LINDA LASATER, PhD, PsyD
I grew up on an isolated ranch in West Texas with a loving mother, father and younger brother - all with an appreciation for humor and hard work. Family tragedies occurred in my 20s. My brother had developed epilepsy early in his life, and at 17, he died of a seizure while on horseback. My father was also on horseback when he suffered a heart attack and died at 53.
I was born with a talent for drawing. I wanted to go to college and major in art. I was fascinated by the skilled instructor in silver smithing at the University of Texas El Paso and graduated with a B.A. in that field. Later, I moved to San Diego where I received an MFA under the tutelage of world renowned jewelry artist Arline Fisch. My Master's exhibit included a series of silver containers, with faces on the removable tops. Calm eyes were a major feature of each piece. On the basis of that work, I received a Fulbright Fellowship to the Royal College of Art in London, where I studied with Malcolm Appleby, engraver to Queen Elizabeth.
After returning to California and teaching and exhibiting my metal work, I had the good fortune to meet psychoanalysts in Los Angeles, who introduced me to that field. I began my own analysis, and had the enriching experience of my analyst's quiet and penetrating eyes and mind, which gave me insight into the losses of early life that had certainly inspired the gaze in all my silver containers. I decided to become a psychoanalyst, and graduated from the Psychoanalytic Center of California. I have now been a Training and Supervising analyst in private practice for many years.
The Gaze
(Silver Container with Wings and Etched Cup, 11” x 5”)
This silver container was originally titled The Angel, because of the receptive eyes and wings I added to it. I changed the name to The Gaze, after realizing during my analysis, that the eyes on the cup and other containers I made, were repeated in the eyes of my analyst, --quietly listening to, and responding to, the mysteries of love and loss.