Wanda Schaertel

          My first artistic inspirations came from watching my mom and her growth as an interior designer. I grew up in Claremont, California, a small town that revolves around five Universities that introduced me to the numerous artistic influences that the schools cultivated in the community. After graduating from California State Fullerton in 1987 with my B.A. in Illustration, I specialized in court room exhibits for Lawyers and their Experts creating Medical Illustrations, Technical Diagrams, and 3D Animations. I am in the process of redefining my artistic career.  After moving from California to the beautiful state of Utah in 2013, I shifted my pursuits to study painting with the online MFA program through Academy of Art University, San Fransisco.  

        While I was creating exhibits I had the opportunity to work with a variety of people with very specialized professions, I enjoyed learning from each and every person.  It is a natural progression for me continue my interest in what people do, how they do it and the tools they use.  It became a natural progression to produce “Playful Possessions,” through which I engage the viewer to take a moment and take pleasure in, appreciate, possibly remember, but always get the feeling of the person or people that are illustrated in each piece though their belongings.  Subsequently, I further intend to take this concept further by exploring people within their environments.