Echo Gallery invites the public to an exhibit of the work of local rancher and master potter, Leslie Falteisek-Sultemeier. The exhibit will be featured though May.
Leslie was born and educated in Minnesota, where she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics under the renowned-potter Warren MacKenzie. She was taught that functional pottery should be both affordable and long-lasting, and strives to follow in that philosophical footstep.
Along with ceramics, she began making custom-drawn animal rubber stamps in college in order to use multiple duplicate images in her thesis show drawings. Her image collection mushroomed through requests from individuals for drawings of their stock breeds and favorite animals, topping out around 900 images which she’s still selling today.
After college, Leslie worked in graphic design, stamp manufacturing, and the vinyl sign industry for over twenty years. Along the way, she raised and showed Manx cats. In 1985, she became a judge for The Cat Fanciers’ Association.
She moved from Minnesota to Texas in 1994 and added accounting to her list of vocations.
She married Kermit Sultemeier in 2005 and moved to his ranch home outside of Johnson City where they raised Braunvieh/Brangus/Brahma beef cattle and Boer meat goats.
She retired from judging in 2010 and accounting in 2015, giving her time to continue with the stamp business and the opportunity to set up a small pottery studio at the ranch.
Over the last 6 years, pottery has taken over most of her creative outlets; she hopes it will continue to do so for many more years. Leslie has spent almost sixty years in the arts.
She works with Cone 6 (2270 deg. F) porcelain clay and lead-free glazes which she primarily formulates herself. The pieces are electric fired and all are oven, microwave, and dishwasher-safe. Depending on the character of the intended piece, she uses wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques.
She enjoys using local Texas plant leaves (made into ceramic stamps) to enrich the clay surface, or sculpting small animals to function as knobs on covered pieces.
In addition to standard dinnerware, she enjoys making specialty items like butter dishes, egg cookers, honey pats, tea caddies, toothbrush/paste holders and other oddities a person would use around the house.
Glaze colors range from white through tans and browns, to greens, blues and iron reds and any combination thereof.
Leslie Falteisek-Sultemeier says, “Nothing makes me happier than to have people use and enjoy my pottery!”
An exhibit of her work is available to the public during the month of May in Echo Gallery’s Main Street showroom window at 100 N. Nugent Ave. Stay tuned to the Record Courier for more updates on featured artists in Echo Gallery.
