Breaking the Blocks
Hi!
Thanks for stopping by! Life is tough, and I think this podcast might offer you some relief. My aim? To inspire you to overcome some of your own blocks through the inspirational, honest, and at times, downright raw conversations with some wonderful guests, not huge celebrities, regular people like you and I. Let’s see how they have overcome the difficulties in their lives and offer you some advice and more importantly hope.
www.breakingtheblocks.com
Instagram @breakingtheblocks
Facebook @breakingtheblocks
YouTube @BreakingTheBlockspodcast
www.craftymonkies.com
www.rachelpierman.com
Breaking the Blocks
What happens when life's greatest challenges become your most powerful teachers?
Leo Ransom shares his transformative journey from being in the wrong place at the wrong time to becoming an accomplished portrait quilter who channels his experiences of prejudice and hardship into creating meaningful art.
• Started quilting at 16 and progressed from traditional to portrait quilting
• Learned resilience after being arrested by association with drug dealers despite being innocent
• Faces ongoing racial profiling and prejudice as a Black quilter in Texas
• Developed a philosophy of patience and dignity when confronting discrimination
• Found his voice through portrait quilting that captures subjects' essence
• Married to a white man and found acceptance in their church community
• Uses his art to process societal trauma, particularly during difficult periods like the George Floyd murder
• Aims to expand charitable work creating quilts for children in homeless shelters
• Discovered his grandmother was a quilter only years after starting himself
• Graduated college at 50 after life circumstances interrupted his education
"Don't ever say that you can't; say that you can, jump in with both feet and see what happens."
Follow Leo on Instagram @lions_den_quilting
This is Breaking the Blocks and I'm your host, rachel Pearman.
Speaker 2:I was actually in the wrong place at the wrong time and the people that were there ended up getting into trouble and I was guilty by association, since I was there.
Speaker 1:Now, we've all heard that phrase, haven't we in our lives? Wrong place at the wrong time? And my guest today, leo Ransom, certainly knows about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And my guest today, leo Ransom, certainly knows about being in the wrong place at the wrong time because he ended up in a very difficult situation which resulted in him being taken down to the local police station and, believe me, the story gets worse. But actually, another way to look at being in the wrong place at the wrong time is that maybe it's the right place. Maybe it's the place that you need to be to learn some lessons, to learn about endurance, to learn about yourself, maybe to propel you into a place, a journey, a road that you weren't expecting, and maybe that road will lead you to more positive roads in your life. That's what I believe happened for my guest today, and Leo certainly is an incredibly positive, peaceful and you'll see why I say that word calm man, even though he's been through some very, very difficult times in his life.
Speaker 1:Let's have a listen to Leo's story and why. Perhaps it was the right place at the right time. Oh, so, welcome to my guest today, the lovely Mr Leo Ransom. Hello, lovely Leo. Hello, how are you? I'm very well. Do you know? When I say that to you, lovely Leo, I just think of the star sign Leo, and Leo is a very gregarious and bold and outgoing. And I sense, leo, that you're going to live up to the star sign Leo, would you say that's an accurate description of you.
Speaker 2:I would say that hopefully I'm on my way to living up to it.
Speaker 1:Well, this is it. We're all on a journey. We're all on a journey. We're all on a journey, so this is a good place to be heading. Do you know, what I love about this show, leo, is that I just have such a range of guests on it and I never know where it's going to go. And I've got no idea where today's episode is going to go. But you come highly recommended, and the reason that you're here today is because you're a friend of Mr Ian Garland.
Speaker 1:He was on the show a few weeks ago and you and Ian both popped up in a zoo window on a class and this was quite some time ago. Of course I didn't know. You know who you were at that point and I thought you were both just, you know, beginner quilters and you were doing this as a bit of fun. But you both in that class caught my eye because you were so smiley and jolly and loving what you were doing and I could see the passion for what you were doing. But I've since realized that you're not a beginner quilter at all. You've been doing this for quite some time, haven't you Leo?
Speaker 2:Yes, I have. Actually, I learned when I was in high school, at the age of 16. And I just I learned to do traditional quilting then and as the years went on, I progressed from traditional to art quilting, which is actually my main passion now.
Speaker 1:You must have had this natural talent from when you first started at school from when you first started at school?
