Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Espino.
Hi Leslie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started creating art to give myself a safe space.
I am a woman working as a scientist in a male-dominated STEM career. STEM fields are notoriously unwelcoming to women. I was forged in an environment with heavy expectations.
These expectations have stuck with me even though I am currently in a role I love at NASA.
Art is a space where I am free from these pressures. The only expectation I have is to explore freely and give myself the grace to make as many mistakes as it takes to master my craft.
As an environmental scientist, I love trying to find creative ways to reuse and repurpose materials into art. My goal is to empower people to think about small sustainable changes like rethinking a piece of trash.
If I had a superpower it would be the ability to see any piece of trash as art. Once my perspective shifted, I started seeing small changes I could make in my everyday life.
This morning I was looking at my lip balm tube and thought about the plastic packaging. It was something I’d never considered before. Once I use up the lip balm, I’ll replace it with something packaged more consciously.
I want my trash art to be the catalyst that sparks your own journey of small sustainable changes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. I struggle to identify the right market for my artwork. I don’t make tortured, angst-fueled art.
A lot of applications and jurors seem to want gory, traumatic backstories.
As a woman in both the male-dominated worlds of art and science, I am tired of the trauma. I want to create art that brings joy and positive change.
Finding professional art opportunities to create positive art is a challenge.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I turn trash, paper and fiber into sustainable art – usually botanical in subject. I’m known for transforming used materials into artwork that encourages people to rethink trash.
I’m most proud of a piece called the Tongass Understory. The US Forest Service was collecting public comments on protecting the Tongass National Forest from development.
The Tongass National Forest is an important resource against climate change because it absorbs the most carbon of any national forest. Better yet, the Tongass National Forest already exists and requires no implementation or development to work.
The US Forest Service’s open comment period was a good opportunity to communicate the importance of protecting this resource.
So, I created a piece based on the Tongass National Forest to raise awareness. The piece features pieces of an old painting I’d made a mistake on and new paper. The fiber comes mostly from a manufacturer that donates their off-cuts and scraps to be made into housing insulation.
As a result of this piece, the US Forest Service received an increased number of comments from the Houston area. About a remote forest in Alaska!
I’m proud to have encouraged people to take action.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t wait until you have a style! Don’t be afraid to pursue art if you aren’t “classically” skilled at drawing or painting or realism yet.
Make art a personal journey about working with what you have at the time, and you’ll be surprised where you end up.
I still can’t draw or paint realistically, and letting go of that expectation has been liberating.
Contact Info:
- Email: leslie@leslieespinoart.com
- Website: https://leslieespinoart.com/pages/portfolio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslieespinoart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071392633338
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKOUujdPL0v7NinwTNeCRLQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@leslieespinoart
