Layla Wah

Artist Statement

For this Open Call for Ellarslie 43 I am choosing 2 Collage Works, one is a large Multimedium Paper Collage, and the other a large Canvas Collage which employing oil paint with leather üieces and botanical specimens. Over the Garden Wall evokes quietude and offers the deep peace of might, and the paper collage, Ear and Peace junps to the task of retaining innrt peace during warfare and conflict.

My artwork is my 'wabi sabi' - a place
of rest and returning to essential simplicity - my home port. It is meditative and explorative. I paint and write like breathing, I have to.
Nature is my inspiration.
It's how I translate my inner reality and make peace with the chaos and beauty of the outer world. It's a voyage of self-expression thru various mediums: watercolor, Indian ink, oil paint, pastels, now mixed media collage.

My artwork has a variety of expressions.
There are four major genres of my work. 1. Oil impressionistic painting with gold leaf; 2. Watercolors; 3. Acyralic abstractions; 4.Multi Media Co1lage wherein a piece of paper, a piece of tree bark, dried flower petals, seeds are the creative elements forming a visual story. They are remnants from Nature wedded with paints, handmade papers, gold leaf, miscellaneous materials, objets trouvés and hand-cut repurposed images. Since 2023 I have developed storytelling works: Les Nuits Arabes/The Arabian Nights and World Tales.

All works are ever evolving and my inspiration is drawn from my infinite connection with Nature. It's only natural that I incorporate botanicals into my artwork.

The collage pieces are particularly evocative of Nature and the ever changing
world both micro and macro. Each collage is unique because each component, each handmade piece of paper, particles of material
from Mother Nature cannot be reproduced. Each minute piece is one of a kind, a moment preserved and evocative,

Notably there are a number of 'series' collage works. To date there is the Thankga series, Buddhist images; Les Nuits Arabes (Arabian Nights), and World Tales, which are depicting a story the viewer may conjure up; another series is Earth, which are abstractions in the ever changing face of Mother Nature; Origami Ladies; Noël series; and currently a series entitled- They Keep Coming.

With my Acyralic and Gold Leaf paintings I am working on a Stardust and Nebulae'series.

In additiion to exploring, studying and creating art for decades. The counter weight to my life is as a poet and writer. My writings consist of poetry in 3 languages, French, Spanish and English, a recent volume of short stories derived from the Far and Middle East evocative of One Thousand and One Nights, and non-fiction work such as a volume on Chakra Balancing, Acupuncture Manual for patients and students, and novels.