Cosette Leman

Cosette Leman 

The Notebook Project

Brushwork & Ink 

Biography

As an Asian American raised in rural India and relocated to the States, my art has become a way to bridge the cultural divide in my personal journey. Much  of my work is inspired by Indian culture and highlighted by rich warm colors and metallics. I like to tell stories through intricate brushwork and ink and fuse traditional Asian design with a more modern and illustrative style. I desire to reach an audience of all cultures and backgrounds with my work. I'm here to bring my own voice to Asian-American art and also invite a new generation to love and push the boundaries of art.

 Artist Statement 

 The Notebook Project was a personal journey of capturing the wide range of stories that make up a city. I distributed 10 notebooks in various locations around Peoria, hospital waiting rooms, libraries, boys and girls clubs, coffee shops, and museums. Inside were instructions for anyone who found a notebook to write their story anonymously. After one week, the notebooks would be collected and compiled into a series of stories to be shared. This was the first real passion project of my artistic journey, and I could never have imagined the insight and richness of stories I would have the opportunity to experience through this work. My hope was to make others more aware of the community around them and the people they unknowingly interact with on a daily basis. I believe stories have the ability to bring communities of all demographics together and hope to expand this project on a larger scale in the future.

As an outsider coming to live here, I’ve wrestled with the feeling of alienation. Hearing the stories of such a broad spectrum of lives was not only humbling but inspiring. I hope for this piece to find its home in the city of Peoria to return to what it was created from.