Lala’s Little Prints became a reality from a little girl named Leequette, sketching at four years old drawing on the house walls. Her mother bought her a sketch book after she noticed she would draw all day. After a high school hiatus, a friend saw her doodling one day at work, “I really like how you did that… you should do a mural for me”. Every day after work, Leequette would go to her friend’s house to paint the 19×10 wall for between four to six hours. The project took two and a half months to complete. And just like that her artist career began.
Now she focuses on personal narrative pieces after her postpartum experience and illuminating her southern identity, the pieces bring focus to mental health and feature the motherhood journey. She was inspired to start after not finding work centralized around this idea. Leequette quotes, “It’s an unsung journey where no one prepares you on how to feel or help through the process of motherhood”.
Leequette pictured her ideal clients as postpartum millennial moms, but that’s only a fraction of people who have caught their eye on her work. A lot of people who resonate with the art are the upcoming American generation Xennials. Her art connects with them, it grabs their attention and it’s fierce compared to the art they are used to seeing in let’s say Marshals. Leequette explains her approach, “I like to push the senses of a person. I have one piece that’s titled ‘Smells like outside’, it’s my kids playing, but the fabric I choose is reflecting outside, a softer kind of fabric, just to generate the smell of children playing, coming in and smelling terrible.
I like to play with those senses in my work”. She let me in on what makes her process so unique, since it’s mixed textiles it’s not a simple process to bang out an idea, it’s an intimate, complex process, “I let my ideas marinate for a while, sometimes for months at a time. It’s minimalistic with a maximal punch I’m doing the pieces quickly but the process itself takes months, weaving mediums together, finding the right fabric and composition, a lot of work goes behind the pieces rather than when I’m actually doing them where I can get them done in a day or two.”
Leequette ships her own art, and loves to add her personal embellished touches; she feels much more connected to her clients this way. A lot of material for her pieces is sourced locally or thrifted, she tries to have a very small eco footprint in her business venture. Lequette’s great dedication has shown through her countless accomplishments like the Emerging artists Award Oshawa 2021, Robert McLaughlin Gallery Award R&G 2023 and 2024. She even had a great opportunity to have her work shown on the city bus for Emancipation day celebration, it was featured for the month.
Another welcoming opportunity was painting a picnic table for Municipality of Durham’s 50th Anniversary, and Oshawa’s 100th Anniversary her sketches and illustrations were on display. Not stopping there, she also hosts workshops for people wanting to venture creatively, she’s done a wreath workshop for nurses and hosted painting workshops at the Ajax and Oshawa community libraries. As a networking opportunity Leequette recently finished the Ogotawa Black Artreprnuer Program which is an amazing opportunity for artists to connect with the seven principles of shared heritage.
Future aspects are strong, goals are manifesting for more mural opportunities, markets and Live Paint Events that include live wedding paintings, live illustrations and face painting, which can be booked on her website. She’s inspired by her three beautiful children and a mother’s journey.
Website: www.lalasantiago.com
Socials (IG and Tiktok): @lala_theartist
Author: Kayla Stephens, Content Writer, Toronto, Canada. If you have any stories or comments, kindly email: – kstephens755@gmail.com
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