Leann Pizio
I just loved to draw and paint when I was a kid. My mom even set me up a little area, a little studio. I would sit out on the back patio and paint. Mom was always amazed that I would do it for hours and never be distracted. My mom’s really artistic, and I think I get a lot of my artistic nature from her.
I was into art in high school, and I took art classes, and then when I got to college, I was determined that I was going to take after my father; he’s a psychiatrist. So, I always knew what I wanted to major in. I took one art class as an elective, and I just fell in love. I decided to double-major, and I had to work really hard to do it. I went to undergrad at Chapel Hill and double-majored in art and psychology. I started in painting, but I did a lot of sculpture. I was always torn between clay and painting.
Then I went to UNCG for my master’s in art. In graduate school, I did everything. I did painting and ceramics, then I did print making, and I liked all of them. I just kind of flipped from one thing to the next. I had a really hard time staying out of the clay studio.