Hi, I’m Leilani Derr.
I’m an artist, designer, and visual storyteller in Denver.
I love finding ways of making the fine arts more widely accessible. Through printmaking, I’m able to push my limits of reproduction while leaving room for the beauty in variation and flaws that are indicative of human touch.
Dead Ends was inspired by the powerful wake of women’s rights protests following the murder of Masah Amini. It’s meant to embolden us in dismantling systems that are not working. Ones that are actively harming ourselves and others. It reminds us that achieving growth can mean cutting away those systems that no longer serve us.
If the starkness, contrast, and colors remind you of propaganda posters…well, that’s intentional. Each of the three color layers were carved from linoleum blocks, inked, and burnished by hand on to mulberry paper to produce the full imprint.