PROCESS
"Leila's studio is like a shrine to uncertainty. White sheets of paper hang on one wall with simple shapes drying in black ink, on the opposite wall colorful quilts adorned with intricately interlocking patterns morph and remake themselves the longer you look."
—Emily Silverman,
The Nocturnists Podcast
EXPLORE
Every colorful pattern begins with a black and white painting.
My studio is a shrine to uncertainty. My process is improvisational and iterative. I reuse and remake elements into something completely new.
Every pattern starts without a plan, often using elements made months or years earlier.
FIND THE JOY
Starting with constraint and simplicity, ending in celebration. I enjoy every part of the process.
Everything I make starts in black and white. I mostly work with black Sumi ink on paper, along with every kind of black marker I can get my hands on. I collage elements together: old paintings, found paper, tape. Adding photographed textures into the mix.
Everything is scanned into the computer where I arrange the elements into patterns and, finally, add color at the end.
I usually have many different parts of the process going at once.
IMPROVISE
I am driven by improvisation and play.
When I sit down to draw, paint, collage, create patterns, I often think: this time it won’t work, I’m sure I have run out of creative juice.
But there is always something new and unexpected that bubbles up. There's movement and rhythm around the stress and relief of working without a plan.
Drag and drop the shapes to create your own combination. . .
Featured Products