Speaker 2:Well, apparently so, because until probably about 12 years ago, I never even knew that my grandmother quilted. So my mom made me take home that and I went in. I made three shirts. The class was still only half done and she said I can't let you sit there. She said so. She said we're going to do another project and I said well, my mom will kill me if I come home and ask for some more fabric. I said so, show me what you're doing. And that was how I got started.
Speaker 1:But how did you make that leap then from the traditional quilting into the portrait quilting that you're doing now, Because it is quite quite different?
Speaker 2:Actually I stumbled upon it by accident. There's a guild here in Sherman, texas, and there was a lady who had tried for like a year or two to get me to come to a meeting. So she would come in and she'd say we're having a guild meeting tonight. She said, I know you're going to tell me no. She said, but the social starts at 6.30, the meeting's at seven o'clock.
Speaker 2:First meeting I show up to, I'm trying to connect with more African-American quilters and there were none there. So she said you can come twice before they ask you to join. So I decided to go one more time and when I walked in there were two African-American ladies there and I sat chatting with one of them and I was like walked in, there were two African American ladies there and I sat chatting with one of them and I was like, okay, this is the connection I was looking for and all of a sudden they introduced her as the presenter. So she was a portrait quilter and I took a couple of classes from her, put my spin on things and the rest is history her, put my spin on things and the rest is history.
Speaker 1:So, leo, now you know one thing that I was watching. There was a TV news channel, I think they did a little piece on you. It was really interesting to me because the way that that piece opened about you was, you know that it was unusual for you to be a quilter. And she said you know, first of all, you know, leo is a man and of colour. And for me I said to Ian, you know, I never sort of think in these terms. So I was quite, in a way, I was kind of taken aback by the piece because I was like wow, we're making a point of this person being of color and unmet. What does this have to do with anything? But how do you feel about that? Because I know that in the piece you did say that actually you had faced some prejudice in terms of when you joined quilting groups. What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?
Speaker 2:And how have you overcome those challenges? Well, as far as the way she opened, I didn't take offense to it, because around this area it is uncommon for a man to be quilting. And more men have come out of the woodworks since that piece. That piece and the fact that I'm of color, the store that I work in, people will send someone over to the fabric counter and they'll say ask for Leo. And they'll show up over there and they just look at me real strange. And they said are you Leo? And I'll just go that's what my badge says. And then when I start talking, they're like no wonder they sent me to you.
Speaker 2:You know way more than what the ladies in this department do. I said I've been doing this for years. I said I've done everything from weaving to cutting fabric. I said you name it. I said I've dealt with fabric for well over 30 years.
Speaker 2:So anyways, I was in fabric one day and this one lady says to her friend, she says, oh, ask him. And she goes oh, he's a man. He probably only knows how to cut fabric and how to measure it. And then, a couple of weeks later, this lady that told her to ask me shows up in the framing area and she says do you teach? And I said yes. And she said I think my mom might've taken your class and she described her mom's piece. I said oh. I said she's my oldest student so far. And she says I want to take a selfie with you. So she turns around and I lean on the counter, we take a selfie and she sends it to the friend who did not want to ask me any quilting questions and she says you missed a golden opportunity. She said this is the guy that taught that class.
Speaker 1:You don't know what you missed out on and that just really made me feel good about myself and what I do real prejudice in terms of you know, someone says no, I don't want to deal with you For whatever reasons. You know whether it's the off-color thing or whether it's that you're a man or whether you know they just don't think you're capable. It is very difficult for anybody who is a white person to understand that prejudice. I think it is so difficult to put yourself into the position of someone who is of color and has that kind of prejudice. Is it on a daily basis? Do you still feel these prejudices for you?
Speaker 2:It's not on a daily basis anymore, but every so often it does occur, and used to. I took offense to it and I finally just taught myself. For the area that you live in, this is to be expected, so don't get upset over it, don't let them steal your joy. So what I normally do is I'll say I'm not sure the reason why you don't want to talk with me today. I said so I'll get someone who can take care of you and I'll turn around and I'll say hey, debbie, can you handle this? And she'll go over and she'll start working with them.
Speaker 2:And she said we really need to talk to him. She said he knows way more about quilting than I do. And they just kind of look flabbergasted, like, oh, like, oh. So she'll ask him do you mind him coming over and helping? And sometimes they say no. Other times they'll go no, I don't want to deal with him. And she'll say okay, she's well, I've told you everything that I know. She said oh, the only other thing I can suggest is that you YouTube it and she sends them on their way, the ones that let me come over. I've changed their minds and from that point on they come in and they look for me.
