Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Wells.
Hi Leah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in Dallas, TX, a true balance of northern and southern sensibilities, College took me to Austin, TX where I stayed until moving to NYC for work. After a fast and furious career in the web development industry, I left NYC to raise two girls because I wanted to give them the stability I never had as a child. I believe that decision, along with the opportunity to witness and foster their boundless childhood creativity, ultimately helped push me to bravely explore my own self and my art. A second and third chance to see life through a child’s eyes.
Although I had dabbled in art throughout my life (a camera or sketchbook in hand and music ever-present), I never truly gave myself the permission to explore it in a meaningful way. After years of moving between NYC/Los Angeles/Seattle/Ft. Worth, our little wolf pack finally landed in Delaware. With both of my girls at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, I decided to reenter the workforce in 2015 by taking a position with a commercial photography studio in Delaware.
This decision not only gave me an environment to learn the technical side of photography, video, and analog/alternative processes but it also opened a world that allowed and encouraged me to explore my art in a deep and honest way. I have since shown my work in galleries across the US and found homes for it both here and abroad. It has been a whirlwind evolution to be sure and I push every day to honor my curiosities and good fortune and to find my unique artistic path. It is a never-ending journey and I am deeply grateful for the artist friends/mentors in my life that have inspired, encouraged, and taught me along the way.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe following any artistic path (whether as a profession or self-fulfillment) is never truly easy or smooth. It is filled with the ups and downs of self-doubt, creative block, self-discipline, learning curves, and bravery. Having never studied formally and coming into what feels like my true self later in life has, at times, made my confidence shaky at best.
The positive words of others don’t always penetrate and I am usually my own worst critic with impossibly high standards. Learning to listen to my heart, make art for myself, and trust in the process have been some of the most nebulous and elusive concepts, and often feel like trying to catch a tiger by the tail. I find, however, that when I am able to do those things I find my sweet spot and make what feels like strong, honest work and that is what matters.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is primarily based in digital photographic media and broadened through analog process, expression, and final medium. The need to make art with my hands, follow my curiosities, and evoke emotion exceeds my need to create a perfect image. The emotional context of a photograph is often transformed by the medium I choose for the final presentation. In fact, an imperfect, layered and often deconstructed image is a key component of my art.
I find that the final expression also allows for further interpretation of fleeting motion, momentary light, translucency, or abstract patterns and may even elevate the original image into a place of raw emotion. Whether printing images on leaves using UltraViolet rays from the sun, carefully destroying an image that has been transferred onto botanically-dyed watercolor paper, or soaking ink into the skeletal remains of leaves, I seek to push my understanding of process and strive for open-minded experimentation to help me achieve a final piece that honors, enhances, or transcends the original moment I witnessed in camera.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a late bloomer. People usually assume I have been doing this for a long time. And while art/music/dance always played a part in my life, playing classical piano, songwriting, fine art photography and printmaking all started seriously for me after the age of 45. The time was right and I had a need to express myself more than ever before. Whenever that time comes is never too late. Honor your own unique process.
Pricing:
- Anguish” 16×16 Pigment image transfer on oxidized aluminum $350
- “Goddess” 24×24 Pigment print on vellum over botanical contact print on Arches watercolor paper $500
- “Intrinsic” 17×21 Pigment print on Hahnemühle photo rag $450
- “Ode to Georgia” 17×21 Pigment print on Hahnemühle photo rag $450
- “Raven” 36×36 Pigment image transfer on oxidized aluminum panel $1200
Contact Info:
- Email: leah@leahwellsphoto.com
- Website: www.leahwellsphoto.com
- Instagram: leahwellsphoto
- Facebook: @leahwellsphoto
