Cheryll Leo-Gwin considers herself as a “maker of things”. She earned her MFA in metal design at the University of Washington in 1977, and since has created work in a variety of materials from jewelry scaled 2 and 3-D work to large scale public art. Her love of experimentation found her in research and development in the early 1980’s where she discovered new processes for artists to create work in porcelain enamels. This experience continues to influence her work. Exploring new materials and processes, her most recent work uses images from her own sculpture, painting, and photographic images which she isolates, recombines, then translates into large digital prints. As an arts administrator in higher education as well as a state, county and local arts commissioner, her work reflects a sensitivity to public consciousness and social justice. Her current work focuses around issues relative to the US Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883-1943; China’s Cultural Revolution; and the Civil Rights Act of 1965 as she compares and contrasts the cultures of East and West.