Speaker 1:But how do you deal with that, Leo? Because I would you know, I would have so much, I'd be so angry, I would have so much anger inside of me. I mean, I think I've learned over the years. I've lost a lot of my anger and frustration and bitterness, and that was just on a personal level for me, feeling like I'd not had the childhood I'd wanted, I didn't get my career, things that I wanted. Now I can look back and go okay, I've kind of figuring, I'm figuring most things out and I've lost a lot of that resentment because it doesn't get you anywhere. But I would find it for people to reject me on face value. I would find that impossibly difficult to deal with. So how do you deal with it? I mean, I know you just said there, you know, oh, I just kind of pass it off to them. But there must be some part inside of you that is I don't know something.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's always going to sting a little bit. But I look at the younger me as opposed to the older me and I feel like I've gotten wiser and more patient. Because the younger me I would have tongue lashed somebody in a heartbeat, and the older me is like you're lost, not mine and I go ahead and I pass them off and I walk off going. Okay, I did my my godly thing today. I didn't get upset, I didn't say anything rude. It might be up there, but I didn't say it.
Speaker 1:That's a beautiful thing, though, and it's a beautiful skill to have, is that patience and, as you say, to not lash out at someone, because I remember a great comment actually oh, I'm going to have to paraphrase it now because I can't remember exactly what he said. Remember, at the Oscars you know what I'm going to talk about the slap from Will Smith. Someone said why didn't you hit him back? And he said something about my mother always said don't fight in front of white people, and I loved that. He said that.
Speaker 1:I mean, I think, actually, you know, it's great that he didn't hit him back, because I think if someone you know attacks you like that, you shouldn't really hit them back, because it's like then you bring yourself down to their level and it's not going to achieve anything. So, like you said, you lashing out is not going to achieve anything or teach that person anything, but what it's going to do is it's going to fit into their stereotype that they already have a view. That's what I'm trying to say about Chris Rock when he said that, and I thought that was so.
Speaker 1:I thought what amazing parents he had, because what they were saying to him is don't play up to the stereotype that so many people will have of you. And that's such a wise, a wise thing. So how have you grown so wise and what's your journey been from the young Leo to the more mature Leo, because obviously there's been some change there. So how have you changed?
Speaker 2:Well, life has always been kind of black and white, I'm just going to say it. And I was a black student in a class with nothing but predominantly white students. I didn't have a black person in any of my classes until I was in athletics or in college.
Speaker 1:Why was that? Did your parents just move to a white area for work?
Speaker 2:I hate to say it, but intellectually we were on different levels and I feel like the way my parents raised me is what kept me on this level up here.
Speaker 1:But when you were in school, when you were, you know, at your, in your school and your colleges, and you were surrounded by lots of white people, did you suffer bullying and abuse, or did people just see this wonderful thing in you which I see?
Speaker 2:I had a very select group of friends starting from an early age and we went all through school and partially into college together and they were my support group and some of them still are, and I feel like they are the ones who helped me through that process because I always had them to fall back on did you have any defining moments growing up that affected you or changed you or set any belief in stone for you?
Speaker 2:Well, the only defining moment was when a group of Black kids boys who did not like who I was, how I talked, how I acted they decided that they were going to jump me. And some of my white friends found out about it. And here I am and I'm surrounded by these six black guys, and all of a sudden, all of these white guys come out of bushes and from behind cars, and there was like 20 something of them and they told them that if they laid one hand on me, that they had to fight all of them. And from that moment on, I realized it doesn't matter what color you are, you just stand up for what's right. And from that point on, that's the one thing that my parents were always trying to teach me. And when I was telling my mom about it, she said that's what I'm talking about. She said you treat everybody the same, no matter sex race. She said it doesn't matter. She says you treat not the white kids, and that's a big lesson.
Speaker 1:Like you say, it's a big lesson for all of us. It doesn't matter about the color, does it? It's people are people. So what is that like for you living in Texas? How do you find it?
