Betty Spindler (born 1943) is an American

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

, known for her ceramic renditions of fruits, vegetables, and other foods through clay, newspaper, and vibrant colors.

Life

Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

in 1943, Spindler struggled with

learning disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

as a child, getting diagnosed with

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

a few years later. She began her art career with classes at

Sherman E. Burroughs High School Sherman E. Burroughs High School is a public high school located in Ridgecrest, California. Established in 1945, the school is located in the upper Mojave Desert and is adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. It derives its name fr ...

, but did not immediately continue with her college education. She married and started a family.

Education

Spindler resumed her formal art education in 1979, with classes at

Cerro Coso Community College Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municipa ...

where she began to focus on ceramics. She graduated with an

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

degree in 1986. She then attended the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1990 at the age of 47.

Career

While Spindler's ceramics work started as a hobby, she slowly parlayed this into a professional career. Her most prominent work, the 2000 sculpture ''Hot Dog'', is on permanent display in the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

. Other works of hers are included in the permanent collections of the

Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, and the Winfield Gallery in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

. Spindler has frequently spoken to students on her experiences in overcoming learning disabilities. In 2012, she served as a Distinguished Speaker for her alma mater Cerro Coso Community College's commencement exercises. She has also served as a trustee for

Kern Community College District Kern Community College District is a community college district in Kern County, California. Colleges a part of the district are: Bakersfield College, Porterville College, and Cerro Coso Community College Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain ...

and the California Association of Community Colleges and served on the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

's Commission for Disabled Students.

Personal life

She currently resides in Ridge Crest, California.

References

External links

Frumkin Duval Gallery - Betty Spindler

Winfield Gallery - Betty Spindler

Smithsonian American Art Museum - Betty Spindler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spindler, Betty 1943 births Living people American women ceramists American ceramists People from Long Beach, California Artists from California University of California, Santa Cruz alumni 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists 21st-century ceramists