Artist Statement
Through the process of making things, I strive to open a door for those who have no voice and provide them a place to speak. Childhood trauma and abuse thrive upon silence and secrets. My visual language articulates the “unspeakable.” At the same time, it establishes a sense of hope and healing for the viewer. Patriarchal constructs foster the silence that supports abuse. Metaphors demonstrate the requirements for this suppression: “silence is golden,” “children should be seen and not heard,” “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” and “if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say it at all.” Explored within gallery space these stories transform in status, confronted within different context. My art is a form of social protest that addresses these problems publicly. The goal is that abuse prevention will stem from greater awareness.
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Many of the following images are in Show and Tell. Others are a part of my larger body of work that represents my journey of healing. To see more work, please visit my artist website.
Armor: Protection Series #8, 12 x 14 x 23", porcelain, 2015
Armor: Protections Series #6, 13 x 15 x 24", porcelain, 2005
StoryTeller #5: Listen to the Silence, stoneware, books, 76” x 67” x 57”, 2003
Wedded Bliss: Detail: stoneware, 31” x 36” x 13”, 2000
Wedded Bliss: In Memory of Mary: stoneware, 31” x 36” x 13”, 2000
Spiral Movement, #18: ash, porcelain, Mojave Desert, 25’ x 30’ x 6”, 2021
Centinel, Bedside Table: stoneware, wood, photograph, frame, rollers, 14” x 19” x 42”, 2016
See Hear Speak #1: stoneware and porcelain, 8” x 8” x 21”, 2005
Storyteller #4: stoneware, underglaze, pencils and chalk, 18” x 38” x 28”, 2002
Storyteller #2: stoneware, fired gold 24k, 12” x 12” x 22”, 2001
Possibility Bowl: porcelain, 4” diameter x 4.5”, 2017
The Walk: porcelain, stoneware, rocks, Mojave Desert, Feminist Image Group, (FIG), 88’ x 88’ x 8', 2020
Don’t Shut Up #1 Self Portrait: rice paper, graphite, words, 9” x 12”, 2021
Spiral Movement #18 My Shadow: ash, porcelain, Mojave Desert, 25’ x 30’ x 6”, 2021
Ruth Bader Ginsberg: handmade paper, colored pencil, 6” x 11”, 2017
Ribbon Spiral #4 (detail): paper and graphite, 9” x 12”, 2020
White Petunia: oil on canvas, 16” x 24”, 2010
One: What was Lost Self Portrait: graphite, paper, 8.5” x 11”, 2022
Eleven: rice paper, ink, 9” x 12”, 2019
Meditation Self Portrait #7: oil on Canvas, 24” x 24” x2", 2018
Moments (detail): hanging houses, vellum, wood, glass beads, handmade beads by Joyce Rooks, 48” x 65” x 60”, 2021
Evocations (detail): porcelain, slip cast faces, underglaze images, 72” x 90” x 1”, 2022
Relinquish: stoneware, 2” x 3” x 10”, 2021
Calla Lily: 16” x 24”, oil on canvas, 2011
Remembrance #1: blown glass domes, paper, graphite, porcelain, 5” diameter x 5”, 2021
Meditation (1 of 3 in a triptych): 36" x 36" x 2”, 2016
Healing Art Process #3: watercolor on paper, 8.5" x 11", 2017
Linda Litteral in her studio behind Evocations: photo by Sandy Huffaker, San Diego Union Tribune
Using personal stories builds my content while addressing concerns held about our society through human experience. I lived in the space of silence for many years. Talking about incest and child abuse is taboo in our culture yet not as taboo as the occurrence. Avoiding public acknowledgement of this dangerous reality sanctions continuing physical, sexual, and emotional violence. By revealing my own experiences, my “secret” challenges the viewer’s beliefs and understanding. Having kept silent for many years I will no longer continue to do so. Developing the consciousness of individual viewers can eventually revolutionize societal norms.
Additionally, my artistic career encompasses fighting for the recognition of women’s voices. As a feminist artist I also create pieces highlighting social issues such as domestic, verbal, and sexual abuse. My involvement with the Feminist Image Group (FIG) focuses on the current American and global political climate. I frequently utilize text within the context of a piece to illustrate the ways men harm women. The Don’t Shut Up! show, which I curated, is part of a growing and ongoing movement of women artists striving to create awareness and social change through visual imagery that is frequently politically aware.
Women abused as children are frequently victims of violence as adults. Through work as an artist and activist I seek to bridge the disconnect existing around the mistreatment of women and children. I create pieces that, while beautiful, primarily provide survivors a voice for change.
Teaching others, I concentrate on the powerful healing effects art can provide. I teach at Las Colinas Detention Center. Las Colinas is a women’s facility where more than 80% of its population has been sexually abused. I also educate inmates at a men’s facility, Donovan State Prison. I impart an art process that I believe heals while improving participants’ self-esteem and confidence.
Ultimately as artist, activist, and educator I seek thorough the powerful alchemy of the artistic process to transform our fractured world into a safer space for all.
Faces: oil on canvas, 16” x 24” x 2”, 2009
You can see more of Ms. Litteral’s compelling work by visiting her website.