Linda Lighton
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a very young mother, I didn’t plan to have a child. I simply saw it as a miracle—to bring new life into the world. I had no experience from babysitting or raising a younger sibling.
Coming from a deeply dysfunctional family that did not encourage me to pursue art. I made a conscious decision, I would never say “no” to Rose. I would listen, and together we would find joy in living. I chose to try saying “yes” and see what happened. What I found was joy, learning, and a sense of adventure.
I have love. I love my daughter deeply and want to protect her as best I can. I hope to leave her with something meaningful—some assets—after I’m gone. I want her to be safe.
I was often a single mom, though over time I had one husband, one longtime boyfriend, and now a long-term husband. As a young mother—just 20 years old—we often lived in real poverty, cooking on wood stoves and hauling water for daily chores.
I’ve taken Rose on many wild adventures and to many places to live: from Seattle to New Mexico, and to outlying areas around Seattle; from the Colville Indian Reservation to Idaho, Bellingham, several rural towns like Deary and Troy in Idaho, and even Kansas City.
Throughout Rose’s childhood, I always made art. It wasn’t a question of doing it or not—it was part of how I understood the world and my place in it. My art explores the flow of life: from birth to death and everything in between. It reflects on the roles of women, the state of our planet, composting, gender roles, motherhood, the deaths of dear friends, gun violence—and joy.
Now, Rose is a very visual person, living a life immersed in the arts, with an artist as a partner as well.
She has given me so much. I can’t thank her enough for her support as I prepare for my upcoming retrospective. She has the respect of everyone around her, and that makes me so proud.
My proudest accomplishment is that Rose knows how to be happy.
Is this about me—or about the kid?
I am incredibly proud of Rose: her accomplishments, her bravery, and her decisiveness. She knows where she’s going and has the strength to get there.
Her support for me is full of love. Have the roles changed? I find myself relying on her clear thinking, positivity, and deep understanding.
My love for her is boundless.
ARTIST BIO
Linda Lighton is an internationally recognized ceramic sculptor. She has had over 80 solo exhibitions and participated in over 230 group shows. Linda has worked and shown her art internationally in countries including China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.
She is represented in many national and international museums, including the Nelson-Atkins and the Kemper Museums of Art in Kansas City, MO, the Ariana Museum in Switzerland, the Fule International and American Museums of Ceramics in Fuping, China, and the International Ceramic Museum in Icheon, Korea. Linda is also featured in museums in Hungary, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, and Taiwan.
Linda Lighton is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. She is the founder and director of the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program, which has sent over 186 artists to 52 countries and the Arctic Circle.
In 2016, Lighton received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for the Education of the Ceramic Arts and the Distinguished Alumni Award at Pembroke School. She has also received the State of Missouri Artist Award and the Award for Excellence in Visual Arts and Education from the Kansas City Art Institute. Recently, Lighton completed two large commissions. The first, a 1% for the Arts program, involved producing a twenty-foot-long mural titled "Ode to the Tallgrass Prairie" for the new Kansas City International Airport. The second was a large chandelier titled "Luminous," installed in the Grand Salon at the Kansas City Museum.
She is a fervent arts activist and has served on numerous arts boards. Currently Linda is working on a retrospective that will debut in 2025 at The Nerman Museum and has work on display at the Indian Ceramics Triennale in New Dehli.
Linda will have a Retrospective at the Nerman Museum in September 2025.