Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leila Victorin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Leila, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I worked on was my Handle with Care collection which I completed a few months before giving birth to my first and only child. This collection started as simply my way of putting to canvas some of my core memories from childhood, however it turned out to be a way to process a grand mix of feelings from disappointment to joy to resentment to care to disillusionment and place and place them all on the table so to speak so that I could in a way clear the cobwebs from my mind before bringing a new life into the world. It was hard to share as my parents were present for the exhibition and a lot of it was about them. I fought with myself about if it was “right” as a woman who has been given so much, to still share things about my relationship with them that may not place them in a perfect light. I still sit with the uncomfortable feeling sometimes of how they may have felt, but I know ultimately that I needed to make that collection in order to prepare to become who my little one needed her momma to be.

Leila, 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’m a Haitian American artist who grew up in a small down in upstate New York. My creative practice started very early on as I was a homeschooled child with a lot of time on my hands and mother who believed in the power of boredom. My first creative memory is tattooing my dolls with a black pen and the rest is history. I received a BFA in visual arts with an emphasis in painting and while I continue to consider that my preferred medium, I’ve recently begun to tap into my cultural roots and play with embroidery and mixed media. My work just about always celebrates Blackness or playfulness in some shape or form — my desire is to highlight both together as much as possible. In addition to physical artwork, I create downloadable posters highlighting Black historical figures with notable quotes and vibrant colors. Those are used primarily by educators around the US and whomever else is drawn to them. Making those started out as a creative outlet when I was temporarily unable to move around during pregnancy and has become an incredibly fun endeavor that is constantly growing.
While I stay busy as a full-time pediatric speech-language pathologist and parent, I’m incredibly proud of the fact that creative work has remained a core part of my life. Those aspects of my life allow me to approach creative work with playfulness and joy. They also require me to think critically about the role that creative work plays in societies and in how we teach children to think about their own power and ability to create out of nothing.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For several years my primary medium was painting. It was all I ever wanted to do, and I pretty consistently destroyed my living spaces to this end. But when I became pregnant, my space for creating had to become a safe space for my little one, free from fumes and dangerous substances. Additionally, my body was unable to do all it needed to manage working my full-time job and creating physical work. The most I could manage was long bouts of sitting or lying down as much as I could. So, thanks to a friend of mine who allowed me to borrow her tablet, I learned to use Procreate and started creating digital work. Over a couple of months, I created over 100 digital pieces, and I continue to make digital work to this day as I figure out how best to navigate creating physical work with a very active toddler.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think one of the biggest things I’m still unlearning is that my means of making money and supporting my family doesn’t also have to be my calling and my passion. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy my work, however I think a part of me felt like a sell-out for not dropping everything to work full time as an artist when that was clearly what I was passionate about. While I would enjoy being able to make a living off of my art, I’m realizing that that desire can easily turn my creativity into drudgery and make it hard to enjoy creativity in the way that I feel I was meant to experience it. I often have to go back and tell myself, not every piece of work you make needs to be monetized. Not all of your ideas need to coincide with something sellable. It’s okay to make stuff that nobody will see simply because you want to make it and it brings you joy or is helping you get through something. That’s something I knew as a child but lost somewhere in trying to survive adulthood in capitalism. My job can be my job, but my passion and calling can be something else entirely that I get to explore without the pressure to produce.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leilaa.creates.com
• Instagram: leilaa.creates, leilaa.prints
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeilaaCreates/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ leila-victorin

Image Credits

Jessica Felicio took the photos from inside the gallery