OUR MISSION
Wayward was founded in 2014 by Leslie Levings and Lauren Miller, two artists and lifelong friends, to create a space where they and other creators could focus on their art seemingly outside of space and time. The beauty and solitude of Quadra, where Lauren makes her home, was the perfect site. Now in its tenth year, Wayward has become a place where women and other marginalized gender artists can create, escape, collaborate, grow, relax, and explore. Wayward seeks to build a safe environment where every artist who enters can deepen their craft and listen to their inner voice. Wayward believes in the power of trees and lakes and oceans to reinvigorate artists — especially once internet and cell phones are gone. Wayward believes in the deep connection and community that arises between artists, and the creative energy that can inspire a group when they come together to make art side-by-side.
Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information on our priorities and policies.
ORGANIZERS
Leslie Levings
FOUNDER, KIT GIFTER, TAROT PARTNER
Leslie (she/they) is a writer and artist who explores natural history and world-building through her creations. Her sculptural work has been exhibited in galleries across the country, while her original concepts in development with production companies such as Bad Robot, Mattel, and Imagine Entertainment.
Shing Yin Khor
KITCHEN WIZARD, TRAVEL COORDINATOR, FELLOW INTROVERT BUDDY
Shing Yin Khor (they/them) is a Eisner, Ignatz, Indiecade and National Magazine Award-winning graphic novelist and game designer based in Los Angeles, CA, by way of Malacca, Malaysia. They founded and direct the immersive art and game collective Three Eyed Rat, which has built space desert apothecaries, decrepit space salvage stations in the forest, nomadic oracle carts manned by birds, and lumberjack-themed bars.
Lauren Miller
HUMAN BODY GUIDE, HERBAL LIAISON, WILD SNACK FORAGER
Lauren Miller (any pronouns enthusiastically welcome) is a craniosacral therapist, biologist, and non-professional artist. Her work includes visual art, bodywork, body-based meditation, community science and activism, gardening, & hosting group workshops and retreats. Miller’s primary focus, through these mediums and more, is helping reclaim relationship with our extended communities of flora, fauna and fungi, and our own wild selves.
Lauren Ludwig
CREATIVE GUIDE, ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR, LOVER OF LATE NIGHT TALKS
Lauren Ludwig (all pronouns) is a queer writer/director who loves comedy, genre storytelling, interactive experiences, ritual, and creating communities for artists. Their work uses jokes, magical realism, ceremony, discomfort, film and live performance to ask: how do we live with ourselves and each other?
ASSOCIATE ORGANIZERS
Emerald Barkley
(2025)
WEAVER OF THROUGHLINES, HIKE COMPANION, TAROT PARTNER
Emerald Barkley (they/them) is a watercolor artist from northern California. They use their work to explore death, ritual, and transformation.
Tai Lee
(2024)
“DANCE IS FOR EVERYONE” PROSELTYZER, LAST TO SLEEP/FIRST TO WAKE SHIFT LEADER, BACK PORCH SMOKER
Tai Lee (she/her) is an artist, writer and activist making work in NYC. At their best, the art and the ideas and the politics are inseparable and uncompromising.
Stasia Burrington
(2024)
PROCESS-WEAVER, TEXTILE-TINKERER, LATE NIGHT STARGAZING COMRADE
Stasia Burrington (she/they) is a painter, illustrator, and storyteller. They are also an amateur mycologist/botanist, music maker, general crafter and professional daydreamer.
The creator of the Sasuraibito Tarot, Stasia has crafted art and divination tools for over 15 years.
Kat Lachenal
(Homeward, 2022)
FACILITATOR, PROGRAMMING WRITER, LEVEL 20 SUPPORT CLASS
Kat Lachenal (she/her) is a writer and immersive experience designer whose work explores the soft, tender parts of being human. Her purpose is to make everyone feel safe enough to be brave, and she delivers that message through her art.
Lucy Bellwood
(2022)
PARTS WORK ENTHUSIAST, CONTEXT CREATOR, WATER BABY
Lucy Bellwood (she/her) is an Adventure Cartoonist and caregiver based in Ojai, California. Her comics cover a range of topics, from cutting-edge oceanography and historical sailing practices to the emotional intricacies of care work and Imposter Syndrome. She strives to create containers where people can access the unimaginable.