Leslie Espino is a multidisciplinary artist working in a male-dominated STEM field, who turns to art as a space free from societal expectations and internal pressures. She creates hand-stitched, layered paper pieces with a whimsical, storybook quality, often using repurposed hand-painted paper. Through these tactile narratives, Espino invites viewers to reconnect with the joy of play, experimentation, and embracing mistakes.