Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lea De Wit. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
During the summer break between my freshman and sophomore years of college, a bone tumor was discovered in my spine. It was a difficult and life changing experience. I had what I call a “mortality check”. I learned the valuable life lesson that life is short, far too short not to pursue what you love. Since then, it has informed how I have lived my life.
I have been creating my entire life, dabbling with various art forms. When I had this health scare, I knew that I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally as I had immersed myself in creative projects as a form of respite and healing.
I made it back to college and set about to figure out how I could go after a creative career. I interviewed a number of artists and creative professionals to ask them their advice. Universally, all of them said that I should work on my artistic skills as well as learn about running a business. Effectively, they all said to me that artists are small business people. So I went on to study both studio art and business in college.
After college, I worked at a series of desk jobs most of which had a creative bend to them but, as the years went by, the jobs became less creative and more about earning a paycheck. I found I was not happy. While I was working at my last desk job, I got the opportunity to take my first glassblowing workshop. I fell in love with the medium and knew then that I had to pursue it. I have worked for the last 20 years to make that happen.
Lea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have always created but, when I took my first glassblowing workshop over 20 years ago, I was completely smitten. A bone tumor in my spine as a teenager had taught me the life lesson that life is too short not to pursue what you love. So, soon after that very 1st workshop, I turned my life upside down to pursue glass full-time. I quit my job, sold my house, and set off to apprentice in a few studios. I used the proceeds from the sale of my house to start my art business and to pursue my studio practice full-time. My passion for the medium was all consuming.
In those early years, I had humble beginnings. I sold my work at farmers’ markets and outdoor art and craft shows; anything to fuel the habit and cover my overhead expenses. In working to keep positive cash flow after the income from my house sale was exhausted, I progressively fell into making works on commission because of the guaranteed paycheck. I was thrilled to be glassblowing, getting paid for it, and making people happy with my work. After a couple of years of working at my small glass art business full-time, I was in the black.
Over the last two decades, I have transitioned from making works primarily for residential clients and private spaces to making works increasingly for public spaces. Although I did not envision when I started down this career path that I would be pursuing ever larger and more complicated public art commissions, I have found that I love the thrill of taking on these challenges, despite the stress. Creating uplifting, inspiring, and hopeful public art pieces that I feel good about because it brings meaning to the spaces that it enriches is not only rewarding but fulfilling. I get to hear about and see the positive impact the work has on the communities that it serves. In turn, this gives my life meaning and purpose.
My artwork centers around the biophilia hypothesis, the notion that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connection with nature. From a very young age, I have always been drawn to the natural world, completely awestruck by its sheer beauty. I am particularly intrigued by the repetition of patterns found in nature. For me, these patterns frequently possess a lyrical or rhythmic quality and these rhythms have a flow. I seek to translate these patterns and their flow into sculptural compositions of varying scale and scope.
I choose to create these works primarily in glass because the molten material has a fluidity that allows for endless permutations in sculpting and it has an incredible capacity to refract and transmit light, unlike any other material. I abstract my sculptural forms into their most fundamental components so that emphasis is placed on the gesture of movement and, by doing so, highlighting the lyrical nature of repetition in my compositions.
These sculptural compositions are a beautiful marriage of nature, color, and rhythm. They are a celebration of the tools that I have used to get me through rough spots in my life. When dealing with loss, trauma, and bouts of depression and anxiety, I have immersed myself in creating, in being outdoors, and listening to music to heal. As such, these works are intended to have an uplifting, inspiring, hopeful, and soothing feeling to them. I have been fortunate enough to be able to design quite a number of them for public spaces. It is always incredibly rewarding and fulfilling to learn about what a positive effect they have on the space and on the viewer.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I am not saving lives by making artwork but I am spreading joy. My work is intended to be hopeful, inspiring and uplifting. It is very fulfilling to create artwork especially for public spaces. To hear someone exclaim when they see the work installed or to receive word from the community that they are enjoying the work, this is incredibly rewarding. There is nothing like this type of encouraging feedback. Especially with my pieces in healthcare spaces, particularly cancer centers, it is heartwarming to hear that my artwork has had a positive impact on the patients, their loved ones, the providers, and the staff. It justifies why I have sacrificed a lot over the years to pursue this creative path and why I continue to work on large scale complicated projects. The more challenging the project, the more rewarding it is when it is completed and installed to get this kind of encouragement. Being able to affect other people’s experiences and lives with something that I designed and created gives my life meaning and purpose.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Early on in my journey, when I was apprenticing in a notable glassblowing studio, I was told by one of my mentors that I should not have quit my day job. It was a huge blow at the time because I had turned my life upside down to pursue glass. This remained in the back of my head for years, at times making me doubt myself and my choice to become a professional artist.
At many stages in my creative path, I have been confronted with situations that have made me want to give up and run back to the safety, predictable paycheck, and paid time off of a desk job. From criticism and rejection to struggling through technical and equipment problems to working through mistakes and failures on difficult projects, it has been a tough road to travel. Additionally, the running of the business and the hustle is much more demanding than I ever would have thought before I headed off down this path.
I have had to muster the courage to believe in myself and to develop the mental and emotional toughness to persevere. Despite setbacks and despite what that one mentor said to me almost two decades ago, with passion, persistence, and always striving to do better and reach farther, I have built a successful career.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leadewit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadewit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeadeWitArtist/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lea-de-wit-b067a818/
Image Credits
with the 2 studio/process images of me glassblowing: Crystal Birns with the 1 image of the composition of leaf sculptures cascading down the long atrium wall: Artists Circle Fine Arts