Meet Leslie Satterfield | Artist, Designer & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leslie Satterfield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leslie, what do you attribute your success to?
Success, for me, begins with escaping any fear of failure — escaping self-doubt and putting forth a willingness to try.

Then comes a combination of belief, focus, passion, patience, determination, humility – and a healthy dose of blind faith and divine inspiration!

I read somewhere once that you shouldn’t let on – shouldn’t let others know how hard you’ve had to work to bring a creation into the world. But any major project that I’ve ever been successful at required a very dedicated and consistent work ethic.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For me, there’s a dance between my business and creative life. Passion was the impetus for each of my businesses — a passion for creating the thing that became the business.

I haven’t quite mastered the ability of putting something into the world without keeping my hand in it, the integrity of the product or experience starts to wane. I think many creative people struggle with this if they’re creation is something that continues to change and grow. A painting or a song is complete when you put it into the world but I’ve started a media company and built and envisioned two properties. Each is less a finite creative work, and more an ongoing creative service, if you will.

What I’m most excited about at the moment is a project that I’m calling House on Mars or House on Marz. (Not sure yet!) The essence is that it’s the building of a house as an experience and art project. I’ve been designing the majority of the furniture and ceramics and also collaborating with friends and select artists to build one-of-a-kind pieces.

The biggest challenged I faced was convincing myself that I could do it. I fell in love with the view from a parcel of 2.5 acres of land. There’s an old cabin in the distance which I imagine was built 70 or 80 years ago. Behind the cabin is a jagged mountainous skyline. It’s an open and expansive view: simple but breathtakingly beautiful. And that’s what I want House On Mars to be and to do: evoke a timeless, simple and peaceful feeling. Thoughtful materials and with a pure and minimal feel.

Whoever built the abandoned cabin in the distance, sourced the stones they used to build a chimney from the land they built on. I wanted the stones on my land to become a part of the design so I collected stones from the land I built on to outline the shape of the house.

I drew the plans and a very kind 90 year old draftsman turned my drawing into something we could submit to the building department.

I would like to say it was easy! But in all honesty it’s felt at times incredibly hard — and in others, incredibly rewarding.

Initially, I was plagued with self doubt. I knew I had an interest in building, but a lot of the practicalities felt very mysterious to me. I was self funding and the expenses involved felt daunting to say the least! During the weeks I spent in escrow there was a very active debate going on in my mind. Some days it was the sky’s the limit and other days, I almost called my realtor and said I’m so sorry but I just can’t do this. My intuition told me It was something that I not only could do but something that my spirit had to do to keep evolving.

In the end I’ve gained so much inspiration, knowledge and much more confidence in my abilities to create anything – really.

That feels like the most valuable lesson: if you take the time to imagine and dream upon what you want to create – you can turn it into something very real here on planet earth. In simple ways, like sourcing slabs of walnut with a grain that speaks to you and gluing it together to make solid wood cabinet doors. Or more esoteric ways like creating a life that feels incredible. One of the keys, I think, is to give yourself permission to experiment and to fail as many times as necessary and to enjoy the process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m bias because I love my own neighborhood. Atwater. You can walk to so many places in my hood. It’s so nice to leave my car keys on the counter and be able to go to the farmers market, great home goods stores, delicious restaurants, yoga, you name it. Mostly, I love to walk down the streets and look at other peoples houses. Design choices are always so inspiring to me.

Ok, but to actually answer your question! Love Squirl in Silverlake. I love the trails in Elysian Park. Kindship is my Yoga Studio of choice. Oh, there’s a class there that is incredible. It was dreamed into being and is taught by Meg Shoemaker. She brings in musicians and healers and it’s just an extraordinary and restorative experience.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Alwyn Carrier. She came into my life at a time when I was so overloaded with the stress of starting and running a new business that I wasn’t sleeping at night. She’s so articulate and intelligent. She took over the admin part of my business and also learned how to operate a film camera and became invaluable to me. When I sit for gratitude meditations she is the person that I think of first. But not just Alwyn, I have some very dear friends who inspire me endlessly. Honestly, without my friends I be lost!

Website: lesliesatterfield.com

Instagram: @lesliesatterfield / @houseonmarz / @desertsagehouse / @kissthebridefilms

Image Credits
Edna Leshowitz Leslie Satterfield.