Speaker 2:living in Texas, leo, I don't get it face to face as much as I used to, and one of the things that I've learned is that racism is a learned behavior. I was in Walmart shopping and there was a lady pushing a kid, probably two and a half, almost three years old, and he looks at his mom and he goes look the N word. And anyways, she turns around. She said I am so sorry. She said his dad and his uncle are always using that word and I've asked them to stop talking like that in front of him. And I said but you need to sit and talk to your husband. I said because he's not the one in this embarrassing moment right now.
Speaker 2:I said the other thing is be glad that I'm not your stereotypical Black person. I said because I said I could have lit the store up with the things that I had to say to you. I said but that's not who I am. I'm a test in life. Your husband and his brother are failing miserably, I said, and they're dragging your grade down as well. And she just looked at me and she said I sincerely apologize. I said you need to work on teaching him better. I said because until it stopped being passed down, I said it'll never end and she walked off crying, but I'm glad that it was me and not someone else, because she might would have gotten worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a beautiful moment. I know that you just said that you're in the church before we started because I got the timings wrong. And poor Leo, I was reading him going. Where are you? He was where he was supposed to be. It was me that was an hour early, but you said that you were a member of a church. Now, leo, have you ever been inclined to? I mean, you might say I am doing this, but have you ever been inclined to be a preacher or to to become? Because I think you'd be so good? You know, because you have this way about you you can tell stories and this. You command such respect. You command such respect.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to tell you this much I am married to a man.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he's white, so we're in an interracial relationship. Wow, Okay, the particular church that we go to. He invited me 15, 16 years ago and when I showed up at that church, everyone welcomed me with open arms. The funny thing is, after I started going to church there, all of a sudden there was a Black lady who started coming to church there. One of her friends invited her and she came. And then all of a sudden we started seeing all of these mixed grandchildren that had never been to the church before.
Speaker 2:So I feel like God is using me to set examples. So that's the reason why I try to watch my behavior. Sometimes I fail that test miserably because I'll go off somewhere and I'll fuss and gripe about it. And my husband's name is Steven and he'll say you know that it was going to turn out that way. He says why are you getting upset about it? I guess it's the human in me, but I was really hoping that they would react this way. And he says well, he says you can't control people's reactions, you can only control your own. And he's the one that is going to school right now to become a parish lay minister, and we just kind of complement each other's attitudes and behaviors.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so interesting, you know, leo, because I was going to say to you earlier on, you know, I do believe and I had a great chat with Ian about this earlier today and I do believe that we, you know, we come across people in life and I think that some of us and some people are kind of. They have a job to do. You know, in this, in this planet, they have a job to do, and I was going to say to you that I really feel like you're. You are teaching people, like with a lady in the supermarket and, as you just said, there you feel yourself that this is your position, this is your role, this is what you are supposed to be doing and, let's face it, as we just said, you're working in this fabric store.
Speaker 1:I mean, there are so many things about you, leo, that it's like no, you really have been transplanted into. You know this different body and this place that you know we would not expect to find you. That's interesting, then, that your husband is white. Have you not encountered that, the kind of you know, the mixed race, two of you together?
Speaker 2:Well, in the beginning there were five of the church members who kept their distance from us after we got married, and the thing that I liked about my minister at that time is he brought it up to church council that we wanted to use the church to get married. So he presented it to them and the president at that time he said if anyone has a problem with it, he said they can come to me. There were five particular members who didn't really have anything to do with us from that point on. Once they found out that we were gay and now all five of them have done a 360. Well, one of them's left, so the other four have done a 360. And they are actually nice and tolerable.
Speaker 1:I think it's lovely how you just keep putting that positive positivity out there and you're not you're not kind of fighting against it all the time, Because I think if you are living in a constant state of of that battle and that fighting and that anger, it is going to eat you alive, isn't it? It's going to eat you alive and you have this beautiful calmness about you. But, as you said, there are times when you do feel that you don't behave how you wish that you had behaved. Are there any other sort of major challenges that you've overcome in your life that you want to talk about, Leo? Anything else that has kind of happened for you?
Speaker 2:I was 50 years old before I graduated from college. When I went to college the first time, I was doing okay, but life just kind of caught up with me and it was either deal with life or try and go to school and deal with life. And dealing with life won out.
Speaker 1:So you said that life caught up with you when you were doing the degree the first time around. What did you mean by that? What was the life that caught up with you that you had to then leave your degree? Did you leave your degree after year one or year two, or how far did you get into it?
