The Making with Marla Lenore McLeod

Marla Lenore McLeod is an artist whose work celebrates Blackness with a profound and intimate reverence. McLeod's work spans textiles, charcoal, and oil painting, each chosen carefully to enhance the narrative of her subjects. Her work, such as her intricate mixed media portraits and the striking charcoal drawing “Alabaster Box,” which was featured as part of the 2024 Essex Art Center Salon Show this summer, reflect her deep personal history and diverse cultural experiences. McLeod has also held a solo exhibition in the Essex Art Center in 2022, “DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD,” an exploration of power, privilege, and the marginalization of LGBTQI+ individuals and people of color.

In this interview, artist and Essex Art Center Intern Adrianna De la Rosa dives into understanding Marla’s inspirations and artistic process, exploring how she creates compelling stories through portraits of Black individuals.

Adrianna De la Rosa: So much of your work celebrates Blackness and Black bodies. Can you elaborate on how your personal experiences have shaped your artistic practice, particularly emphasizing Black excellence?

Marla Lenore McLeod: I grew up in African-American households. I was raised in foster care, so I didn't grow up with my parents per se. When I was about in the third grade, I ended up getting sent to the GATE program, which stands for Gifted And Talented Education. And that really was spurred by a specific teacher whose name was Ms. Beverly. She was one of the very few—I can count them on one hand—Black teachers I had between elementary and graduate school. She was the one who actually noticed me. And she kind of embodied that throughout her career. I didn't want to be a teacher, but I ended up being one, and things have worked out so well that now I can help a wider body of people as well.

Self Portrait, mixed media on mannequin 

AD: What’s inspiring you these days?

MLM: Within American culture, there's all these subsets of cultures, and I kind of get to be in and exist within all of those spaces. Existing is inspirational. All you have to do is go outside, you know?

I live in New Haven, not far from Yale, but outside of that Yale space. Once you get outside that circle, you have a lower economic space. And I stay on the outskirts of New Haven. But I wouldn't give it up for the world because it is a comfortable space for me. I know this space, I know the people, I know the culture. So literally, if I go outside, there could be any number of things that inspire me: children walking down the street, someone walking their dog, someone leaving the hospital, someone around the corner looking a little iffy. But you know, that's just what it is, especially city living. Everything is inspirational.

The people that I surround myself with, especially in the art world, inspire me as well. I think the art world in and of itself is a space of exploration. So you have a huge variety of people who are seeking to learn and know more. And if you're surrounded by all that, how could you not be inspired, right?

This past September, I collaborated with New Beginnings, a Boston based re-entry services program that works with previously incarcerated women. I worked with Stacey Borden and the women in the program to create a group exhibition that opened in Roxbury’s Nubian Square as part of their yearly fundraising event. I worked with the women on a weekly basis in order to create a collaborative piece in honor of their former art instructor, whose art therapy practices held a formidable impact in these women’s lives

New Beginnings with Diane F.

AD: I noticed that you have collaborated quite a bit with other artists. I also saw that your charcoal work in the Essex Art Center Salon Show “Alabaster Box,” is a portrait of one of your fellow artists, Anthony Peyton Young. Can you discuss your relationship with Anthony and how important having a creative community is to you?

Alabaster Box, Oil on Wood, 72x48

MLM: Oh my gosh. Okay. Let me just talk about how important it is to have an Anthony. Anthony is actually a really good friend of mine, a fellow artist. I met him coming into grad school and Anthony and I both kind of work along the same lines.

Anthony is also my critic. When I don't want to hear it, he is that artist that is going to give me that blunt truth. No matter what I'm thinking about it, he's going to give me his perspective. We  look out for each other, and we push each other to do things when we're feeling a bit lazy.

AD: Much of your art practice centers on oil painting, but your recent works are charcoal on wood. How do you choose your materials and techniques and how does the medium affect the story that your pieces are trying to tell? 

Skin Folk, charcoal, beading, leather on denim, 48x74, work in progress

MLM: I really love charcoal, but I also love to paint because I can get high detail, especially with color. I usually use a charcoal if it's more within this memory space, because it allows me to really focus on lighting, values, shadows, and highlights; I really get to enjoy that space. But in the paintings, I get to enjoy color. With color, there's all these layers upon layers, especially when you're doing oil paints. 

AD: How do you hope your audience will respond to your work? 

MLM: All the portraits are informative and tell a story about that certain individual, the portrait goes beyond their physical appearance and emphasizes who the person is. 

I hope that it gives information. Some work I do is portraiture and some  has historical context to it. I put all this “data” in the work in different ways. I like to make the materials mean something that has to do with the context. It's always about a cultural or social perspective and looking at who we are, where we are, how we are, why we are. In that way, the work serves as a true story of the individual.

I work hard to achieve a specific result. I have to make sure that when I sit back and I look at it, it says what I intended. If it doesn't, I think  'Oh Shit.' That’s when Anthony comes in and says, 'Oh yeah, that is trash. You need to get back to the drawing board.' I'm like, 'I hate you. Fine, okay. Here I go.' [laughs]

AD: What is your creative process from initial idea to final piece? And, are there any routines or rituals that you engage in?  

MLM: The way that I work actually depends on the piece that I'm working on. If I'm working on a quilt, I will block out my pattern. Before I go in and start cutting my pieces, I have to lay out and make up a pattern and decide. If I'm working on a textile or a garment, I often start with a character. I have to start with someone. I have to start with that focus. Like what is this about? 

If I'm painting, I start with photography. It has to be with the individual, and they have to be in the right energy, because it's literally just stopping a moment in time, and it's an impression of an individual within that moment. So if they are feeling any kind of way within that moment, it shows up either in their body language or their facial expression.

Monica Hill of Manchester, oil on leather and wood with thread

**AD: Could you share any upcoming projects or exhibitions you're excited about?  

MLM: Yes! I’m currently in “Material Progress,” a group show at Show-Up in Boston that considers American democracy's impact on our notion of home and political discourse. The other artists are Dina Nazmi Khorchid and Diana Weymar. It’s on view until Dec 1, 2024.

I'm also working with Stephanie M. Curiel at Umbrella Arts Center to curate The Walden Woods Project, an outdoor exhibition in Concord opening in April 2025. The site specific works found in this exhibition explores the lived experiences of the former slaves that inhabited Walden Woods in Concord. We have an amazing group of artists involved on this project including but not limited to Wendy Kendrick from Ohio, Whitney Harris from New York, and Njari Anderson from Rhode Island. 

I was also just awarded a residency at Boston Center for the Arts, where I’ll have a studio until 2026. Please come visit!