Leila Dear

Leila’s interest in crafts and sacred arts traditions was kindled by travelling and study in China.

She chose to study for an MA at the School because she appreciated our distinctive approaches to art that combine the practical with the philosophical. Leila especially welcomed our traditional ethos, in contrast to other art schools she had attended.

On our MA course Leila developed skills in ceramics, stained glass, traditional geometry and the composition of Arabesque designs, among other traditional art modules. The intensive study brought her to a deeper understanding of the integrating principles underlying traditional arts. She was especially inspired by exploring geometric order through nature and the traditional arts.

Leila says “The subjects we studied on the course have set me on a path for a sincere lifetime commitment to art and its educative value. The sources and expressions of traditional art are inexhaustible and an inspiration for my life and work.”

Leila’s final project (shown above) for the 2012 final year degree show explored the phenomena of Cymatics, or visible sound. She made sound waves visible using a Chladni Plate and Oscilloscope, then interpreted visual representations of wave forms through her understanding of geometry to produce ceramic tiles, which she then used to make a decorative fountain.