How Petecia Le Fawnhawk Finds Harmony Between the Digital and Physical
How Petecia Le Fawnhawk Finds Harmony Between the Digital and Physical
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
USA Artist of the week - Le Fawnhawk
Name:
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
USA Artist of the week - Le Fawnhawk
Photography:
Le Fawnhawk
Words:
Erica Nichols
The desert of the American Southwest is both familiar and mysterious, providing a bottomless source of inspiration for centuries. The land stands as both what you need it to be and what it always has been. Few understand that as well as Petecia Le Fawnhawk. The multi-media artist grew up in Arizona and returned to New Mexico as an adult, developing modern surrealist works intentionally around the landscape. By blending the digital and physical, Le Fawnhawk creates a singular vision into otherworldly univeses. Learn more about her artistic expression and what she made for our DELSEY Paris collaboration.
Your work extends across a range of different mediums. What was your starting point and what do you love most about exploring those different mediums?
Petecia Le Fawnhawk: Most artists are known for their mediums… the painter, the sculptor, the singer. But for me it was the unified vision that was of utmost importance to me. Applying this vision to various mediums feels most natural. It is the accord of my artistic expression. It hasn’t been easy to explain plainly what it is “I do.” I construct otherworldly universes both digital and physical through various elements, piecing together something that feels most authentic to me.
The southwest plays such a huge role in your work. Can you share a bit about your connection to the desert?
I spent my youth in Arizona. The desert served as a backdrop to my original creative expressions and also a place to escape to when I needed to get away from it all. It is my teacher, my outdoor chapel, my backdrop to my creative expression… The nostalgic landscape that time and again brings me back home to myself.
A sense of place is so evident. How do you find that harmony between subject and background?
A friend told me once, “I think you’re addicted to harmony.” It could mean afraid to rock the boat, or perfectionism. From a positive perspective, it is when we are most at ease and at peace. When we find true balance in things. I think I seek that out in my artwork. That sweet spot of balanced harmony and the juxtaposition and dance between subject and space. From Alan Watts’ Nothingness: An exploration of the necessary relationship between thing and nothing. And endeavoring to explore this in such great detail, you sometimes stumble upon transcendent and otherworldly nuances.
What inspires you most about the icons and shapes you create in your work?
I think it originally came from my interest in the platonic solids (the building blocks of the world as we know it), and the laws that govern the universe. In essence, truth is found when we strip everything down to its purest form; physically and metaphysically speaking.
How do you continue to grow or challenge yourself as an artist while also maintaining a signature approach to art?
I challenge myself through the mediums that offshoot from the original concept. I created a fashion line inspired by my personal style and costumes that I created for my work during the pandemic, and am currently working on a furniture and jewelry line. I have no shortage of ideas, they keep flowing in and I just follow the creative flow’s lead and just act as an observer. The mystery of where it will go and how it will evolve is the fun part.
How did that fashion offshoot come about and were there any fun surprises or challenges in translating your work into fashion?
I had a friend ask if I ever thought about creating a fashion line inspired by my work. And in fact I had studied fashion design in 2001. My path took me elsewhere but it's always been at my core interest. I love design, style, and the ability to express so much of our intangible personal selves through what we wear. During the pandemic I had a friend, who is one of the best tailors I know, ask about coming to Taos, where I was living at the time. I said, if you come out, you have a job! So we set to work. The challenge now is investment as I wanted to use the highest quality natural fabrics and make bespoke in the US, and that doesn’t come cheap. It’s quite expensive to make and the end price is very exclusive, so I would say the challenge is on the business side — how to build this business where I can keep the authenticity of the vision and not sacrifice quality, but also be accessible. It’s quite the code to crack, but I’m learning to take my time. This isn’t a business I’m building to sell. It is a part of a lifelong artistic endeavor.
“I construct otherworldly universes both digital and physical through various elements, piecing together something that feels most authentic to me”
How do you know when a project is complete? Do you have a vision outright or create as you go?
Sometimes I sketch ideas and sometimes I create intuitively on the fly. It’s really organic and I work entirely with intuition, but I do have a producer's mindset and because of this feel I can confidently create in most scenarios and conditions.
Talk to us about what you’re creating DELSEY.
My family and I spend summers in Europe. I hadn’t really created much in these landscapes as I felt so attached to the desert. But with the opportunity of creating something with DELSEY and Visual Pleasure, I made use of the Tuscan hills I was traveling through. The luggage acts as a symbolic object of transitory expression through beautiful and unexplored landscapes. A horizon yet to come, a journey awaiting, and memories yet to happen.
What’s in your DELSEY?
I can't go without my phone, moleskine notebook, mechanical pencil, my Maison Le Fawnhawk wardrobe essentials, a collection of hats, and a good book. On the road I am constantly journaling and sketching ideas in my notebook or taking snaps for my visual diary with my iPhone. I love to shop for vintage on the road and enjoy mixing and matching with my own designed collection.