Speaker 2:Actually, I was working on my second year, right, and anyways, what did they do? They were drug year, right, and anyways, what did they do? They were drug dealers, right, and I didn't know that that's what they were doing. But when the police raided the house, they took everybody and you were in the house. Yes, and a lot of people don't know this about me, because that's just one thing that I've never wanted people to know. So for me to sit here and tell you about it today is a big step for me.
Speaker 1:I respect you.
Speaker 2:So, anyways, I ended up receiving probation where everybody else ended up going to prison and they thought that I ratted them out. And anyways, one of them their sister, was talking to me and she told me. She said they really think that you gave them up. And I said no, I said you can talk to my attorney. And I talked to my attorney and I said I would like for you to talk to her. I said because these people think that I'm the one that got them in trouble because they all went to jail and I didn't think that I'm the one that got them in trouble because they all went to jail and I didn't.
Speaker 2:So, anyways, to make a long story short, they drug tested everybody and I was the only one that came up clean. So with that and the fact that I had no priors, I mean I got five years probation. The only problem is that was supposed to be admonished from my record and my attorney ended up dying. So I've been told that he's the only one that can take care of that for me. And here I am 30 years later over 30, and I still have that on my record and I have had no success getting it removed. So I think that's part of what has turned me into the person that I am, because I did not let that highly negative and derogatory situation define who I am. And yeah, I had to struggle because I had to work two jobs to maintain but it's made me a stronger person.
Speaker 1:That must have been so frightening for you, though, leo, because that doesn't normally happen. You know that people get off that situation. You know we've all read the stories and see what happens, and it's like guilty by association, as you say, and to be faced with that prison time. Wow, that must have been absolutely terrifying for you.
Speaker 2:It really was, and it also got me to a point where I didn't trust people. From that point on, yeah, and I would basically work and go home. I was afraid to hang out with anybody. I was afraid to get close to anybody. And then when I got off of probation, it was like you know what. I can't let this define the rest of my life. That was an unhappy five years.
Speaker 2:So, as I said, I worked two jobs. My mom made the comment. She said you're so spoiled. And I said well, you didn't do it, so why worry about it? And it's because I was working those two jobs, because I wanted to have nice things and with that on my record, I couldn't actually get some of the jobs that I wanted. So, working the two jobs, I made a comfortable life for myself. And then people started seeing who I really was, and they didn't judge me by the fact that I have a record or that I have a felony on my record, and so, anyways, I mean just the fact that they were willing to accept me and give me a chance.
Speaker 1:Does it still frighten you now that that felony is on your record? Because I can imagine I mean just for example, I'm just imagining, leo that you were involved in some traffic incident and the police pulled you over and they're going to check your record and they're going to see that felony. I mean, we've all read the stories, you know that must be really quite frightening for you that that is still on there.
Speaker 2:And I've been profiled three times since I've lived here and, anyways, the most recent one was probably about seven years ago. I was driving an old car we called it a Hooptie and I had just gotten it running, got it inspected and everything, and my neighbor and I were headed to Jack in the Box because we wanted Jack in the Box. And I get pulled over by a police officer and we turn into the Jack in the Box parking lot and he says your license plate light is out. And I said it can't be. I said I just had this car inspected today. He said well, it is. He said just stay here. He said I'm going to run you. So anyways, I started to get out and he said no. I said stay in the car. So I let him do his thing. He comes back, he hands me my driver's license and he says you have a good evening. And I said you didn't find anything, did you? I said you saw a black man driving a hootie and you just automatically assumed drug dealer. I said I'm driving this car because I think it's fun. I said I've always wanted a toy. I said that's exactly what this is. And he says I don't want to hear your story. And he goes to get in his vehicle. I get out and I look at my license plate, the lights on, and I looked at him and I said well, I hope you got what you were looking for. I said I did.
Speaker 2:Another time my house was broken into and one of the police officers brought a drug dog in my house without even asking me. The other one asked him, says what are you doing? And he says as nice as the stuff is in here. He said he's got to be a drug dealer. And he says as nice as the stuff is in here. He said he's got to be a drug dealer. And he lets the dog go through. I didn't stop him, they didn't find anything. And then when he comes back he starts trying to talk to me. I said you've already offended me. I said you need to take the dog and leave. I said I'll deal with him. I asked for his name and his badge number before he left and I did file a complaint on him. I said I just don't want him to do it to anybody else.
