2018 – RAW Artist Show, Indianapolis/1st Solo show
A few years following her trip to Seattle, Leah was making strides as a professional artist and finding open doors of opportunity as more people began to see and appreciate her work. No longer pushing her desire to create to the side, Leah had begun to make her passion the central aspect in her life. In the search for her own path in life, she spent time in the medical field as well as cosmetology, being another creative outlet, she was beginning to thrive as a hairstylist. This led to uniting with her best childhood friend, Laken Rose who was also a burgeoning hair stylist. After a number of years talking about the possibility of doing something together, they decided to take a leap of faith and open a studio, perfectly named, The Studio in Kokomo, Indiana in 2017 with a dual purpose in mind. The space was large enough to have their hair salon as well as a gallery. This gave Leah her own space to create and show her work.
In 2018, the appreciation for her work was spreading. She received an invitation to go to Indianapolis to be a part of the RAW Indianapolis art showcase at the Murat Theatre. In the past, fear may have stopped her from accepting an offer like this, but with her growing confidence she jumped at the chance and she was glad she did. She met some amazing people and gave her the chance to meet and talk with an array of other artists in the business.
The year 2018 would also be her breakout as an independent artist with her first solo art show. She was able to showcase her work while paying homage to her big brother and the wealth of inspiration he gave to her over the years. She fed off the inspiration of both her brothers who are also naturally gifted artists. Her younger brother, Ian writes music and can master just about every instrument he encounters. It was her older brother, Ian, who has a love of all music and would often introduce her to a new artist or album she had not heard. One album stood out the first time he played it for her and would later become the focal point for her first solo art show. Every piece in the show was centered around Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here album which opened something up inside the first time he played it for her. It was an amazing show and every piece sold. All the pieces in her life had not all quite come together yet but she was finally in a place where she felt she had a sense of belonging and she was gaining confidence within as she could now see her work inspiring others.
Written by Brendan Douglas for Alien Dove