Leslie Ober’s active art career had to be put on hold.
“I had to take a very long break as we’ve had six children over the past 11 years,” said Ober, whose children range in age from 2 to 11. “I haven’t done a lot of creating, but in the past two years I started doing more painting and drawing.”
The Noblesville resident will show her artwork during the Art Fair on the Square, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 3 in Noblesville.
“I’ve been focusing this year mostly on abstract landscapes, but I’ll have some other things as well,” Ober said.
Ober said she was active in the Cincinnati art scene before having her first child. She had been a part of solo and group exhibits.
“I actually traveled to Europe for a painting work before kids, too,” Ober said. “I kind of put everything back on the shelf to use my creative energy to be raising my kiddos.”
Ober, a 1999 Westfield High School graduate, and her husband, Kevin, moved from Cincinnati to Noblesville in 2008. Both are both Indiana University graduates.
“My kids create alongside me,” said Ober, who is homeschooling her children. “For a while, it felt impossible, but they have gotten a little older now. I invite them into my process. Instead of them being a hinderance to me creating. I’m having them be a part of it.”
Earlier this year, Ober was juried into the Hamilton County Artists’ Association, which conducts the Art Fair.
“I’ve had the opportunity to show each month at their exhibits as well as I’ve been exhibiting at the Nickel Plate Arts in Noblesville,” Ober said.
Her work has been featured for the past year in the Hamilton East Public Library’s Ignite Studio’s quarterly exhibit in Fishers. Her work was shown at Fishers City Hall in July.
Ober has a side business as a photographer.
“I had an active business until I had two or three kids and that became overwhelming, too,” she said. “I still do take some clients from time to time. The older I get the more I’m just enjoying creating artwork, not necessarily creating it for others but just for myself. If others happen to enjoy it and want to buy it, great.”
