Handcrafted Alexandria

In 2009, Leisa Collins, a native of New Zealand, and her husband started a 12,000 mile cross-country journey to find the perfect place to live and work. No surprise that journey led them to Alexandria, Virginia, where Collins has re-launched her art career and become active in the local artistic community.

Since her arrival, Collins has combined her talents and social activism in her work with Art on the Avenue, spearheading the 60-foot public mural in Del Ray, and the creation of Creative Art Nexus, a new local community art hub providing an art mentorship program for youth.

Collins' love for her adopted hometown is evident in her numerous paintings of Old Town Alexandria and Del Ray, the latter the subject of a recent art show at A Show of Hands. "I love [Del Ray's] eclectic blend of architecture and especially the bungalow homes, the artsy funky bright colors and most of all its true sense of community and family living," she explains in her blog Art with a Message.