ALEXANDRA LEGGAT

Alexandra Leggat for DESK SPACE

DESK SPACE Who (a one-liner or a bio)?

ALEXANDRA LEGGAT I'm a writer and a book addict. My newest collection of short stories is called Animal and I just finished reading a series of graphic novels called the Colour of Water, The Colour of Earth and the Colour of Heaven by the Korean manhwa author Kim Dong Hwa - I highly recommend it. It's beautiful, on every level, which is why I wanted to tell you all.

DS When did you start writing, publish your first book (or when are you publishing your next)?

AL I started writing when I was six. I remember the first poem I wrote and where I wrote it. It's all I did then, and now, I guess. My first book was published when I was in my late twenties - I think.

DS Where do you write (at your desk/outside/in bed)?

AL I'm writing freehand right now, so I have the luxury of writing anywhere, anytime. However, I get down to serious business, pull a story or book or article all together, in the sanctity of my loft, my office. No, its more than an office - my sanctuary.



DS Why do you work where you do (at your desk because it is a quiet space/outside b/c it helps you think/in the park b/c you can smoke, etc)?

AL I love working in my loft at my big white harvest table that doubles as a desk (a very heavy piece of furniture that my dad and I transported on top of my old '67 Monte Carlo from an auction way the hell out in Fort Erie to my home) because it's spacious and harmonious. I'm up in the sky here, amongst the tips of the trees, like being in a tree house. The room is bright and airy. I feel detached from everything - domesticity, humans, all the stuff that can weigh me down when I'm trying to escape into my work, my psyche. I can escape here, clattering away on my computer at my big old harvest table in my loft in the sky - truly escape. And I watch people without them knowing I'm watching, like a hawk, a falcon - you know, all those crazy raptors.



DS What are you working on now?

AL I'm writing my new book, which I started the second Animal came out. A nice surprise, to be able to embark on something new right away - and happily.

Coming up

This week on DESK SPACE: Alexandra Leggat

DESK SPACE WILL BE BACK SOON

LAURA FILICE

Laura Filice for DESK SPACE

DESK SPACE Who (bio, one liner)?

LAURA FILICE Tainted painter



DS When did you start becoming interested in art, produce your first work (or when are you displaying work/commissioned to produce work)?

LF I found my passion at a young age, creating something out of nothing and later moved on to crayons, pencils and chalk. I was in middle school when I found my love… paint!



I started off like a typical kid with impressionist art, but discovered my true tainted nature in my teens. My bedroom walls were my canvass, much to my mother's dismay and my ever-changing mural of graffiti art grew with me. Later on, in the mid 90’s, I started painting on canvass and worked with a reputable local hippie artist that taught me everything there is to know about oils, realism and acid trips.



I developed a talent and ran with it for years - from sketching cartoon characters to painting intricate canvasses. I began selling artwork via word of mouth in 2000. Throughout the years I’ve displayed my work in many local exhibits, galleries and silent auctions.



DS Where do you work (at your desk/outside/in a studio)?

LF I have a home studio, which is well equipped, but my art often trails into other rooms in the house. In my space there’s a computer desk, which operates both PC and Mac platforms (currently, I am teaching myself how to use Illustrator and Photoshop). This space is where I research and brainstorm ideas, to later execute into works of art. My space is also my showroom; on the walls is a collection of my recent works.

In addition, I have been working in the area of project coordination and management for the last decade. I worked at a graphic art and web design boutique shop as the Project Manager over the last year but recently parted ways to find a new and stable endeavor…

DS Why do you work where you do (at your desk because it is a quiet space/outside b/c it helps you think/in the park b/c you can smoke, etc)?

LF I like to work from home because no matter what time of day, it is always conveniently located in the next room making it easy to create (and I’m lazy and like the fact that I don’t have to travel far).

DS What are you working on now?



LF Right now, I am working on 3 Munny’s (various sizes) of which will be displayed at an upcoming Lost Marbles show in September (Ottawa).