Biography
Julie Speidel’s sculptures reflect influences as varied as the megaliths of the British Isles and the totemic Native American art of her home and birthplace, the Pacific Northwest. Her sculptures build on universal organic forms—reinterpreting them with a clear, contemporary vision.
Speidel was born in Seattle in 1941 and was raised in the Northwest and Europe. She pursued her training in languages at the University of Grenoble, France and her art in Seattle at the Cornish Institute and the University of Washington.
Speidel’s work is included in the collections of museums, universities, embassies, and private collectors. Her work can be viewed at Winston Wachter Fine Art Gallery in Seattle and New York, Gail Severn Gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho, Allene Lapides Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in many public installations around the United States. She works from her studio situated on one of the original strawberry farms on Vashon Island, Washington.
Artist's Statement
The inspiration for my work is rooted in the power of travel. Early in my life “travel” consisted of escapes into the dense woods near our family home along Lake Washington. I lived in an imaginative world there digging a hole to China and building shelters in bushes and tree trunks. The seeming limitlessness of the natural world gave me permission to think and imagine freely.
This has continued to be true throughout my life. My work is strongly influenced by experiencing the vestiges of ancient cultures. From the megaliths of Europe, to the Buddhist Caves of China or the temple ruins of Turkey—all hold powerful shapes that connect us as human beings and keep us in a state of awe.
My sculpture is a tribute to these ancient monuments and their power to link the world of the senses to the world of the spirits.