Indigenous Artist Bio
Leisa Rich is an experimental artist who transforms the common and alternative in unique ways using fibre materials and processes, mixed and repurposed media, 3D printing, laser engraving and AI. She is a fearless creative explorer.
Rich holds MFA, BFA and B.Ed. Art degrees. She is featured in notable museums, galleries, books and interviews. Rich has published a children's book and a series of How-To art books.
Her work is in permanent collections of Delta Airlines Inc., Hilton Hotels, Pro-Demnity Insurance, Emory Healthcare, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Boston Group, The Allred Hotel, in private homes, and more. She is a recipient of distinguished fellowships and awards.
Rich moved back to her home country Canada in 2020 after living abroad for many years.
Artist Statement
My creative journey began with a long-term childhood hospital stay and deafness. The resulting reliance on my other senses gave me clues to comprehend the world…the tactility of dressing a Barbie doll in clothing my mother made, hosting tea parties for my bears and dolls under an enveloping, whispering weeping willow tree, making tiaras from bell wire in my Dad’s electrical shop. My quest to create a world of intriguing visual and tactile artworks that entice the senses, installation environments that provide a brief respite from the challenges of living today and recreate wondrous childhood experiences that made me feel safe, and interactive art, is one I share with viewers. I am also driven by an innate passion for hyper-tactility and to manipulate materials and methods in highly experimental ways to realize this method of expression. This experimentation is at the heart of my artistic process. I cannot resist embracing uncertainty with curiosity and openness and exploration, pushing usual and unusual materials and typical techniques in unintended ways. I strive to transcend traditional boundaries to uncover new possibilities in form and expression by constantly challenging myself to question the status quo, to achieve authenticity and spontaneity in my work.
The textiles and fibres I use to bring my ideas to fruition possess an historically significant power to tangibly and symbolically connect us. These materials have literally woven the very fabric of human history, representing protection and warmth, and are often ties that bind us together. They have birthed finance, technology and sometimes, too, contribute to climate un-sustainability. I have always incorporated repurposed materials into my works in a conscientious manner and extend that awareness of environmental concerns via a vegan diet.
Humans are in a constant and dynamic tension between stability and flux, order and chaos. Engaging in a creative dialogue with medium and method almost always leads me in the development of a concept; conversely, sometimes the concept comes first, and I find the right material or technique that will help me fulfil the idea. My work is often an exercise in unforeseen outcomes… what will happen if I ____? What will happen if I use ____? Society is almost constantly trying to fit each one of us into some sort of identifiable box, and very much so in the visual art arena. “Body of work” to me means everything similar, production line thinking, same-o, same-o. Because I have resisted this for most of my many, many years as a fibre artist, every artwork is a joy and a delight, an exercise in change and adaptation, layers peeled back, things joyfully added, until just right.
Fibre art can transcend its utilitarian origins to become a transformative vessel of emotion and memory, reminding us of the beauty and strength found in our shared experiences. It is within these moments interacting with art that has purpose that we rediscover our connectivity and humanity.
Email: monaleisa@bellsouth.net Website: www.monaleisa.com Instagram: @monaleisa2
