Artist Spotlight: Leslie Nan Moon has been at Columbia City Gallery for 6 years and is our linocut print artist extraordinaire. Her latest works will be in the upcoming feature show, Sanctuary. Opening reception is Sat., Nov. 18 from 5-7pm. If you’re in the neighborhood, please stop by!
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Favorite Seattle neighborhood
• West Seattle. Love that I can walk on the beach, hit some galleries, buy some vinyl and eat great food on one outing!
Favorite Seattle restaurant/bar. And your favorite item on their menu?
• Fonda La Catrina in Georgetown ~ The Comalito plate!
Favorite Pacific NW hike
• Franklin Falls. Relatively short and flat hike with the ultimate reward – being right at the base of a huge waterfall!
Favorite Seattle park
• Volunteer Park. Always have to climb the water tower stairs.
Favorite beach/waterfront spot
• South Alki Beach. Great place for sea glass collecting.
• Also love walking around Olympic Sculpture Park. Sculpture with a backdrop of Puget Sound.
What was your first concert?
• I was lucky to have parents who loved live music. I saw YES, Chicago, Billy Joel, CSN&Y, Peter Gabriel and Elton John, all before I was 13 years old!
Best concert?
• Oh this is a hard one. Music is my refuge (especially live music). Some really extra special ones were the first two Lollapalooza festivals in 91 & 92 with my best friend, taking my mom to her first Pearl Jam concert for her 76th birthday last year and The Cure with my daughter this past June.
Are you an avid collector of anything?
• Sea glass!
What is something that always makes you smile?
• Dogs! Even when I am at my lowest seeing a dog will always make me smile.
What is the best Halloween costume you ever wore?
• My daughter and I went to see Wicked at the Paramount on Halloween and dressed up as Glenda and Elphaba.
What is your favorite quote?
• Two that I feel to my core are:
If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
~Martin Luther King Jr.
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
~Jon Kabat-Zinn
Favorite studio tool?
• Without question my Pfeil carving tools!
Favorite artists?
• Edvard Munch
• William Blake
• Anselm Kiefer
• Edgar Degas
Where are you from and how does that affect your work?
• I was born and raised in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of the Arts in 1994 with a degree in Printmaking and book arts.
• I moved to Seattle in 1995 with the intention of going to University of Washington and getting my Masters in Printmaking.
• Many years , twists and turns later and I’m still in Seattle, never got my Masters but thanks to a vibrant art scene I’ve never stopped creating or having opportunities to show my art.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
• My family. My mom is a sculptor and my dad has always been passionate about photography. When I was in high school I declared one day that I didn’t want to go to college because I wanted to be an artist. They told me I could do both and I did. I come from a long line of artists. In fact my aunt who just turned 99 is still creating new art constantly!
What is your favorite medium, and why?
• Printmaking – especially woodcuts and linocuts. Combines so many techniques in one piece of art from the drawing to the carving to the inking and printing!
• I also love playing around with mosaics and welding!
Where do you find inspiration?
• The architecture in Seattle! When I first moved here in 95 I discovered the Henry Moore sculpture across from Seattle Central Library which became my favorite spot to take my lunch break! The Helix pedestrian bridge.
• Art everywhere!
• The Orders of the Night, by Anselm Kiefer at SAM is a painting I can never get enough of. It transports me into it.
• I am the mom to a 22 year old son with severe Autism, OCD, Intellectual Disability and Intermittent Explosive Disorder among other things. Due to the extreme lack of services and providers for people like my son he is with me most of the time. We do a lot of driving around, visiting landmarks, parks and looking at wildlife. I find inspiration in our travels.
• Additionally I find inspiration in music lyrics.
When is your favorite time of day to create?
• Early morning (often before anyone else wakes up)
What motivates you to create?
• My depression is quite crippling but if I can just get started making art then I am very good at escaping into it! Losing myself in my art is one of my greatest gifts.
Does your art practice help you in other areas of your life?
• Absolutely! When the stress of life as a parent/caregiver of an adult child with severe autism and aggression drains my cup dry, my art helps fill it back up! Making it, sharing it, teaching it!
Artist Website: lesliemoon.wordpress.com
Instagram: @leslienanmoon