Return to Artist's Background

Cheryl Tall

Artist's Bio

Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, Tall started painting at age seven and sold her first artwork at age thirteen. She continued working in two dimensional artwork for several years, mixing color in an abstract manner and building up the surfaces of the canvas. When she discovered clay, she finally found the form of expression she was seeking. Her current work blends an abstract painterly quality with the textures of three dimensional clay.

After graduating from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, with a BFA in l974, she opened Cheryl Tall Art Studios and began making art works in clay. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1995 from the University of Miami, with a major in Ceramics and Fine Art.

Cheryl Tall's art materials consist of fired clay, glazes, metallic oxides, terra sigilatta, wood, oil and acrylic paint, canvas, paper, wax and found elements. These get assembled into strange beings who exist in their own unique time and place.

Some of her influences have come from contemporary clay sculptors such as Robert Arneson, Viola Frey, Peter Voulkos and Adrian Arleo. Her father was another inspiration. He was a builder and carpenter and as a young girl, she watched him construct buildings and furniture in wood. This led to the development of figurative/architectural expressions in her work.

A constant source of inspiration has been the cathedrals, wood block prints and stone carvings of 11th century Romanesque art in France, England, Germany and Italy. The double-headed figures, animal/human combinations, skewed perspectives, and soaring turrets on the buildings all somehow find their way into the work.

An interest in ancient and modern cultures has driven her to travel the world. She has been able to combine this with making art by accepting artist's residencies in unique locations. In 1996, she was one of fourteen international artists chosen to participate in the International Workshop of Ceramic Art in Tokoname, Japan, a city with a history of 900 years in ceramics. Other artist residencies have included Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine; Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada; Provence, France, International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary; and the Art School of the Aegean, Samos, Greece.

Her work has been published in Confrontational Ceramics, by Judith Schwartz, The Ceramic Design Book by Lark Publications, in Low Fire Surface Design by Lynn Peters, in 500 Figures in Clay, Lark Books, in Making Marks by Robin Hopper, in Studio Potter Magazine, Ceramic Monthly Magazine, Clay Times, Ceramics Art and Perception, Pottery Making Illustrated, and American Craft magazines. She has recently won "Grand Prize Winner of the Annual Sculpture Competition", Sculptural Pursuit Magazine. Her work has found its way into many museum, corporate and private collections.

Tall's present studio is in the interesting seaside town of Leucadia, CA. Visit her studio to meet the artist, view and purchase sculpture and paintings, or to take an art class! Call to make an appointment, 760-479-0399. Cheryl Tall Art Studio, 1114 N. Coast Hwy. 101, Suite2, Leucadia, CA 92024.