We recently connected with Leslie Espino and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Leslie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My piece titled “Tongass Understory” is the most meaningful project I’ve worked on. The US Forest Service had an open comment period on protecting the Tongass National Forest’s old growth forests from development. The Tongass National Forest absorbs and stores more carbon than any other national forest, making it an important global resource against climate change.

What other climate change resource requires no development and already exists?

The only maintenance the Tongass National Forest requires is protection from development. All we need to do is make sure our representatives know that it needs to be protected from development like logging.

I was inspired by the story of the Tongass National Forest, so I made an art piece based on it. I wanted to raise awareness so everyone else knew about it too. My art piece resulted in people submitting several comments to the Forest Service in support of protecting the Tongass National Forest from development, and I am proud of that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Leslie! I’m a sustainable artist and also a scientist working at NASA. I make illustrative paper and fiber art – picture real world places reimagined as a jungle in a kid’s book. Lots of texture and layers.

I started making art when I was looking for relief from pressures at work and in life. I’m a woman working in a STEM career – a field that is notoriously unwelcoming to women. There is a lot of pressure to behave certain ways. My current role at NASA is incredible and I no longer face this kind of pressure in the workplace. However, I was forged under these conditions and it hijacked my own expectations of myself. So I started making art to relieve this pressure because art is a safe space where I am free from the expectations of others and myself.

I make storybook-style paper and fiber artwork. I use new and repurposed materials (often trash) to recreate the world as a safe space for everyone.

As an environmental scientist it’s easy to get lost in a negative mindset where our planet will be a burnt husk tomorrow. Making sustainable art helps give me perspective. I literally reimagine trash into art.

Working with repurposed materials means you have to be able to see beyond its current state and see the potential in something. This open-mindedness to potential is something I want to share. I’m having fun creating art out of trash, but I am also showing how we can rethink waste. This helps me maintain a positive perspective.

My artwork features trash that was turned into something unexpectedly pretty and was created in a safe space. I want the art to remind people of 1) how we have the power to create these safe spaces and 2) how we can make little changes that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that an artist needs to be tortured to be relevant and make compelling art. When you apply for open calls and see who gets selected, it is very challenging not to think you need a “sob story” to be relevant to jurors. It can be discouraging.

Ultimately, I took a break from applying to open calls because I felt pressured to have a trauma or to have a heavy story. I acknowledge that art is cathartic and a real expression of healing – but it also doesn’t need to be sad.

For me, art is my safe space where I don’t answer to expectations from others or myself. I can experience things without judgment. So I forced myself to let go of this idea that an artist needs to have a trauma to get selected for exhibits.

It is empowering to let go of expectations, and I find real joy in that. As a result, most of my art is joyful. We all have the power to take back the narrative and create a safe space for ourselves.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Share and follow! Anything you can do to amplify artists is great. Simple things like following and sharing on social media, sending artist’s work to your friends, commissioning work for gifts, it all helps.

Even in simple conversations, remember that you know an artist and share their name if anything like an interview, commission, social media shout-out opportunity comes up. If you can’t afford original art, support the artist by sharing their work to your circle. Or tag someone who might enjoy their work.

Art is a visual thing, so the more eyes on it the better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://leslieespinoart.com/pages/portfolio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslieespinoart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071392633338
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/leslieespinoart/_shop/ https://www.tiktok.com/@leslieespinoart

Image Credits
Victor Espino/Leslie Espino