About

Leena Hannonen, the founder of ArtElite, LLC is known for her sculptures, jewelry, Decadent Threads, original found-objects art and unusual digital fine art prints.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Leena’s dramatic flair is influenced by both Native American and African art. Combining her unique motifs with traditional Scandinavian feel, her creations have been shown in a number of art galleries in Southern California. Inspired by the introduction of the Macintosh computer in the early 1980s, Leena saw the creative potential of the graphic design capabilities that would soon be available to the world. Newly arrived in Los Angeles, she immediately opened her first design studio, fulfilling a childhood dream of creating innovative designs for marketing communications pieces and corporate identities.

After building MACnetic Design into a solid success, Leena began experimenting with other art mediums, first producing ceramics, clothes and then sculpture. Commissioned for a variety of artistic projects, people come to Leena for everything from corporate logos to Web sites to party themes. Her most recent crafted forays have included beaded silver jewelry and Decadent Thread shawls and ponchos.

In September of 1999, Leena left Los Angeles to set up her new home and studio in Julian, California, in the mountains 60 miles east of San Diego. There, Leena finds unlimited inspiration in her new surroundings, and has adopted the local turkeys, deer and other wildlife on her personal nature reserve.

Leena is also co-founder and organizer of the annual Julian Open Studios, a self-guided tour where art lovers can visit the artists and get an inside look at their studios and current work, with special opportunity of purchasing original work from its source.
Located in Julian, Leena’s gallery/showroom is open by appointment to both trade and direct consumers.