Leila Pyle is an Alaskan artist who grew up in Kodiak and now resides in Fairbanks. She has always loved art, and as a child, when she wasn’t playing outside, she could be found filling sketchbooks and drawing comics about her pet bunnies. Leila holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, and her 2017 senior thesis at Reed was an art and advocacy project about salmon in the Pacific Northwest that explored how salmon’s incredible symbolism and cultural importance to the region is juxtaposed by the fact that they are an endangered species that is under dire threat from climate change. Much of Leila’s art focuses on similar themes of nature and the environment, and she enjoys using art as a tool to communicate scientific or ecological concepts, whether this is a hard and scary topic like climate change, or the beauty and wonder of Alaskan ecosystems. Leila is also an experienced educator and teaches outdoor education in Fairbanks. She is passionate about combining environmental education and art and enjoys teaching art to children through the lens of science or nature. Whether it is through drawing, painting, printmaking, nature journaling, or more, Leila believes that art is a great way to help people understand and communicate scientific topics and explore and develop a relationship to the place that they live.

Leila calls her art business Rainy Rabbit Art as a nod to her love of bunnies and rabbits (she’s had several bunnies as pets!) and the rainy Alaskan island where she grew up.

To get in touch with Leila about potential collaborations, commissions, Artists in Schools projects, or anything else, reach out to rainyrabbitart@gmail.com.