Today I’m doing something a little different, and introducing you to a local Pittsburgh artist, Tate Leone, whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting. Our encounter was at the Ace Hotel for the Chatham Baroque Twelfth Night Gala, where one of Tate’s pieces was selected by the associate curator of art from the The Andy Warhol Museum to be auctioned. She’s currently finishing up her art degree at Carnegie Mellon University.

Tate creates feminine, dream-like pieces that happen to elude to some of my favorite things. These include fashion, travel, interior design and flowers (visits to Phipps Conservatory are a must, for her) that work harmoniously to create luxurious and unique visual spaces. They are a glimpse into her thoughts and wishes. With descriptive names like “Lana Del Ray is wearing Gucci on Harden drive and don’t forget to dip your strawberries in sugar” (pictured above), it’s hard not to want to get to know this Matisse loving budding artist and fashionista.

See more of Tate’s work and get to know what’s inspired her in our interview below.

Question: What inspired you to become an artist? 

Answer: I’ve always been an artist, as long as I can remember, except at one point in kindergarten where I wanted to start a career path towards becoming a police woman because my grandpa was an investigator in the North Side.

My parents began buying sketchbooks for me at a young age and I continued art making. The children’s story, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, was always inspirational to me in thinking about my place in the world. Cooney writes about a young girl whose artist grandfather encouraged her to make the world a better place; but she was unsure how to.  After the girl grows up, she surprises herself in how she betters the world and does so independently. It always made me feel like my art could change or add to the world and I didn’t need help in doing so. (I do need help, but I think it’s possible – shout out to my mom and dad for always encouraging me).

Question: What’s your earliest memory of creating art? 

Answer: My earliest memory of creating art is drawing in preschool. We were drawing people. I was the only one who put eyelashes on my person and I was wondering if anybody else saw them.

Question: Do you plan on staying in Pittsburgh after you graduate Carnegie Mellon this spring? 

Answer: I’m not sure if I will stay in Pittsburgh after graduating this spring – I’ve always wanted to venture outside to a bigger city since I am born, raised, and attend school here. I was lucky to have studied in London for a semester, for an infinite number of reasons, but to see what living in a different place is like. Pittsburgh offers an extremely unique, supportive, and creative artist community, which is growing every day, and I don’t want to separate myself from that right now. I guess we will have to wait and see!

Question: In your pieces, you create visual spaces that have nods to fashion, interior design, travel… You’ve described your work as being oddly luxurious and unapologetically feminine. Where did you draw inspiration from with your latest collection? 

Answer: In my current work, I am making spaces out of my desires, travels, and memories. There is a beautiful quote by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge: For the sake of a single poem, about how in order to be creative, you need to have life experiences. But experiences aren’t enough. You have to think and convert those experiences into memories. Only until the memories become a part of you and are indistinguishable from each other is when you can go forth and be creative, because you are the creativity (read the quote! It’s much more eloquent and moving than how I’m explaining it).

I like to think these spaces I’m making are an unconscious mash up of my desires, travels, and memories. Aesthetically, I’m hugely inspired by trending print on runways (particularly floral prints), editorial layouts, Phipps Conservatory visits, and exotic fruits as far as colors and pattern go. The end product ends up appearing what would be called traditionally feminine and is confrontational in its qualities.

Question: Who are some of your favorite artists and fashion designers? 

Answer: I have an ever-changing wall in my studio full of tears of magazines, print outs of artist works, and self-taken photos, where I can pick and choose elements to use in pieces. I am a follower of Gucci and Valentino, as well as Miu Miu, among many others. I’m a big fan of Wes Anderson composition. I am in love with David Hockney and Henri Matisse; contemporary painters Kathryn Bernhardt, Claire Stigliani, and Echo Eggebrecht; and illustrators Monika Forsberg and David Shrigley. These are just a few.

Question: Are there any other creative mediums you’d like to explore? 

Answer: Some creative mediums I’d like to explore – and will be exploring this semester – is sculpture. I’m planning on making faux-furniture in combination with my paintings. I’m really excited to see how the sculpture and painting create a dialogue between one another in an installation-like space. Come see the end product, as well as really fantastic graduating student artwork, at the Carnegie Mellon University BFA show on April 29th!

Question: How has your passion for art influenced your work with Anthroplogie? 

Answer: I’ve worked in Anthropologie’s apparel color design department. I love color and the way it changes our perspective, emotionally and physically, so I was passionate about working on color commercially, which is a much different environment than studio. I liked the idea of how I was giving the customer artistic color combinations that she could wear and feel beautiful in, like the customer herself was a painting.

Question: What music do you listen to when you are working or in the creative process? 

Answer: Ah! The music I listen to really depends on my mood. If I’m going slow, I listen to Sufjan Stevens and Paolo Nutini. If I’m pumped and feeling the energy, I have a playlist which consists of Odesza, Glass Animals, and Flume. I also listen to LL Cool J and (lots of) Lana Del Rey. Pretty much anything! I love suggestions for new artists, too.

Question: What projects are you working on right now? 

Answer: I’m starting out the semester with a few smaller drawings of mixed media but I’m going to be going big again, with painting (my works are typically 48″ x 48″ to 60″ x 60″). I feel as though I still have more potential to continue the series I worked on before. I’m also looking forward to the sculptural element in combination with the paintings to create an installation space.

Question: Where do you see yourself in five years? 

Answer: In five years, I hope to be designing patterns or color palettes in the textile industry while focusing on my work, applying to galleries and residencies.

My end goal is to continue solely as a studio artist and open a gallery or a lifestyle boutique. I am interested in interior decoration, floral arrangements, textile pattern and color design, desserts, fruits, and luxury items. I would like to create a space that brings all of this together commercially and personally; a lifestyle store or gallery on a local and genuine level. Eventually, I would like to attend graduate school for an MFA.

There are so many wonderful things to do, and I’m so lucky being an artist can allow me to do them all!

Thank you so much to Tate for giving us this insight and behind the scenes look at her work! Make sure to check out her website, tateleone.com and follow her on instagram @taaaaaaate! Check out her artist statement, here, which includes a quote from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge: For The Sake Of A Single Poem, by Rainer Maria Rilke.