Meg Leslie fell in love with the arts and thinks you can do the same
Meg Leslie, a Kitchener ceramic artist is passionate about two things: her private time to create, and sharing the arts with adults. Make it Kitchener chatted with Leslie about her background, her craft, and her theory that there’s no such thing as an uncreative person.
MIK: Let's start with the basics. Tell me about yourself. Background, day job, whatever you think is relevant.
ML: My name is Meg Leslie and my business is called MUDD, but, my day job is as a customer service representative for the Region of Waterloo. My background however, is in interior design. I studied it in college and worked in that field for many years, but I was really put off by how design was often reduced by cost. This idea has lead me to finding ways to create from items at the dollar store, the surplus store, or with recycled tiles, or fabrics.
MIK: Tell me about your work. What do you make, and how do you make it?
ML: In 2010, I went with my two boys, (then pre-teens) to Philadelphia to learn how to do mosaic tiling from a man named Isaiah Zagar, a man somewhat infamous in the world of mosaics. We spent a weekend tiling a huge commercial elevator, and I was hooked. I came home and bought a house, mostly so I could tile it (inside and out)!
Along my creative journey, I met another incredible ceramic artist that told me I would really need a kiln to start making my own ceramics and advance my mosaics. That was around 2012 and I finally did buy my own kiln last year. As a result, I am now making porcelain tiles, vases, jewelry, and most recently, finger puppets (inspired from a recent trip to Barcelona, Spain).
MIK: It looks like your work is pretty diverse (from jewelry to tile work to puppets), what tends to be the most prominent part of your portfolio?
ML: The project that I am most proud of at this moment is the Homewood Green Art Wall in a Kitchener parkette. The Brock Street neighbourhood won the Festival of Neighbourhoods $21,000 grant in 2014. They decided to create a community art wall. I was hired last year to help them with the wall, and I suggested that we recreate their houses in clay and make a mosaic of their neighbourhood.
On Neighbours Day the community came together to create mosaic art for the wall and the process has been so rewarding for everyone involved. I love it best when people say "I’m not creative" and then I can give them the space and the tools to show them that everyone is.
MIK: And why are you passionate about what you make?
ML: I’m most passionate about two things; one is my private time to create. You get into that zone where you’re learning about yourself, but also the materials and the limits of the equipment. My kiln is still new and I think I’ve pushed it to its limits a few times!
The second thing that I’m passionate about is sharing art with adults, (the people who say they aren’t creative). There was a woman that I used to work with who said to me over the photocopier, "you are so lucky that you have found something that you are passionate about."
That got me thinking about how I could help people find their passions.
From here, my "Flirting with the Arts" workshop was born. It’s a day-long series of art workshops run by inspired, professional artists, where attendees get to play with different art forms. Like camp for adults, everyone leaves inspired.
MIK: What's it like being an artist in Kitchener? How does this city support your work or inspire it?
ML: I was a sponsored representative to United Way in 2009 and I got to know some incredible people and organizations downtown, like House of Friendship, that are making a difference in people's lives. I started a huge mosaic mural for them in 2013 from an Awesome Foundation grant, and it should be completed this year. Places like Kwatzlab and The Working Centre totally inspire me. I know some great people at City Hall now that have really supported me and offered me advice along the way. I'd say however, that Martin DeGroot has been my biggest supporter and my personal creative hero in the Region.
MIK: Where can people find your work?
I do a few shows a year of porcelain work from my home studio on Waterloo Street. But, right now, I have my work for sale at The Gardiner Ceramic Museum in Toronto.
All photos credit: Meg Leslie