Mother, star navigator, seed saver, witness to the non-verbal parts of myself. Observer of the natural world and the sacred mystery.

I live at the base of the mountain of my own heart. Lover and fighter. Friend of trees, aspiring author of love. Pattern maker and breaker. I am inspired by the kinship between beauty and simplicity, the cosmos and biome. I am moved by topographical maps and physics.

I have been counting growth rings here in the rural PNW since birth. Growing up in the cross sections of indigenous foodways and marion and loganberry farming, food was the epicenter of my early years. Art has moved through me in various ways: as a farmer florist, pastry chef, founder of Poulsbo Farmers Market, creating and operating a small dining hall, keeping bees, catching wild yeasts for baking, and farming flowers and root crops for wholesale markets.

With over 25 years of leadership in food systems development and regional economic strategy, I now work as a Fractional Executive and Inclusive Business Strategist, building tools and strategies to help people run their businesses. Certified by the Food Finance Institute, I advise food entrepreneurs and organizations across the Pacific Northwest on scaling sustainable, values-based enterprises (lesleedixon.com).

I work with many mediums—oil, acrylic, chalk, ink, spray paint, wax, and words. Much of my work begins on wood or tin. I carve reliefs that later become prints or art. I translate natures stories into art and I build tools and resources for other makers to help their businesses thrive.

My process is a backcountry. It is long and tedious and layered. I have multiple bodies of work that continue to provoke curiosity and remembrance.

You can also find me at https://lesleedixon.com/ 💜