The Art of Noticing

On an old blog post from 2017, she reflects on the “art of noticing” as essential to the process of becoming an artist. And to take in any of Leana Fischer’s paintings, it is clear she has not only noticed, but she has also beautifully, delicately, found a way to help us notice as well.

For Fischer, beauty is found in the little things, those everyday details that deserve to be celebrated. And her company’s name, May We Fly, acts as a collective call-to-action of sorts, an encouragement to notice, recognize and applaud the beauty in our individual stories.

Fischer is a Blacksburg native and graduate of Virginia Tech’s architecture program. When her husband, Dan, got into graduate school in Fayetteville, Ark., off they went in 2013. In a new town with a busily studious husband, she found herself with time on her hands; time to sink into the awareness that she was disappointedly uninspired by what the corporate world of architecture had to offer.

“I was not loving my life as an architect,” she candidly offers. “It was fine, but there was a disconnect. I needed more creativity and hands-on work. The work itself, regardless of the firm, was not fitting my personality very well.”

Even though both of her parents [Blacksburg residents Walter and Diane Hearn] were artists, Fischer’s childhood wasn’t highlighted by a nurtured interest in the craft. It wasn’t something she sought out to try as a hobby, let alone turn into a career. That is, until that keen self-realization that she really didn’t like her job very much.

 

A New Hobby

 

“I had taken a watercolor class in college that I loved, and I still had all the supplies. It was what I was most skilled at. I slowly and steadily painted as much as I could and started to sell it here and there. That’s when I realized I wanted to pursue it seriously. I started out strong in the craft show scene,” she laughs.

Her website proclaims: “Painting remains my true calling. It’s my expression of joy, my sincere offering, and my enthusiastic invitation. I work mainly with watercolor because it feels most natural in my hand. It has a language all its own, one that I am certain I will be learning for a lifetime. The elements behind it – pigment, water, movement – all point directly to my deep love of the natural world.”

 

Hobby to Business Model

 

Initially she was comfortable with the income simply covering the cost, without a thought on potential profit. But in 2014, her “hobby” grew into an LLC and in 2016, she left her day job to become a full-time career artist. Last year marked May We Fly’s 10-year anniversary.

The couple has since moved back to the New River Valley, to be closer to parents and reasonably attainable home ownership. Her studio is in the dining room of their 100-year-old home in the Cambria neighborhood of Christiansburg. “I find inspiration wherever. I take a ton of photos. One place will usually inspire me to paint, but the final composition is pulled from a collection of photos.” 

Her subject matter is predominantly nature landscapes with quiet, dainty elements therein, like a cabin, a boat, a fence line, a duck, or a trail (unless commission work dictates otherwise, ask about the piece on skiers). Having traveled quite a bit overseas, she hopes to spend time painting from those adventures soon, with a focus on how to interpret well-known sites with her own style. 

Her products range from original art pieces to thoughtfully culled products like calendars, place cards, notepads, stickers, gift tags, greeting cards and even gift wrap. She digitizes her originals to sell as high-print quality reprints at various sizes. Two of her most popular commission requests are wedding bouquet portraits and home portraits. She prefers to paint at 16×20 or 11×14 sizes which offer the most flexibility for reprints. 

 

Collections and Relationships

 

In the spring and fall, Leana typically launches a collection, a more cohesive grouping of pieces that share a theme. She admits she is never short of ideas, so working with a series or collection helps keep her focused. Her annual calendars are a popular item, along with her series on state birds. This spring she plans to offer a collection of birth flowers.

Nationally, Leana Fischer has a licensing partnership with Trader Joe’s and Hallmark who use her designs on their own greeting cards. Barnes and Noble also orders original products from May We Fly and, locally, you can find her work at New River Art and Fiber in downtown Blacksburg.

One of her favorite parts? “The relationship with my customers is something I didn’t anticipate would be such fun. I really know a lot of them. They feel like an extension of family.” 

Speaking of family, their almost one-year-old baby girl gets closer and closer to being mom’s toddling studio assistant. “I can’t wait to have her alongside me in the studio! I gave her crayons the other day to see what would happen. Of course, she just tried to eat them,” Leana chuckles. Perhaps being a parent fast-tracks our skill to notice, because we get the joy of noticing the world around us for the first time, all over again.

 

Text by Nancy S. Moseley
Photos by Jon Fleming

 

Nancy S. Moseley is a writer who is also a native of Blacksburg. She felt simpatico with Leana’s art, since she tends to gravitate toward images of trees. Of course, she giddily left with an 8×10 reprint of trees in the fall, and maybe even a calendar.