Speaker 1:You obviously put your case across very well as a controlled but upset human being, and that takes some mastery. But there's anger. There's anger at how you've been treated, but there's a fear of, if I push it too far, this is going to end up with me with my hands behind my back. I mean, it's a very difficult situation for you to navigate, and you're able to somehow navigate these things.
Speaker 2:My parents have just always taught me don't create a fuss and hopefully it'll go away. And anyways, that's one of the things that I've always tried to remember is, don't make it any worse than it could be.
Speaker 1:And you know I've read this as well that so many many black children are taught by their parents exactly that, don't make a fuss are taught by their parents exactly that Don't make a fuss, don't make a fuss which is a very piece of sound advice, sadly, but you kind of go. But we're all here in a way to make a fuss. We have to stand up for ourselves, we have to stand up for our rights. So I think it's so sad that these children you know they're being taught this because they're they're their parents have been protective and very wise. But isn't it sad, right?
Speaker 2:and you would think this day and age that you wouldn't have to worry about that, but you do, yes yeah, you absolutely do so that's another reason why I enjoy the, the quilting and the portraits, because the poor guy that they put their knee in the back of his head, george Floyd. During that time period, I mean, my husband was worried for my safety, my mom was worried for my safety, so I would leave the house, I would go to work. As soon as I was done working, I headed straight back home. I didn't go grocery shopping or anything without either my husband or the neighbor, because I was like I need to at least have a witness in case something happens.
Speaker 1:So doing the quilting, it was a way out, it was a way to forget about through that. So, whether you meditated, or whether you read, or whether you, you know, did something to kind of I don't know to to navigate your way through a very frightening and quite depressing period of your life, I would imagine, particularly because, as you said, it was something that you had got wrapped up in that you shouldn't have been there, and we you know all the things that we've just said about having that on your record but was something that you had got wrapped up in that you shouldn't have been there, and you know all the things that we've just said about having that on your record. But was it, were you quilting then or no?
Speaker 2:Actually I was not, because when I started college I couldn't afford to buy the supplies for quilting, because we all know how expensive quilting can be Absolutely yeah, but during that time period I just tried to keep my faith.
Speaker 2:I prayed a lot, I kept myself a lot and that was the way that I coped with everything for five years. I continued going to church. As soon as church was over, I would leave because I didn't even want to talk to any of my fellow members because no offense, in the black community people are all in your business and they want to know what happened and I just did not care to discuss that with anyone that wasn't part of my family.
Speaker 1:What was the worst emotion that you felt? Was it a fear of being judged? Was it shame? Was it anger for you being in that situation? And how did I get myself wrapped up in the situation?
Speaker 2:No, it was fear of being judged. Because I mean no, it was fear of being judged. Yeah, Because I mean human nature is, you see this, you see this? And that's what I think. They didn't know, they didn't care. They heard stories, I didn't want to talk about it.
Speaker 1:Did you cry a lot in that period, leo? Did you kind of really lean into your feelings or did you bottle it all up?
Speaker 2:No, I cried a a lot, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, absolutely not what did that whole experience teach you then?
Speaker 1:I mean, you've touched on it and you've said it made you stronger, because I think when you come through something like that and you're able to come through it, you do you find this inner strength inside. Did it teach you anything else?
Speaker 2:it actually gave me some street smarts, because people I know that still do drugs and I'm like you know what it's going to take you down the wrong path. It gives me a chance to tell them my story and a couple it's helped. Most it hasn't because they love the easy money, but I mean just the fact that it helped those two and I mean I'm friends with one of them now and his mom told me she said You're the best thing that's ever happened to him. She said I'm glad that he met you, I'm glad that he heard your story.
Speaker 1:And it's all about ancestral trauma, isn't it? You know, if you can change one person's life, you may have changed generations to come. That's where we have to look at it. Yes, because it may be. You can't do anything about the people that have gone past. But if that person can break that cycle of abuse drug abuse, alcoholism, whatever it is and they go forward in their life and they don't have that in their lives, that means their children hopefully won't if they have a good role model in that their children may not, and then their grandchildren. You're changing.
