The Florida artist crafting psychedelic grillz inspired by nature

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That Vanessa Leon, better known as Mental Gardens, describes themself as a fairy taking human form makes sense when you see their art. With nature as their muse, Leon creates whimiscal jewellery and grills, full of organic shapes and floral motifs. If Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream wore a grill, it would probably look a lot like these.

Growing up in south Florida, and with summers spent in Venezuela, Leon was immersed in the swamp, trees and ocean from their youth. As an only child, they were often alone, meaning that they turned to their imagination and developed a vibrant inner world. “I spent time alone sculpting, painting, drawing – exploring all art mediums,” they tell Dazed. While it wasn‘t until high school that they realised their purpose in life was to ”simply make art”, as a child they were captivated by the craftspeople they would see on the streets in Venezuela. “I remember making my dad buy me all the jewellery from artisans sitting on the floor displaying their wares on blankets: wire wrappings, stone setters, artisans drawing art on rice. I was captivated by the hands’ ability to create.”

Today, Leon’s work brings together their appreciation of craftsmanship, resourcefulness and the natural world, creating pieces that incorporate a cornucopia of natural elements into their work: shells, druzy quartz, cherry blossom and more. And while the work is striking enough that you would be happy to just want to sit and admire it, for Leon, it is important that the pieces are about more than just the aesthetic. ”I’ve been obsessed with making grillz and jewellery that are both so polarising and thought-provoking it redirects art from tradition to expression,” they say.

Still based in south Florida, through championing the community’s queer counterculture and Black Indigenous culture, Leon has cultivated a creative space that celebrates this expression and challenges the traditional boundaries of what’s come before. Their vision for the future of beauty lies in embracing the raw and ugly to push these boundaries of creativity even further.  

We talk to Mental Gardens about their experimentative grillz and being a self-funded, independent artist.

What is it you do and why do you do it?

Mental Gardens: I’m a jeweller and grillz artist. I do it because I have a burning need to get ideas out of my head and into metal. For me, making art is a need.

How did you get into it?

Mental Gardens: I’m an only child, adapting to the solitude meant creating a complex and colourful inner world. I spent time alone sculpting, painting, drawing – exploring all art mediums. It wasn’t until high school I realised my purpose in life is to simply make art. I had to find a way to sustain myself off it. I found my way to jewellery through its practicality. It was easier to make something small and sell wearable art.

What are you trying to communicate through your work?

Mental Gardens: Fuck perfection. Fuck societal standards! Black Indigenous craftsmen to the front – what we make with our hands is the culture, the standard! I’m not afraid to be wonky, messy, impractical. I hope when people see my work they think ’Oh wow, I’ve never seen that before...’ regardless whether they like it or not, I gagged you!

What’s been your career highlight so far?

Mental Gardens: I’m a self-funded, independent artist. My biggest highlight of my life and career was going full-time in 2020 (pre-pandemic). For me, going full time was my life’s work. Every day from the moment I was 15 I meticulously planned, saved and worked for my creative independence.

Which fictional character do you most relate to?

Mental Gardens: The way I’m not sure who I’d be because being an artisan and creative most my life I’ve spent most my time outside in nature as my ’media’ consumption if I were to be asked what plant or animal relate to most feels more authentically me ...but I would say I relate to any character that goes through a mystical journey and is relentlessly themselves.

Who is your beauty icon?

Mental Gardens: My local friends of south Florida are truly my beauty icons. They have all collectively become celebrities in our community and shine through self expression that translates no matter where in the world we find ourselves. That being said shout out: @Flvmeprincess, @pressurepoint.mp3, @_kuntl333_ , @bleachyval and @gaboescalona. All members of south Florida’s queer counterculture and Black indigenous culture.

When do you feel most beautiful?

Mental Gardens: When I’m connecting with my surroundings, engaging with a smile and being fully present. I radiate beauty when I’m joyful, when I embrace my uniqueness. I love to laugh and enjoy adventures with friends.

You have the ability to live in a video game. Which would it be?

Mental Gardens: I haven’t played many games, but all my friends tell me I belong in Animal Crossing. Just foraging plants, creating my own world and connecting to locals.

If you could have a new sense on top of your existing ones, what would it be?

Mental Gardens: The ability to bend metal with my mind is essential earth bending.

It’s the year 2100. You’re the owner of the largest beauty tech company in the world, what five products or treatments will you dedicate your resources trying to invent?

Mental Gardens: I would invest heavily in low-income and Indigenous creatives, giving them resources to continue making art. I would constantly dig up the past and invest in the people of those communities to research. I would invest in researching nature and how it can give us superpowers. Making clothes out of metal, bringing armour back! I’m inventing a tincture that heals your ailments and restores joy in your soul.

If not your body then, is there anything you would want to leave behind? An artwork you haven’t done yet, a book, a bloodline?

Mental Gardens: I want to leave behind a guidebook on how to follow your dreams: the mindset, the structure, the essence of being a creative rebel.