Lea Basile-Lazarus
Paper art (other than printmaking)
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is a vibrant response to the world around me—whether engaging with social justice, exploring community, or reflecting on the natural environment. I work primarily in contemporary printmaking and paper pulp painting, both of which offer the visual language I need to express my ideas.
While each medium has its own distinct qualities, they share a physicality that keeps me deeply engaged. I often work on multiple pieces simultaneously, allowing for a dynamic and intuitive process. Layering stencils, shapes, colors, and marks, I respond instinctively to the imagery as it emerges.
I create marks, textures, and even text using syringes, turkey basters, ceramic tools, and stencils, guided by the gestural movement of my arm. Both are mentally and physically demanding, transforming mark-making into a language of nuanced conversations, unspoken emotions, and silent protests. Colors may clash or converge, echoing the turbulence of the world—yet within the chaos, moments of stillness and clarity emerge, offering space to pause and breathe.
The act of making is as vital to me as the finished piece—each gesture shaped by what I see, sense, and feel in the moment.
Artist Bio
Lea Basile-Lazarus is an intuitive abstract printmaker and papermaker whose career as an artist and educator spans decades. Her passion for printmaking began during her undergraduate studies at The College of New Jersey and deepened while earning her MFA in Printmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. For 25 years, she taught art in the Chicago area. Lea received a Teacher Fulbright to Japan and an educational study trip to Ghana.
Basile-Lazarus’s work is held in collections across the United States. Five years ago, she relocated to the Pacific Northwest and now lives in West Seattle. During her years in Gig Harbor, she exhibited at Jeffrey Moose Gallery, Mavi Contemporary Art, the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, and the Evanston Art Center. She was active in two artist cooperatives and served on the Gig Harbor Open Studio Tour board— as secretary and later as president.
Currently, she serves on the board of the West Seattle Art Tour and is a member of Women Painters of Washington, the California Society of Printmakers, Seattle Print Arts, and CoCA. Her gallery affiliations include Alki Arts, Jeffrey Moose Gallery, and Domicile Gallery and Design.