NORMAN ZIEGLER has been working as an artist for over 30 years. Raised in northern New Mexico in the town of Espanola, his first influences came from this picturesque area set in the Rio Grande Valley that is home to Native American, Spanish and Anglo cultures.
He traveled east to Bucks County, PA for prep school at George School, and then west for college at Stanford University. College provided opportunities for travel in Europe and classes at Stanford's overseas campus in Beutelsbach, Germany along with several months stay in Berlin with a German family in 1961, the year after the Wall was erected. Then followed a tour in the Peace Corps in Rajasthan, India, a very formative experience which led to a doctoral program at the University of Chicago and a return to Rajasthan for dissertation research. The themes and images of the vibrant folk cultures of Rajasthan have offered much material for his art work alongside influences from the Southwest.
Norman spent several years teaching South Asian history at the University of Denver after completing his dissertation, which brought him to the Southwest again. He then moved into healthcare and became an RN, a move consistent with his family background as son of a surgeon and physician. He worked as a nurse in both acute care and hospice areas until his retirement.
During his working career, Norman maintained a strong interest in art. He began with pencil and pen & ink, then broadened his efforts with colored pencils, oil on canvas and pastels. Largely self-taught, he has also studied with other artists. While living in Santa Fe, he studied oil painting with local artist, George Burrows. In Denver, he joined the Art Students League and took drawing classes with Mitch Caster, pastel with Doug Dawson, watercolor with Dennis Pendleton, and woodcut printing with Theresa Haberkorn. More recently, he has worked with Wheat Ridge pastel artist, Courtney Armstrong. Norman is also a member of the Mountainside Art Guild.
Norman paints a variety of subject matter ranging from animals and figures to still lifes and landscapes. He views each painting as an adventure in design and use of color. Design entails the balancing of forms and allows use of his drawing skills and imagination to play with structure. In turn, color choices offer infinite opportunities to ply analogous and complementary shades, juggle the push and pull of warm and cool tones, and contemplate the often perplexing and intriguing hues of shadow.
In addition to painting, Norman also weaves. He studied with Bob Morgan of Denver, using an upright Navajo-style, two-shaft loom which he built himself. When not painting, he enjoys designing and weaving his own creations, drawing upon the wealth of traditional southwestern motifs for inspiration. He has also more recently begun incorporating tribal and village designs from the Mid-East.
He traveled east to Bucks County, PA for prep school at George School, and then west for college at Stanford University. College provided opportunities for travel in Europe and classes at Stanford's overseas campus in Beutelsbach, Germany along with several months stay in Berlin with a German family in 1961, the year after the Wall was erected. Then followed a tour in the Peace Corps in Rajasthan, India, a very formative experience which led to a doctoral program at the University of Chicago and a return to Rajasthan for dissertation research. The themes and images of the vibrant folk cultures of Rajasthan have offered much material for his art work alongside influences from the Southwest.
Norman spent several years teaching South Asian history at the University of Denver after completing his dissertation, which brought him to the Southwest again. He then moved into healthcare and became an RN, a move consistent with his family background as son of a surgeon and physician. He worked as a nurse in both acute care and hospice areas until his retirement.
During his working career, Norman maintained a strong interest in art. He began with pencil and pen & ink, then broadened his efforts with colored pencils, oil on canvas and pastels. Largely self-taught, he has also studied with other artists. While living in Santa Fe, he studied oil painting with local artist, George Burrows. In Denver, he joined the Art Students League and took drawing classes with Mitch Caster, pastel with Doug Dawson, watercolor with Dennis Pendleton, and woodcut printing with Theresa Haberkorn. More recently, he has worked with Wheat Ridge pastel artist, Courtney Armstrong. Norman is also a member of the Mountainside Art Guild.
Norman paints a variety of subject matter ranging from animals and figures to still lifes and landscapes. He views each painting as an adventure in design and use of color. Design entails the balancing of forms and allows use of his drawing skills and imagination to play with structure. In turn, color choices offer infinite opportunities to ply analogous and complementary shades, juggle the push and pull of warm and cool tones, and contemplate the often perplexing and intriguing hues of shadow.
In addition to painting, Norman also weaves. He studied with Bob Morgan of Denver, using an upright Navajo-style, two-shaft loom which he built himself. When not painting, he enjoys designing and weaving his own creations, drawing upon the wealth of traditional southwestern motifs for inspiration. He has also more recently begun incorporating tribal and village designs from the Mid-East.