From Waldorf to Selling Art In the Streets — How Lelia Baruch Makes the Most Out of Her Education
Becca Boynton | October 4, 2023
A simple beige t-shirt tossed away into the free store bin would be considered junk to most people, but to Lelia Baruch, a junior at Warren Wilson College (WWC), it is an art experiment; an empty canvas for her to cut and paint.
Baruch has been making art since she could twiddle her thumbs and blink her eyes. It is almost second nature to her. As a Waldorf school alumna, she said crafting and art have been the backbone of her life for years. Now, she is sharing her love of art with the WWC campus, leaving emblems of her creations for people to find sprinkled around campus.
As a junior at WWC, Baruch has spent her time studying crafts and perfecting her own style. As a sophomore, she declared a craft major and joined the Blacksmith Crew. With the resources WWC has, Baruch makes pieces of art multiple times a week for work, class and personal pleasure.
Baruch grew up swapping between two cities. Her family left New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the national disaster that killed roughly 1,800 people in 2005, and moved to New York City. They remained in the Big Apple until Baruch was fifteen, after which she spent half her time in New York and the other half in New Orleans.
According to Baruch, her constant surrounding of other artists truly motivated her. Currently, she lives in an artist’s loft apartment full of creatives who produce art for the building, which is an old mayo factory.
Baruch said her love of art started in Waldorf School, a national education institution from which many WWC students have graduated. As a child, craft skills were the basis of her education attending Waldorf School.
Founded in 1919 in Germany, Waldorf is an international private school with the philosophy of art, nature, relationships and imagination. The schools incorporate a unique method similar to Montessori and focus on creativity rather than the average school’s curriculum.
“I started in nursery and they would initiate drawing and painting,” Baruch said. “Everything was art. Even [for] math I had to do art.”
As a child, Baruch would spend hours making art and knew she was going to continue to make art. Baruch said her mother, a fellow artist, supported her desires and dreams, giving her everything she could need even with the little they had.
With such an alternative upbringing and education, Baruch said it is no wonder that she landed on WWC as she transitioned from high school to college.
Baruch knew of people who went to WWC and was drawn in by the artistic freedom she would have.
Since coming to WWC, Baruch has engaged heavily with the school's craft program. On the Blacksmith Crew, she is able to experiment with metal and create bracelets, rings and pendants.
Baruch said that her experience at WWC is making her more aptly prepared for her future, although she is still unsure as to what she wants to do. All she knows is that it will involve art.
Baruch has been selling her art for years. In New Orleans, she sells her paintings in a local coffee shop as well as to friends and family. At WWC, Baruch participates in the art fairs and sells jewelry, printed clothing, paintings and anything else she has made over the months.
“I’ve always thought I would be making money off of art and make art,” Baruch said. “If I can make enough money off art to make art I would be a full-time artist. Full-time creative expression is the dream.”
Baruch said she also frequents the school’s free bins and store and takes anything that catches their eyes, not to keep, but for students to find and enjoy themselves. Baruch will take articles of clothing she finds — pants, shirts, dresses and pajamas — and adds her own twist to these clothing pieces. With a little bit of ink and lots of intuitive creativity, Baruch paints faces and art directly on the fabric. She then throws them back into the neon orange bins and walks away, leaving her project for somebody else to find.
“Sometimes I’m just covering up stains or making things more interesting and it's like adding value to things in the free store bin,” Baruch said. “Partially because I love art and I want it to be everywhere.
Baruch is leaving her future open-ended. She said she always plans on making art, but the details are for time to decide. In the meantime, Baruch will continue to engage in WWC and leave pieces around campus — a mark of herself.
“The goal is to keep growing and changing and learning,” Baruch said.