We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leigh Salgado a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Leigh, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The beauty of being an artist is the opportunity to make work that is profoundly meaningful to me, the maker. I translate my ponderings and experiences of existence on this planet into objects in the visual realm. A few years back, I had the privilege of creating art for the Thomas Bradley International Terminal at LAX through the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. I incorporated some of my interests: how clothing is employed for personal expression and the labor that goes into manifesting creative ideas. I emphasized feminine themes and used my signature technique of hand-cutting and painting paper into lacy, alluring textures and patterns. The first thing travelers saw upon arriving at the airport on their way to customs was my work focusing on five locales in Los Angeles County. I used aspects of fashion from these very different communities to make a united visual experience – the bathing suits of Pacific Coast Highway, Quinceañera dresses of Pacific Blvd in a predominantly immigrant Mexican neighborhood (Huntington Park), the thrift stores and restaurants of Fairfax Blvd (Little Ethiopia section), the saris and Indian fabrics of Pioneer Blvd (Little India), and couture fashion of Rodeo Drive (Beverly Hills).
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a visual artist based in the Los Angeles area and exhibit my work in art galleries and museums. My signature technique is hand-cut, painted paper pieces. As a young girl, I would draw myself on stage wearing elaborate ball gowns; I sewed clothes for my Barbie doll. The motifs of feminine clothing with all its patterns and laciness in my art has a strong relation to this activity. My work simulates fabric but has progressed to more mature themes that include female sensuality and erotic desire. Paper-cutting has a long history among many cultures including Mexican Papel Picado, Chinese Jianzhi, Japanese Kirigami, and the intricate paper-cutting techniques of Thailand. I hand-cut paper in my own way. It reveals myriad possibilities of the medium beyond traditional paradigms. Viewers overwhelmingly enjoy the feminine imagery – I receive positive feedback from my shows and social media contributions.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My interest in art never wavered during my life, but I did take a detour in order to make a stable living. Psychology always intrigued me and I attended Clinical Art Therapy school, combining my passion for art and desire to help others. For twenty years I worked as an art therapist/social worker with children and adolescents who had been mistreated and/or neglected. Although this was important and rewarding work, my identity as an artist and my own creative output began to suffer. When one of my brothers passed away at the age of forty-three, I had to shift gears and focus on my first true love before it was too late. I quit my occupation as a therapist and became a full-time artist. Although there have been financial and emotional ups and downs, I have never regretted this decision.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
There are four things that stand out to me that many people don’t initially understand about artists. One is the seeming lack of practical rewards. And it is true that being a full-time visual artist can be financially challenging. But those who are called to be artists do find ways to survive and may even thrive. Through art sales, grants, and other activities – whether art-related or not – those who embrace an artist’s life find a way to live in the world and make their art. Second, although there is thought and labor involved in the process of art production, it is an activity of play. Play is an extension of the child’s life of constant discovery, wonder, imagination and self-discovery. Third, a component of producing artworks is problem-solving. The desire for each particular outcome involves figuring out how to manifest something that is visually compelling. The ability to problem solve in my art is quite useful in other areas of my life. The fourth area that can perplex non-creatives is the time factor. In my case, the work is labor-intensive and can be slow-going. Some people don’t understand why I would take so much time to cut paper by hand rather than use a laser cutter and engage in a faster technique. I prefer the impossibility of perfection that occurs with the use of the human hand. It has its own layers of meaning, vulnerability, strength and beauty. It is liberating to not care about time, to be fully immersed in the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: leighsalgado.com
- Instagram: @leighsalgado
Image Credits
Image credit: Aimee Santos for PacificBlvd, PCH & Dreaming of John