Laurel Burch

American artist whose whimsical and colorful animal creations came out of her imagination. Never having taken art classes in her life, she experienced a success of which most artists can only dream. Her brilliantly hued designs first became popular in the '80s and in the late '90s, she had a resurgence of interest in her line of dinnerware, household items, clothing and accessories, as well as continuing to create fine art for collectors. Burch's animal imagery of cats, horses, dogs and other creatures is familiar, along with her pottery, scarves and household decor. "I do it because I love it," she says, "I can't do it fast enough. It's an absolute passion and joy. I get ideas every few seconds, and have to choose among the visions in my mind." A flower-child of the '60s, she sold her jewelry at street fairs, soon adding her design onto pottery and garments. Burch suffered from osteopetrosis from age seven, a brittle bone disease usually associated with aging. Her response to this disability as a child was to withdraw into her own world -- "a magical inner landscape that was more colorful and beautiful than where I was, in my own body." By 2000, she was either on crutches or in a wheelchair after a round of hospitalizations and operations over the past five years. With legs damaged from cumulative fractures, Burch had to sell her home in the beloved Monterey peninsula and more to Sausalito, near San Francisco. Her son Jay handled the franchising of her designs. She also produced a book, "Fantastic Felines," published by Chronicle Books. She died from complications of her osteopetrosis at home in Novato, California on 13 September 2007. Link to Wikipedia biography