OUR MISSION
Wayward was founded in 2014 by Leslie Levings and Lauren Miller, two artists and old friends, to create a space where they and other creators could work 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 eighth year, Wayward has become a place where women and 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 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 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 and as far away as Tokyo, while her Beastlies, an ongoing line of small but expressive monsters are collected by fans around the world. Leslie is currently working with Bad Robot Productions and Mattel Toys to bring the world of the Beastlies to life, and also collaborating with Imagine Entertainment and Nickelodeon on "Dominion," another original concept of her own creation.
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.
They are the designer and creator of the live mail game Remember August(winner of Indiecade’s Tabletop Award in 2022), the keepsake embroidery game A Mending(which raised $190k on Kickstarter), and co-designer of the solo journaling keepsake game Field Guide to Memory(winner of Indiecade’s Live Game Award in 2021). Their immersive and narrative art installations, The Last Outpost and The Last Apothecary, received grants from Burning Man for their 2014 and 2016 festivals. Their second graphic novel, The Legend of Auntie Po, was published by Penguin Random House in June 2021, and was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Lauren Miller
HUMAN BODY GUIDE, HERBAL LIAISON, WILD SNACK FORAGER
Lauren Miller is a craniosacral therapist, biologist, and natural art enthusiast. She teaches craniosacral therapy and body-centred meditation, qi gong, and other movement practices based on deepening relationship to the body and the surrounding universe. Her primary focus, through various mediums, is helping our human selves reclaim relationship with our extended communities of flora, fauna and fungi, and our own wild selves. To this end she practices bodywork, coordinates community science and activism, and hosts educational, artistic, and healing retreats in coastal British Columbia. Lauren loves a dynamic interface - where healing work at the individual level meets social action, where movement meets stillness, where science, art, seriousness and silliness find ways to come together out of life's inner workings. Lauren gives thanks to live on Quadra Island, BC, traditional land of the We Wai Kai, K'omoks and Coast Salish people. All pronouns welcome.
Lauren Ludwig
CREATIVE GUIDE, ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR, LOVER OF LATE NIGHT TALKS
Lauren (all pronouns) is a queer writer/director who specializes in comedy, interactive storytelling and creating communities for artists. Their work explores complex people navigating identity, community, and emotional mess, often in heightened or surreal circumstances. Lauren uses comedy, magical realism, ritual, discomfort, film and live performance to ask: How do we live with ourselves and each other? Lauren recently directed a pilot at FX for a metaphysical half-hour comedy that they created. They directed American Auto on NBC, and wrote and produced Heart Shot, a queer action short for Netflix. Lauren writes and directs for the award-winning immersive theater company Capital W whose work has won “Best Overall Immersive Work” (Hollywood Fringe, 2017) and “Best Game Design” (IndieCade Festival, 2016).
ASSOCIATE ORGANIZERS
Kat Lachenal
(Homeward, 2022)
FACILITATOR, PROGRAMMING WRITER, LEVEL 20 SUPPORT CLASS
Kat Lachenal is a writer and immersive experience designer whose work in prose and production aims to explore the soft, tender parts of being human. Her immersive work and installations have been shown in clandestine locations such as the streets of San Francisco, in Oakland city parks, inside box trucks, in secret underground basements, abandoned buildings, sewer tunnels, along Highway 5, in the redwoods of Mendocino County, in the Santa Cruz mountains, and more. Her writing can be found on Bustle, The Mary Sue, No Proscenium, and SFist. The latest project to feature her game writing, PostCurious' The Emerald Flame, was funded on Kickstarter in under four hours and will be released August 2021.
Lucy Bellwood
(2022)
PARTS WORK ENTHUSIAST, CONTEXT CREATOR, WATER BABY
Lucy Bellwood (she/her) is an Adventure Cartoonist and educator based in Ojai, California. Her comics projects cover a range of expeditions, including rafting trips through the Grand Canyon, cutting-edge oceanography in the Pacific, and a voyage aboard the last wooden whaling ship in the world. She is the author of Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea, a collection of stories from her time as a tall ship sailor, and 100 Demon Dialogues, a helpful, humorous guide to living with Imposter Syndrome. Her talks and workshops explore everything from the transformative power of parts work to the nuts and bolts practicalities of running a creative career. Whether making or mentoring, Lucy’s practice thrives at the intersection of community, authenticity, and financial sustainability..