Hi! Welcome to my Etsy shop. My name is Leisa with an "e" but sounds like "Lisa". I make one-of-a-kind pieces for home and body and I am also a serious artist creating 2D, 3D and installation sculptural fiber, stitched works and mixed media pieces. I exhibit in museums, galleries and private homes. I live on an island in Canada accessible only by ferry! I have two children and two grandchildren.

I fell in love with the "tactile" while in the hospital for deafness in the early 60’s. My Mom brought me fantastic Barbie dresses she sewed from her recycled work suits and party wear and I would spend hours dressing Barbie. After I got out of the hospital, my father would take me to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, where a woman displayed and sold hand knit and hand made Barbie and Ken clothes. I was allowed to buy one each Saturday. It cost $1.00. After that I went with my Dad to a construction complex where the main office and workshop for his electrical contracting company was housed. I spent the rest of the day sitting on a small conduit cable "chair" at a huge, wooden, cable table, twisting bell wire into tiaras, bracelets and strange clothing.

I learned to sew at age 11, frustrating my mother endlessly by ignoring the "right way" of sewing skills and instead, tacked tubes onto dresses, hung strips of fabric from hems and cut my clothes in asymmetrical lines. Life took a more serious artistic path at age 15 when a class I took in weaving at Interlochen Arts Academy cemented my relationship with fiber forever. I have been a designer for an international knit/leather/fur company and designed wearable art, sweaters and hats for t.v. shows and my own company. I am in several books, magazines, and more.

I have a Master of Fine Art, a Bachelor of Fine Art and a Bachelor of Education in Art. I have studied and done just about every type of textile process during my art degrees and in my teaching, but it is Free Motion sewing - also known as machine embroidery - that I love most. That I can take simple thread and fabric and alter and create forms from them, is endlessly entertaining!

The creations for body and home I sell in my Etsy store are my calm in the midst of the creative storm. My other work - 2D, 3D and installation art pieces - take a huge amount of mental and physical energy. You can see that work at www.monaleisa.com. The Etsy works in my shop represent the wacky, fun of my artistic side…and are one-of-a-kind treasures that reflect what my mind is thinking and how my hands become the tools to realize my visions. It is through those pieces that I bring a little of my art into as many peoples' lives as I possibly can, through their affordability and accessibility.

I hope you'll become a customer...and a fan!

Enjoy looking through my shop. Custom orders are ALWAYS welcome!!!! I will also ship internationally. Just convo me and I will give you a quote on shipping your choice to you!