My artwork is my ‘wabi sabi‘ — a place of rest and centering, a returning to essential simplicity — a piece of paper, a piece of tree bark, dried flower petals, and seeds, are the creative elements forming a visual story. They are remnants from Nature wedded with handmade papers, botanicals, paint, ink, gold leaf, objets trouvés, hand-cut and ‘repurposed’ images. Currently, the genre of my works is multimedia, collage. The collage pieces are always evolving and evocative of Nature and the world both micro and macro. Works prior to 2014 were executed with oils, watercolor, tempura, Indian inks, fabrics, botanicals, and objets trouvés. I have been exploring, studying, and creating art for decades. It is the counterweight to my long life as a poet and writer.
Born in Cambridge, MA, I grew up by the sea and the wild cliffs of New England. Nature is my heartbeat. When I was ten years old, my first art teacher was Russian artist Dorthy Segal, a member of the Cape Ann artist colony in Gloucester, MA. Ms. Segal guided us, children, by showing us the masters and letting us find the rhythm within our hearts to express our desire to create something from the depths.
From New England, I migrated to New York City, my Mecca. In Manhattan, I attended painting and drawing classes at the Art Students League and took art courses at New York University. After New York City, my family moved to Pennsylvania and I studied sculpture and drawing at the Fleisher Art Memorial Center in Philadelphia, and painting with John Ivanchenko of the Hicks Art Center Gallery in Newtown, PA.
Current exhibits are: Members Exhibition, Chester County Art Association, December 2024; New Members Exhibit, The Plastic Club, January 2025; By Women for Women, Regional Center for Women in the Arts, Juried Exhibit, November 2024; Little Luxuries, Juried Show, Mainline Art Center, September 2024; Group Exhibition, In the Distance, July 2024; Las Laguna Gallery, Politics in Art, Juried Show, July 1st, 2024 to April 30, 2025. Play as Inspiration, Abington Art Center, June 2024; Group Exhibition: Teachers & Members, Mainline Art Center, March 2024; Storytelling thru Art- Les Nuits Arabes III, Solo Exhibition, New Work, Gladwyn Library, October 2024; Storytelling thru Art – Les Nuits Arabes II, Solo Exhibition, New Work, Radnor Memorial Library, February 2024; Expressions of Radnor, Wayne Art Center, February 2024; Les Nuits Arabes/The Arabian Nights – Storytelling thru Art, Solo Exhibition, Ludington Library, September 2023; Las Leguna Gallery, Storytelling, October 5 – 28, 2023; Las Leguna Gallery, Open Theme, July 6 – 29, 2023; Summer Juried Show 2023 Abington Art Center, Ethnicity Through the Eyes of the Artist, June 9th to July 24th, 2023; 159th Small Oils Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia Sketch Club, May 5th through 21st, 2023; Art of the Flower Juried Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, April 2023; Domenic Di Stafano Mercurial Work Paper Juried Exhibit, Philadelphia Sketch Club, March 2023; Wayne Art Center Member Juried Exhibit, October 2021, 2022, Wayne, PA; Expressions of Radnor, February 2023, Wayne Art Center; Abington Art Center Summer Juried Show, June 2022, Abington, PA; Les Nuits Arabes/The Arabian Nights, Solo Exhibition, Ludington Library, Bryn Mawr, PA, September — October 2023, Bryn Mawr, PA; Elements of Nature, January 2022, with a second show February 2022, J.Maine Gallery, Vorhees, NJ; Visions of Self, February 2022, Yosemite Sierra Artists, Oakhurst, CA; Open Call, Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach CA; Thru the World Lightly, Solo Retrospect Exhibition, May 2000; Spirit Song, Doylestown, PA. Previous years participation with community group shows in Bucks County such as Juried Exhibit Phillips Mills in New Hope, PA, Trenton Museum, Trenton NJ, and New York City community group shows.
The works on this website primarily represent creations from 2019 to the present time. Most are for sale.
What other artists say about Laila Wah’s artwork:
“I really love your artwork. It has all the Elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, and it ‘s ethereal in landscape and beyond. “- Tim Mammel, Artist
“Laila’s artwork is earthy, vivid glimpses of otherworldly places. Organic, ancient, and a moment of time.”- Maureen Maher, Sculptor
“The art is very present, with language of long ages and times. It sings of now and yesterdays.”- Paul Waters, Artist
“The paper canvases by Laila Wah evoke a mindful journey…a visual-sensual experience…they stir the eye with colors, tone, textures, and intricate mass…where one can find one’s own pareidolia experience…” – Mark John Humeny, Wood and Stone Artisan
“Thank you for your support and challenges. Your art is so amazing and I only support it.” – David Erler, Master Craftsman Framer, Forked RiverFramers