fun. It's usually no problem for me to dig deep into a series and work until I feel my questions are resolved (take a look at Resonance and Relevance or Wingspan).

I'm a woman and my mind is multifaceted. I'm attracted and intrigued by many things and I make sense of the world around me though my art...be it with basic shapes and colors, or a portrait of myself in the buff (ha ha). When I try to limit myself to just the abstract/non-objective work, I inevitably want to paint realistically, or I want to do some narrative work. Whenever I've been hard at work on a narrative series, I want to free myself to do something totally different. Then it starts all over again. And as I was asked the other day, "what does this say about me"?

I'm not sure what is "right" or "wrong" when it comes to art. In these next three years of graduate school, my goal is to dig in and find out what I am trying to say to the world via the art I make. I've got a few topics of interest in mind, namely my own faith and how that defines me. Faith in general...how people have held on to their faith in desperate and trying times. Faith in people and relationships. And, when I look back at my work, it seems like there's always an underlying theme of finding freedom - personal and spiritual.

And finally, I want to get in to encaustic work. This is a material I've only dabbled in, but hope to dive into with my full attention.

Personally, going to grad school (again) is something I'm looking forward to, but with a little trepidation. I'm sure it will be hard to hear the criticism sometimes, and it will be hard to commute back and forth from Greenville and Wilmington, and it will be tough to be apart from Justin during the week, but I accept this new challenge because it will inevitably make me a more well-rounded artist and a better person.