Independence Gallery

I have always been creative, but I came to my artwork through a back door, after a 25-year political career. Finding that the power of my creativity could be used to inspire and change the world differently, as opposed to how I had spent most of my life. I quit my career in politics in 2024 to focus full-time on being an artist, teacher, mentor, and author.

 

After publishing my first book, "Finding Fantastic Joy," in 2022, the call to connect more deeply with the Divine Feminine and share all she offers with others was fierce. For over a decade, I had been intensely studying and working with the power of the Divine Feminine and creativity with my dear friends in Teotihuacán, Mexico. Learning about the power of pre-Columbian Mexican culture and spiritual practices through teachers and shamans with a deep lineage in Toltec teachings. The teachings in this space empowered me to connect more deeply with the divine within and embrace my true muse and essence, ultimately allowing me to shed years of living life based on accomplishment and achievement, which had left me feeling empty, desolate, and compromising my soul.

 

Through deep study and learning, I earned my Intentional Creativity Teacher and Cura Certification from the Musea Center for Creativity in Sonoma, California, in 2024.

 

My work is created through a deep spiritual process of releasing and receiving. Each layer, each brushstroke, is made to turn energy into matter - the energy of releasing heavy things and transforming them into beauty; the energy of love, hope, and peace. Through intentional prayer dots full of gratitude and love, I have realized we all have the power to make our dreams come true; we must be brave enough to release things crushing our souls, so our true beauty can flourish. Stroke by stroke, my paintings are my connection to the divine in me and the divine in you!

 

In much of my work, you will see symbols from my time spent in central Mexico. Honoring Ometeotl, the union of duality in life, the sacred symbol of the four-petaled flower, a powerful sign of life, rebirth and all of the dimensions of it that we live, and Guadalupe (The Great Mother) herself, whose love and compassion are not known in the broad context that her love embodies.

 

Her energy and statement to Juan Diego over 500 years ago, which brought peace to a place that was in desperate need, is embodied in every single one of my paintings:

 

"Who am I but not your mother... I am the Compassionate Mother of you and your people in this land and of all the others who love me, call to me, search for me, and confide in me. I will listen to their pain, suffering, and crying and heal them from their misery.”

 

Knowing such mercy has allowed me to move forward, following my muse.

 

I now teach Intentional Creativity Medicine Painting classes here in Loveland and online, and lead Divine Feminine and creativity retreats to the magical place of Teotihuacán. When not doing art-related things, my first job is a mom to my two kids, Frankie and Nolan. You can often find us all painting together, as creativity flourishes in our house. If we aren't there, you can find us as a family with my husband, Mike, traveling the world, as there is no greater teacher of what life has to offer than actually living it.

 

Many Blessings, and I hope my art reignites the spark of the divine within you.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Leah