Leah is a proud Garawa and Mara woman from the Roper River region of the Northern Territory, currently living on Dunghutti Country on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. She is skilled in painting and digital artwork and design, and is passionate about using her talents to educate and share her culture.
The youngest of three children, Leah was born with blue hands and feet in Hornsby Hospital in 1990 and, before her mother could even hold her, she was immediately transported to Westmead Children’s Hospital for treatment. She was diagnosed with a heart condition that required two surgeries – the first when she was only a few months old and the second at the age of 13.
Leah grew up on Dharug and Guringai Country and spent a lot of time camping and fishing on the Hawkesbury River. This time was spent with Elders and cousins, learning about the land and its animals. She attended Asquith Girls High School on Sydney’s northern outskirts before studying Graphic Design at Hornsby TAFE and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts at Eora College in Redfern.
Leah started drawing at a young age and her talent grew from there. Over the years she has experimented with different materials and techniques including photography, sculpture and painting. Throughout her life, different people have helped Leah to develop her own artistic style. She has learned painting techniques from her mother and grandmothers and traditional raark (cross-hatching) from her Uncle Mick Huddleston (who himself is a well-known Aboriginal artist).
Currently Leah works with her brother’s company – Songlines Art, Culture and Education – creating a range of Aboriginal education products and resources. She also works with corporate and community clients to create digital artwork for a variety of applications. In the past she has illustrated children’s books for Laguna Bay Publishing’s ‘Yarning Strong’ collection, painted murals at preschools on the NSW Central Coast and exhibited work in the Boomali Aboriginal Art Gallery.
