Leisa Rich
My Dearest Deer, 2021
Fabrics, thread, faux fur, dyes 83" X 61"
The imposing eight foot deer in "My Dearest Deer" is an art quilt that draws viewers in close to a world of my making, one that is sumptuously tactile, and puts nature into a position of overwhelming importance.
Leisa Rich
Meanderings and Memories of Butterflies, 2019
Thread, vinyl, fabric, dye, acrylic and oil paint Variable
Detail of a large installation. I have done several installations in many configurations with my hand painted, stitched butterflies.
Leisa Rich
Everyone Shines, 2020
Sequins, acrylic, oil, thread, wood This view 29' X 7'
This large commission is at The Works, Atlanta. It is a massive, viewer interactive series of interlocking panels, that can also be separated and hung as 7 fiber art, wall-hung art works.
Leisa Rich
Just Dance, 2022
Velvet, fabric, feathers, yarn, wire, thread 45" X 28" X 12"
Just Dance is just a fun, frivolous guy who likes to make people happy.
Leisa Rich
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 2021
Recycled, vintage textile, acrylic paint, dye, thread, fabric, vintage fabrics 66" X 80" X 3"
Father, Son and Holy Ghost feature a few of the deer that graze on my riverfront property. The reference to Catholicism is intentional; the gorgeous tapestries I stared at while in church during my childhood helped pass boring times there, and provided rich fantasies that whisked me away. In addition, as a vegetarian, I seek to protect animals from human predation. We call our farm land "The Safe Zone" and these deer are protected here.
Leisa Rich
Probity & Poison, 2021
Reclaimed vintage textiles, thread, dyes, mixed media 69" X 48" X 2"
Probity & Poison features the deadly, invasive hogweed that is now endemic to my sweet, little island. It likes to pose as a pretty, little flower, but can cause blindness and burning of the skin. As with most of my works, there is often a double entendre meaning that relates something occurring in nature, to human behavior.
Leisa Rich
Survival of the Fittest, 2022
Vinyl, fabric, thread, dye, acrylic paint 77" X 61"
Serendipity led my husband and I back to my home country Canada in 2020 after decades living in the U.S. and abroad, to a 97 year old farmhouse on Howe Island, near Kingston. The twinkling St. Lawrence River outside our door, deer, coyote, fox, birds, and quiet peace of this lovely land and water, were healing after the tumult of the political situation in the U.S., and a pandemic. Nature never ceases to heal in times of trouble, and it is to nature that Rich turns for her subject matter. Two coyote like to grandly occupy the hill outside my door, surveying the expanse for the beautiful, white-tailed deer that trek across my property. This is not a statement merely about the challenges of survival in the animal world, but also about the difficulties humans face.
Leisa Rich
Aftermath, 2019
Fosshape, resin, mixed media, thread, recycled detritus, acrylic, microbeads, flocking powder, fabrics Variable. This view 15' X 12' X 24'
aftermath *period immediately after a usually ruinous event, i.e. in the aftermath of war in the pink *in very good health and spirits. *blooming, flourishing, thriving, vigorous, strong, lusty, robust, fit, in excellent shape There are some of us who are survivors. Throw one catastrophe after another at us, and still we persist. Life has tossed many medical challenges at me, most recently, severe facial Melanoma. American author and motivational speaker Regina Brett said, “When you hear the word 'cancer,' it's as if someone took the game of Life and tossed it in the air. All the pieces go flying. The pieces land on a new board. Everything has shifted. You don't know where to start.” In between surgeries and recovery, I relied on getting into the studio to work as my healing force.
Leisa Rich
A Glorious Requiem For Beasts And Souls, 2018
Chinoiserie, fabrics, thread, dyes, batting, canvas, digital image transfers from artist original photo 58” X 72” X 3”
A Glorious Requiem For Beasts and Souls was born of my desire to create a fantasy surrounding that exaggerates the stunning beauty of the world of nature that I find so comforting, a place in which to hide during this challenging time to be human. On the surface it is a ‘pretty’ show. The inhabitants of this saccharine art world are real and hyper-real animals, insects, and plant-life. However, these creatures have also unnaturally morphed and in some cases, have subsumed humans, turning them into hybrids I dubbed ‘Humanimals’. During these tumultuous days when human extinction seems probably imminent I find myself mulling over The Singularity, a belief based partly on science and partly on speculation that posits that humans will transcend biology, cease to exist in physical form, and their human consciousness downloaded. Nothing will inhabit a physical form should this happen. Things are out of whack.
Leisa Rich
A Beautiful Danger, 2018
Chinoiserie, fabrics, thread, dyes, batting, canvas, digital image transfers from artist original photo 61" X 40"
Beauty can often mask danger. In the fathomless depths, lies the unknown.
