Dorothy Steidley - Artist

Dorothy Alta House was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Lydia and Emery House, on January 31, 1918. She joined a family that was composed of her parents and boys, boys and boys... Dorothy's older brothers were Paul, Loyd, Richard and Wilbur. A younger brother (Jim) completed the family. The kids enjoyed growing up in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area... hiking in the Garden of the Gods, finding arrow heads and collecting rocks.

Dorothy always viewed the world through the eyes of an artist. She was aware of the line, color, light, shape, texture and space of her world and was inspired to express this awareness in various mediums. She has always used her art to share with the world her thoughts and opinions.







In 1938, Dorothy married Howard Steidley. Daughters Carolyn and Alta completed the family. The Steidley family lived in Denver, Colorado, and Dorothy delighted in using her creative abilities in a wide selection of activities.





Watercolor became Dorothy's medium of choice and she spent years (as an active member of the Colorado Watercolor Society) experimenting with her love of contemporary art. She painted in watercolor for many years, however, her love of clay became dominant. She truly loved the texture, color and smell of clay. As she put it, opening a kiln filled with finished pieces was like a Christmas morning... filled with surprises.




Her fascination with learning about different glazes was enhanced by her understanding of chemistry and the challenges of construction were aided by her talent for engineering. She felt the clay truly spoke to and for her.




Dorothy was a founding member of the Colorado Potter's Guild and was a prolific potter throughout the years. She received numerous awards and accolades. As a part of this recognition, seven times her ceramic pieces were included in the Anniversary Collection of the Channel 6 Auction, she had her work displayed in New York City's Museum of Modern Art, and a chalice and paten created by her was commissioned for the Pope. She constructed and donated stained glass, pottery and cloth works of art to the Washington Park United Church of Christ.

Now Dorothy resides on a wooded hillside west of Grand Junction, CO, and enjoys the beauty that surrounds her. Her most recent endeavors have focused upon creations using twisted sage, rabbit brush, stones, bones... "found objects"... to bring forth angels, fish, and sometimes just the spectacular element, standing alone within a shadow-box frame. She experiments with card-making, too. She just recently purchased a digital camera and is learning to record the beauty she sees.

At the age of 90, and having fought heart disease since her first heart attack 50 years ago and experiencing bi-pass surgery 30 years ago, she is very independent and active, and her appreciation for creative expression has never dimmed.

The title ARTIST describes Dorothy perfectly.

To see more examples of Dorothy's beautiful work, please visit her Flickr account here.