Leslie Green

“With a job large or small, do it right or not at all” is likely a phrase the tenacious Leslie Green lives by. Her 40-plus-year career with Bloomington’s Stone Belt Arc, a disability service provider, was a huge job, including 21 years as CEO, and she clearly did it right. Among her many notable achievements was establishing the Stone Belt Art Program, but her love of art began years earlier.

“My journey as a weaver began in 1980,” she said. “After graduating from college, I enrolled in a class to learn the basics and was hooked.” Leslie purchased a large Swedish floor loom, joined the Brown County Craft Guild Gallery and immersed herself in an intensive study program.

To then make time for her family, career and other interests, the avid hiker paused her weaving but kept both the loom and the connection to her craft by collecting fine pieces and visiting art destinations with her art historian husband.

“Immediately after retirement, I returned to my loom,” she said. Enrolling in the online school of a Master Weaver Leslie expanded both her weaving knowledge and her Brown County studio, which includes three floor looms that today fuel her passion and capacity to create finely woven textiles.

“I strive for strong, engaging interactions between graphics, colors and textures, creating an intricately layered look,” she said. “I use finely gauged yarns of natural fibers, including wool, silk, cotton, and bamboo to create sophisticated, time-intensive pieces that delight the eye, whether they enhance a home interior or gracefully drape around someone’s shoulders.”

Highlighting how she does this job right, Leslie said, “I allow an idea to develop over time before conceptualizing the final piece. I may weave several samples to develop my ideas, because there are myriad elements and personal artistic choices to decide. The colors and patterns in a painting can be adapted into woven pieces and, much like composing music, there are limitless ways these elements can be brought together.”

Her attention to detail causes Leslie’s weaving style to be recognizable by its synthesis of textures and patterns, and the comparison between weaving and music plays out in her Indiana songbird-inspired work. “I develop weaving drafts based on the sound waves of a bird’s song and then incorporate the colors and textures of its plumage into a finished piece,” she said, having designed works that emulate the Kestrel, Northern Flicker, Bluebird, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, with plans for more.

Leslie’s handwoven work involves jobs both large and small. From tea towels, table runners and placemats to wearable scarves and shawls, all are done right; and that’s what makes her an Indiana Artisan.