Linda L. Chappel

Art is one way to understand the relationship between humans and the earth.  Our intrinsic and complicated connections to the wider community of animals and to the landscape are the center of my art work. The layering of symbols records my understanding of these connections. I am also interested in the persistence and interplay of visual symbols from various cultures and across time. The use of expressive line and color draws the attention to the importance of the physical and tactile nature of creating art. Symbolic use of colors, shapes and animal forms dominate my image construction.  Using encaustics, oil and collage allows me to layer ideas through physically layering images. The physical presence of the art is an important part of the process and each of these materials allows me to leave traces of my physical interaction with the art.

Ultimately, I am interested in the art object and to inspire others to contemplate the importance of understanding our relationship to the earth in contemporary society.

Linda Chappel’s formal studies in art began at the University of Madison, Wisconsin where she was fortunate to study in the sculpture department with Dan Reitz, George Cramer, and Truman Lowe.  She graduated from Madison with a bachelor degree in the Fine Arts in 1986. After graduation, she worked in various fields and as a fine artist in Santa Fe and Seattle and showed in a number of galleries, including the OK Hotel and FLN in Seattle.  In 1992 Linda decided to further her studies and came to the University of Arizona at Tucson for a Graduate degree in Art History and was awarded a Master’s Degree in Art History, specializing in Mexican Art History. She is currently a full-time instructor at Tohono O'odham Community College and shows her work throughout the Southwest.

• Off The Wall, issue #1 and #2, 1991-92, an award for local literary publication, Bumbershoot Festival Opinion Rag, Winter 1998
• Possessed, 1988-1989, issues #1-#4

Linda L. Chappel