Voyage LA: Meet Linda Stelling
Voyage LA Interview published September 11, 2018
Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Stelling.
Linda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As an artist for all of my life and from a family of artists (my grandfather painted frescos in churches, an uncle was a famous painter for a major newspaper and my father and mother gifted craftsman and floral designer), I was constantly invited to art museums or dance (another lifelong passion) in some stage production or attend an orchestral production, by way of my family. I was more shy than bold so I had to adopt “It will only hurt for a minute” attitude. From little on I drew or painted or created sculpture in clay to satiate my creative spirit. It was a wonderful way to incorporate my dreams into my life. I began to show my work, early on, through a wonderful art instructor and then through my BFA in painting and ceramic sculpture, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. My first studio was in an old trolley car station in Grafton, Wisconsin where it was so cold I worked in mittens most of the time. The small space froze solid some days and I had to wait for the “oil truck” to come, so everything would thaw out. It was both wonderful and challenging at the same time. From there I graduated to an old woolen mill on the river and my studio on the third floor overlooked a dam which was harnessed for the blacksmith on the first floor. The building had been set up as studios for working artists. I was part of a group of artists; glass blowers, weavers, jewelers and painters. It was truly heaven as my studio and gallery sat above a crepe shop so my space always smelled delicious! My heart yearned for warmer weather so I came out to LA and got a job as a commissioned artist for LA ART PROJECTS for 5/hour. It was not easy paying rent on that and a test of my resilience to just get by. It was, my first experience in Los Angeles with “I promise to pay you a commission for everything that sells…” or, make sure to get it in writing I began to study in earnest with nationally known muralists and specialty finish artists, picking up every trick I could enabling me to make a living doing high end finishes and murals for movie stars and designers. That served me well for many years as I matured and gained insight as to who I was. My priorities shifted as I had a family and grew a thousand fold from their love and enthusiasm. It taught me to really love life and to appreciate the little things. Fast forward to present day where I show in several galleries in Los Angeles (Fabrik Projects, Gloria Delson Contemporary Arta, Gallery 825), and in many other cities, as well as Paris. The work I do is so rewarding, I can’t wait to get up and get started. I am in the studio almost every day, and when I am not, I am dreaming and planning for the next moment I can go back to having the time of my life. My work is based on (mostly) Jungian dream theories and I have allowed my dreams to permeate and shape my color and images. The work is free and abstract without constraint. I am excited to be allowed to create. It is a gift that I do not take lightly.
