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Linda Sawtelle

About The Artist

Artist Statement

I am a clay artist. I love the tactile sensibility of the medium, the feel and its’ malleability. Clay speaks to me, it works me – not the other way around. I follow what it wants and create sculptures listening carefully and surrendering to being guided by the earth material. As I work, a narrative develops which pulls from my subconscious and life experiences. My work unfolds and sculptures take on a life of their own during their creation.

Biography

All my life I have loved arts and crafts, starting at an early age doing craft classes, sewing, candle making, leather tooling and drawing and painting. My mom, Mary, made sure we all (5 kids) were exposed to art and enrolled us in craft classes in the summer and after school. I grew up in the Air Force so we moved 7 times before I was 11 and finally settled in Rhode Island, although I have never really ‘settled’. When I was 20 I came to California and lived in Noe Valley in San Francisco. I was walking down Church Street one day and passed a ceramics studio at 26th Street where the owner, Jerry was standing outside. We got to talking and I told him I would love to take a class but since I was unemployed I could not afford it, but maybe I could trade something. So he had me sweep the studio and mix glazes for him and that got me started – and off I went. I have never stopped working in clay. In 1984 I ended up going back to college at San Francisco State to finish my undergraduate degree in art, studying sculpture with my hero Stephen DeStaebler and ceramics with David Kuroka. Since then I have been creating ceramic sculptures, selling in various galleries and shows.

Art Medium(s)

Ceramics, Pottery, Sculpture

Contact Information

Artist Full Name
Contact Email Address
Phone

415-806-9936

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