Maxwell Leigh – Arts Access North Carolina

My name is Maxwell Leigh. I am a summa cum laude Appalachian State University graduate who has a Bachelors of Science in psychology and a minor in sociology. I am a little bit of everything when it comes to art. My main art form is writing and world creation but I love to play with the magic of creativity, that is found in mixed media and jewelry making. I also enjoy the blessing of capturing beautiful moments in time through photography and I am a character performer and enjoy embodying movie characters, mascots, and creatures.

I am just starting my journey of finding my artistic voice; due to the arts being so inaccessible to me, for most of my life. However, with every art project, I tap into all my senses to bring to life the world, like I experience it. I want other’s to feel the rush of emotions, colors, tastes, textures and spatial sensations as they encounter my art. My world is filled with a flood of sensations at all moments in time, and while not all are pleasant, the moments that are, are filled with euphoria and I want to share that with others. I am a sensory friendly art instructor and work at two art focused jobs. At both, I work to help make the arts accessible to people of all backgrounds with a focus on disabilities.

My motto for all of my creative works is: “Glitter is always necessary except when it isn’t, which is rare.”

Website: glitterautist.com

Social Media: instagram.com/glitterautist

Mixed media acrylic on canvas. The canvas is broken into three different sections each with a different theme. The first section starting from the left, is painted with multiple shades of green and brown. Three pieces of wood are attached to the canvas, they look metallic and other worldly. From them sprouts moss, flowers, painted sea shells that are positioned to look like mushrooms, and pink and rich purple crystals that appear to be sprouting out of the wood. Hidden treasures can be found with closer inspection. A fallen bumblebee is encapsulated in resin stone and a dragonfly wing is captured in a crystal. A purple bar with a golden rope separates this scene from the next. In the next panel, black, purple and gold cascade down the frame, running over and around mounds of what appears to be hardening stone and pumice. The transcendental lava sparkles with fire flowers, blooming in only the hottest parts of the flow. Drifting on top are golden feathers. Another purple bar with golden rope separates the scene from the last. In the last panel, brilliant reflective blue covers the canvas, with the hint of waves as it runs down stream. Bright glass stones, of blue green and clear are laid out in the waters along with the remanence of large fishlike scales. Placed along the image are small mirrors giving the viewer the illusion their reflection in water.

A monarch butterfly hanging upside down on a leaf.