Speaker 1:And that's where I think so many of us sometimes think well, I'm just one person, I can't do anything. But actually we have to remember the kind of ripple effects that we have in this world If you just change one person's life. It's like I always say when I do my posts on my tiny little Breaking Blo, breaking blocks account and my little podcast but if I can help one person, if there's one person who says you know what, I'm going to go to rehab because of this, or I'm actually going to start talking to a bereavement counselor because I've realized I'm trapping all these feelings inside, that's going to help that person and it's going to help the people around them. So you can do something. As a person, you can do something.
Speaker 2:I agree wholeheartedly yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about your beautiful portraits then, because I think this is now interesting. Now I've got to know a bit more about you, leo, that your portraits. Often you try and give people from what I have read and seen and listened to, you try and give the people that are the portrait subjects. You try and give them a voice. I'm really interested and it all makes sense to me now that you want to give people a voice, because you have found your voice and you have wanted people to hear your voice and who you are, particularly because of what happened to you when you were younger.
Speaker 2:When I approach a subject, sometimes it's whatever's going on in the world at that moment.
Speaker 2:If they are a bright and colorful individual. I want to do them in some bright and beautiful colors and then, if they're serious, I might want to do them in some neutral colors. I don't know, it's just one of those where the subject kind of speaks to me and tells me what they expect of me. But those are just some of the ways that I go about creating the pieces and trying to give them that voice that I want them to have.
Speaker 1:And I saw the John Lennon one behind you, which is the one that I saw on the news piece, and that's interesting because you know you haven't done like a full face there, so you've got the majority of his face. So what's the story behind the John Lennon piece then?
Speaker 2:Okay, it was an experiment. It was an experiment and I kept saying I want to be able to do like some very prominent features and see if people can figure out who it is. And those glasses are so much him. Then the more I thought about it, I'm like you know what. It was sad that he died as young as he did. It's sad that he placed himself on the same level as God. So the more I started thinking about the sadness, I was like I want to try to do fabric as if it's dripping paint. So that was kind of how that came about.
Speaker 2:I have an amazing competition longarm quilter. His name is Richard Larson and I told him what I was doing. I'd even sent him a picture of it as soon as I finished it and I asked him. I said do you think you can do something with this? And this is what I'm wanting to accomplish. The face has a particular quilting pattern and then the rest, the neutral space, has music notes and and bars throughout it it it knew what it was supposed to be and it just happened yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Once again, it's like you're putting something out there into the world. You know, as you've said, you feel like you're there in this world to help people find their voice, to convey a message, and then you're doing it in these beautiful pieces. I love the John Lennon. I think that's a really stunning, stunning piece pieces.
Speaker 2:I love the John Lennon. I think that's a really stunning, stunning piece.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, thank you, I've had several people try to buy it and just not willing to let go of it. No Well, it's lovely, it's absolutely lovely.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:As we come to the end of our chat. Then, Leo, you were given some great advice by your parents and friends and people around you. What do you feel you wish you would have known as a younger man?
Speaker 2:I wish that I knew the things that I do now. I wish that I had the passion that I have now back then, because I feel like my life would have taken a totally different course totally different course and I mean if I had found a way to stumble into turning fabric into art back then. There's no telling where I would be or what I would be doing right now, but I also feel like life's journey is the basis for a lot of these pieces where, if I come back to you in 2028, where would you like to be sitting and saying that you're doing something?
Speaker 2:I would actually like to be sitting there with you face to face. I would like to start traveling outside of the US, yeah, and that way I can study different cultures, different environments, which would give me even more creativity, because when you experience something, you know firsthand exactly what it's like, so you can tell it. You can tell the truth in it 100%, as opposed to well, I know this. Much of it is true, and the rest of it I might have to fabricate it a little bit.
Speaker 1:Well, I would happily have you on one of my retreats in the UK. So we need to. We need to make that happen, and we've got to get you on a Crafty Monkey Zoom class, not as a student, as a teacher, because who knew? So we've got to get you in because we need to have some of this amazing quilting noise from you, particularly with regard to the portraits. I mean it's fantastic, but we can talk about that. Where would you like to see your life going? What more would you like to give or learn as a human being in this experience of life?
