Interview with Kassandra Leiva :: Creative Friday
Spotlighting acrylic and oil paintings by an architectural designer
Welcome back to Creative Fridays, a feature of On Humanity to engage and inspire readers to create new things and share your own creative journeys. The following was one of several email interviews conducted in early 2021 and originally published in the HiH magazine. It is republished here with permission from HiH. Some content may be out of date; the aim is to share these creatives’ pathfinding and thought processes. If you would like to be interviewed similarly on anything you do for inspiration — or know someone who might — please reach out!
“My name is Kassandra Leiva and I am a Cuban-American living in Essex, CT. I received my B.A. in Architecture at Princeton University and my Masters in Architecture at Yale University, and currently work as an architectural designer at Centerbrook Architects. All my life I’ve been an artist. I’ve dabbled in a little bit of everything, but painting has always been my preferred medium. I’ve shown work at Princeton U., Yale U., and at Middletown.”
This is a painting of my recent series. It's titled "Danza de los Zunzúnes" or "Dance of the Hummingbirds" in English.
Can you tell us a bit about your creative endeavors?
I often say that I’m an architect by day and an artist by night. My official profession is as a designer working at an awesome architecture firm in Connecticut. For me architecture and painting come hand in hand. Through my studies in architecture school, my perspective and understanding of physical space has really transformed and shaped the way I portray space on a canvas. Space has consistency. There is color, there is light and darkness, sharp edges and softness. Space is something that can be felt with all your senses, but of course when it comes to painting, it’s primarily visual, maybe tactile. For me color and the rendition of light and shadow becomes key to work of art. Currently, I’m working on a series of larger oil paintings inspired by my cultural heritage, as well as a series of abstract acrylic mini paintings.
What inspired you to paint in the first place, and what keeps you motivated these days? What themes are you most passionate about?
I’ve been painting since I was very little. It's a way for me to meditate on my feelings, but it’s also a fantastic way to share ideas with the world. Transferring wispy elusive thoughts onto a canvas or a page is one of the most magical experiences out there. Lately I’ve been really interested in playing with color, texture, pattern, and ornament and how these relate to flat surfaces. It’s an ongoing study for sure.
What does your planning process look like? Do you always stick to the plan when you create a painting?
My process can be all over the place. Sometimes I just want to paint, so just start adding paint to the canvas and it’s kind of like a dérive… I let it take me where it may. A lot of other times, though, I kind of get this image in my mind and I start sketching it and figuring out how to capture it on paper, and then I transfer it to canvas. Once here I start blocking the different areas out with colors. This is where I make a lot of decisions about color. Although, because of the medium (acrylic or oil paints), I can always change my mind and tweak colors and details whenever.
Do you employ feedback of any kind in your work? What considerations do you use to determine that a painting is complete?
Sure. Any experienced artist knows they have to be self-critical. And the first step to doing that is stepping back… literally. While I’m painting I step away from my easel every 30 minutes to an hour. When you’re painting you can get very myopic, so stepping back allows you to see things compositionally you wouldn’t see otherwise. As for other feedback, I have always had great critics around me. My mom, my sister, and my partner. They’re all great critics. As for completion of a painting, that is the million-dollar question! I never really decide that the painting is done. I simply decide that I’m done working on the painting, for now. I leave open the possibility that I could always come back to it, and sometimes I do.
How do you go about showcasing or publicizing your art? Is there a routine you default to or an avenue you have yet to explore?
I showcase my art on my website, my Instagram, and my Facebook page. The latter two are great venues for finding new viewers. I’ve recently gotten involved with the Connecticut Women Artists group, a rather established institution here in Connecticut, and I’m planning on showing some of my work in local shows.
Has the pandemic affected your creative work and/or output? If so, how?
While I’ve painted all my life, I’m fairly new at integrating myself into the local art scene. The pandemic has made it difficult to meet cool new artists and curators at gallery showings. So I’ve slowly been trying to reach out to people as I develop my work. But as for my creative output, I think I’ve had a wonderful explosion of creativity in the last however many months we’ve had of pandemic-time, and art has been one of my survival tactics.
Are you currently working on any particularly exciting project(s), painting-wise or otherwise?
Yes! I’m currently working on a series called “Mitos y Raíces” (in Spanish), which translates to “Myths and Roots”. This series explores my relationship to Cuba, my birth country. A little piece of my soul is still in Cuba, and I want to understand that part of me better. My work shows themes of spirituality, dance, nature, and dreams. I consider the relationship between the human figure, animals, and colors and textures. So far it’s been a joy to work on these!
How can readers of this Issue help your work(s) reach a larger audience?
Check out my work on social media. All my work is for sale, so if you see something you love or think you know someone who will love something I’ve shown, please share! Or if you are an artist and want to talk, I’m always excited to start a new conversation, or even a collaboration.
Please check out my website (kassandraleiva.com), Facebook page (Kassandra María Leiva Art), or Instagram (@kmleiva).
If you’d like your work or thought process to be featured in this publication in a future Creative Friday post, or know someone who might, please reach out or share it with others. Please consider inviting your friends or collaborators to this publication or participating in the anyhumans podcast as a guest or host.