Leslie Batt-Lutz
Visual Artist: Jewelry; Visual Artist: Painting; Visual Artist: Pottery/Ceramics
I’ve always loved natural materials and being around fire – from campfires as a kid to glassblowing in college. While in high school at art camp one Summer at UW-Green Bay, I hung out in the painting studio, but I was fascinated by the flames and smoke of the raku firings happening on the patio outside. I was fortunate, then, while in college at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls (getting my B.F.A. in sculpture) to learn from its stellar faculty at the time – which included Doug Johnson, Kurt Wild, and Jim Engebretson among others.
Now, after years of juggling, I’ve retired from the job in corporate America, raised an awesome family, and can find a bit more time to fulfill my art-heart. Though I love painting and mixed media sculpture still, the siren song of raku has captured me. I embrace the unpredictability of raku in every firing. I set up my small low-tech kiln in my backyard and in batches of four or six tiny pots, I’m mesmerized by fire and smoke, anxiously and impatiently waiting to see the gift of alchemy.
My work is out of my little home studio in beautiful River Falls, Wisconsin where I’ve lived for 38 years. I settled in River Falls to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and stayed active in community arts in the years since.
I’ve been fortunate to have many opportunities, including working in potteries, selling at art fairs, painting large scale murals, illustrating children’s books, painting portrait commissions, and creating public art.
My artistic endeavors have included Alley Exhibitionists (founding member), Mississippi Clayworks (co-owner), Art House Galley (not for profit/owner), Bella Luce Studio (owner), and CAB Board member. Art venues have included the River Falls Public Library, The Mabel Tainter, Wisconsin Regional Arts Program, Hammond Arts Alliance, Art on the Kinni, Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council in Ketchikan, AK, and several River Falls Utility Box Beautification projects.