Speaker 2:Actually I would say doing more charities. Our church does a charity, but there are some local places, like the homeless shelter that has children. I would like to start doing things like quilts and pillowcases for them, stuff that they can take with them when they leave the shelter. I mean, it's nothing on a big grand scale, it's just something that I mean it touches me here and I mean to give them these pieces and see the smiles on their face, the love I mean that's. I would love to start doing more charities.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what would you say is a word that summarizes you, leo. If you just had one word, what would it be? Who is Leo?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm hoping that big hearted is hyphenated.
Speaker 1:We'll go with that.
Speaker 2:Because I feel like I have an enormous heart and I just I want to give to everybody any way that I can.
Speaker 1:I was going to say the word love actually for you, leo. So we're both thinking on the same track. I was going to say Leo is just well. As we said at the very beginning of the interview, leo is the star sign for passion and love and romance. So this is you, leo. I mean, you know your mom. When she named you Leo, she got it right, she absolutely got it right and I think, interestingly, you know sometimes Leos can get into trouble. You know they can be in situations they probably shouldn't be in, and you know, and the fire can come out. So you are, you're living up to your name. You really are Leo. Thank you, yeah. Um, thank you, yeah. So as a final note then, um, I do ask my, my guests sometimes if they have a motto in life and what that would be, or a phrase that keeps them going, or some piece of advice. So what would that be for you? Is there anything you can think of as a kind of sign off?
Speaker 2:I would say don't ever say that you can't say that you can jump in with both feet and see what happens.
Speaker 1:Well, you jumped in today with both feet, leo, you said when I contacted you and said, yeah, I'll do your podcast. And you know, the marvelous thing is that we never know. I never know what's going to happen on this show. I never know because I don't write questions down. You know, I don't do huge amounts of research. I just sit and have a human experience for an hour with another human being and we just talk.
Speaker 1:And you've been amazingly open and honest and brave today in talking about something that you've not talked about, because I can see all the reasons why you wouldn't talk about that because of judgments, but I just think it's fantastic you have talked about it today and maybe given others, people you know, courage or hope or they'll listen to your story and think, wow, these things can be overcome the fact that you went back and you got a degree and that you have changed your life. You've turned your life around from where it could have gone into a very different way. Thank goodness you did not get incarcerated. But you know something, leo, I think if you had got incarcerated, I really believe in sliding doors.
Speaker 1:I believe we end up where we're supposed to end up, but we get there in a different way and I believe actually that if you had been incarcerated, I still think you would be here today doing what you're doing. Maybe you would be less fortunate on a financial basis or whatever, but I still think that passion and that love would have come out of you. I really do, I think that you you would have, you would have come through it. You would have come through it, but it would have obviously been way more difficult for you. But it's within you. There's something within you which I don't think anything could ever stop. So it's a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think if anybody's watching you on YouTube, they will see your lovely smile. So I encourage anybody who's listening on the podcast right now go to the YouTube channel and just look at Leo's lovely smile and his John Lennon piece as well. Well, all the details of where to follow you, of course, will be in the description box. Leo, thank you so much for spending the time with me today. It's been absolutely lovely getting to know you and I felt very privileged when I talked to Ian, because we've become friends. And, as I said to him, isn't it amazing? You two just turned up in a little window on my Zoom and we could easily have not spoken. But here we are, and that is the beauty of life, as you said, but here we are, and that is the beauty of life. As you said, don't say can't say can, because when you say can, you never know where it's going to lead you. Thank you, and long may your upward trajectory continue, and super excited for you to have that full-time creating time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's brilliant, and thank you for having me and thanks for this opportunity.
Speaker 1:You are welcome, leo. Thank you so much. Just before you go, lovely listener, can I ask you a favour If you have a friend who you think would enjoy listening to this podcast, would you mind please telling them about it? It helps me to spread the word and you never know, they might get a life lesson out of it or, at the very least, just have a lovely 40 minutes of relaxing time for themselves.
Speaker 1:The second thing to say is that, if you have enjoyed this, it would really help me if you would give me a little quick like or a comment, especially if you're listening on one of the podcast platforms. It just means that when anybody lands on the page, they can see that people have reviewed it, they've liked it, enjoyed it and got something out of it. So if you wouldn't mind leaving me a review, that would be amazing. And the final thing to say is that if you are a business and you're thinking how do I get my message out there, well, you could do it on this podcast. All you have to do is reach out to me, rachel, at breakingtheblockscom. The details are below in the box. Thank you so much to everybody for listening and enjoying and saying the lovely things that you're saying. Thank you,
