Artisan Profile

Living in southwestern Ontario, Leena makes her home in Cambridge. With a B.Sc. Honors Biology (fine arts electives) she worked in pharmaceutical research for 7 years. Surrounded by her grandmother's sculptures and paintings while growing up, her creativity was sparked by a combination of her son's entrepreneurialism and the discovery of boxes of unused cloth diapers; thus began the transfer of experimental and detail oriented skills to the realm of fiber sculpture. Environmentally conscious, she uses recyclable forms and renewable resources (shreds of fast growing North American aspen), natural fabrics and fibers in her work.
The Cambridge Memorial Hospital's Angel's of Caring fundraising campaign has benefited from the sale of over 37,000 angels...25 yearS!! She was honoured with the task of designing the Phyllis Gretzky memorial angel for Christmas 2006 for St. Joseph?s Lifecare foundation in Brantford ON. The Gretzky family encouraged the Phyllis Gretzky keepsake angel collection for 2007, over 7,500 angels were sold. Hamilton VON sold over 22,500 and Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre, over 2,000
Her goal is to have the caring and warmth that went into the making of her angels radiate throughout all the homes in Canada, North America and beyond.