Gail Kristensen

During the past twenty three years, Gail and her husband, George Busha, lived high on a hill in a secluded area of Sedona, Arizona. Her studio and their home were embraced by the natural wonders that often inspired her work. "My clay works reflect the sculptural forms that surround me," she says. "Living in Arizona is like living in a sculpture."

A large track kiln for high-fire stoneware sat outside in their back yard, overlooking the red rocks and national forest surrounding them. Gail and George built this mamoth kiln from scratch. This kiln took 24 hours to heat to the required temperature. Her metalic blue kiln for copper on glass sat inside the studio.

Neat as a pin, that’s how one would describe Gail Kristensen’s studio and home gallery. Her two kilns were pristine.Even the two dogs, a cocker spaniel and a yellow Labrador were immaculate.

The previous twenty years were spent in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she taught ceramics at Macalester College and in her home studio. Her well-known art deco house served as art studio, art school, and art gallery, as well as home.

(friends and former students are invited to add text and photos here to enrich the story)

She has also lived in Germany, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Ames, Iowa. and (to be completed)

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Gail's fascination with the arts began as a child. "My folks told me that before I could read or write, I would draw tomatoes, beans and other vegetables on the vegetable stakes in their vegetable garden. Later I drew faces and forms on every piece of wook I could find"

"I lived in small Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin towns where there were no art courses. But I would draw things in the sky, people, anything in sight always. I would make paper dolls and design costumes for people for sheer joy. When I was five years old, I would hang around the ceramic engineering department at Iowa State University during the summer. Someone was shaping clay. I watched in a trance. I was fascinated to see form coming out of clay."