By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Leigha Cohen always knew there was an artist hiding inside of her, but like many aspiring artists, she submerged the desire and chose more conventional career paths — that of a teacher, an electrical engineer and later a construction contractor.
But it was not until the 59-year-old Slack Avenue resident began to struggle in earnest with the disabling conditions of bipolar disorder and chronic pain disorder did she decide to follow her inner muse and become an artist.
In 2004, Ms. Cohen picked up a camera for the first time in a quarter-century and began taking photographs again. In the early 1970s, the New York City native studied photography in the city at Queens College and The New School. She enrolled in the master of fine arts program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
Beginning Saturday, a half-dozen of Ms. Cohen’s photographs —including the photograph, “Ice Birds,” which won first place in the show — will be featured at the University Medical Center at Princeton’s “ArtFirst!” exhibit of works of art by professional artists with physical or mental disabilities. The show runs May 2 to June 12.
The show, which is presented by the Auxiliary of the University Medical Center at Princeton, opens May 2 with a patrons preview party from 6 to 9 p.m. at the hospital, on Witherspoon Street, in Princeton. The artwork is exhibited in public spaces at the hospital.
This is the second year Ms. Cohen’s photography has been featured in the “ArtFirst!” exhibit at the University Medical Center of Princeton. Last year, one of her photographs received second place at the art exhibit, and this year she earned first place. The entries are judged by professional artists.
“It’s a wonderful venue,” Ms. Cohen said of the “ArtFirst!” exhibit. “Disabled professional artists get to show their works. I learned about it through my network of artist friends.”
When Ms. Cohen began to study photography, digital cameras were nonexistent. She used 35mm film cameras until life stepped in, and she dropped photography. But when she picked up a camera several years ago, it was a digital camera, and she has grown to love the format.
“Being able to manipulate images on a computer is wonderful,” she said. “I am beginning to explore it. It is still new to me. Digital photography is a medium unto itself. I had to learn that craft pretty much by myself — to expand my skills in that craft.”
Ms. Cohen learned to take photographs in black and white, but when she shoots a photograph, “I don’t see it as black and white or color. This one speaks to me in black and white or I can make it sepia. I’ll iterate it in black and white and color.”
She added, “I am comfortable in both areas. I shoot about 20 percent in black and white. Certainly, the world is not in black and white. Your eye doesn’t see black and white; you see color. You have to retrain your mind to get rid of colors. I certainly relate to black-and-white photography because that’s where my roots are.”
Like many artists, Ms. Cohen has expanded her repertoire. When she first began taking photographs several years ago, she focused on landscapes. She would go out in the early morning fog to photograph bodies of water — whether it was Carnegie Lake, in Princeton Township, or the Delaware River.
But lately, she has begun to take photographs of people. Some of her photographs also have become more abstract. She likes to take photographs at night because the lighting conditions are different than during the daytime. It’s another area to explore, she said of her nighttime shoots.
“When I do my art, there is something I am looking at that I am emotionally connected to, and I document it with my camera,” Ms. Cohen said. “I see something that may not be obvious to other people. It’s all built upon my life. It’s whatever inspires me at the moment. A photograph will never work unless I am emotionally involved in it.”
Ms. Cohen said her disabilities also are a factor in her artwork. Being bipolar, for example, means she experiences the world more intensely than many other people. It has made her much more sensitive, she said.
“It’s like a filter,” Ms. Cohen said. “(My) sadness is a severe depression, at times. But on the other side (of manic), everything clicks, and I have an abundance of energy. The creative process sometimes helps me bypass the depression. If I am doing something, I can’t focus on the pain.”
Ms. Cohen said her various disabilities — bipolar, anxiety disorder and fibromyalgia — all must color her art. She also suffers from sleep disorder and often wakes up in the middle of the night, but she uses that time to focus on her art or to watch movies.
“I am Miss Challenge,” Ms. Cohen said. “That’s why I am perpetually moving. Even when I am ill or disabled, I need to challenge myself.”

