Artist Linda Shaffer creates intricately layered abstract collages based on her travels. "My defining art moment was when I was eleven years old and I got to visit Van Briggle Pottery in Colorado Springs," says Linda. She watched mesmerized as the potter created a beautiful piece of art as if by magic from a lump of brown wet mud. After high school, Linda became a registered nurse and spent her days off making pottery at a local studio. As her nursing career advanced—from labor and delivery to ICU, trauma, and eventually college nursing—Linda returned to school, earning a bachelor’s in business administration. She chose art classes for every elective and even built her own clay studio. Later, she earned a master’s in public health and became a tenured college professor, while taking art classes every semester, where she discovered a passion for painting and printmaking. After retiring early from teaching, Linda pursued her interest in fine jewelry by attending the Gemological Institute of America. Since 2011, she has been working full-time as a painter and jeweler. When Linda's not making art, she enjoys golfing with a close circle of friends. She's made two hole-in-ones and plans for more.