William Kaufmann
Cynthia is the painter and creator of our surface designs. These designs are brushed on using ceramic stains applied in layers. Each stroke must be deft and accurate as it pushes and pulls the stains across the surface. Once a stroke is laid down there is no removing it and there is little chance of correction if spontaneity is to be maintained. Decoration of this type requires many years of experience to master. She received a degree in alternative education with emphasis in ceramics.
Using a custom made porcelain clay, Bill throws on the potter's wheel, hand builds or extrudes the forms. He also applies background colors using airbrushes, sumi-e brush, and sponges. During spraying, decisions must be made quickly and the materials thoroughly understood. A clear glaze is applied over the finished decorated piece, then high-fired (cone 9) in the kiln. The work requires an intimate knowledge of stain 
compatibility, stain application and consistency of glaze thickness, all of which contributes to the success of this work. Bill spent 3 years in Japan studying with Kotake Gazon, a potter living in Kamakura. Bill and Cynthia have been partners in the studio and married for 35 years. Linden Hills Pottery is now 25 years in the making. The name came from our old neighborhood in Minneapolis, where the pottery first started. We chose to keep the name when we moved to Hudson, WI in 1998. Over the years it has been a serendipitous journey through the world of art shows, one which we still enjoy doing today. To all the people who have made this possible; family, friends, apprentices, teachers, and most of all our patrons and customers we deeply thank you.
In the end one must decide for themselves what is art and what is not. If, in some way, the mundane has been breached, if a piece establishes some visceral response, if you, the viewer, can not walk away without a second look, then one has begun to enter the artists intention. Our goal is to take common objects, bowls, mugs, vases, etc. and lift them out of ordinary and establish a new sense of beauty about them.
Awards: In the past four years Linden Hills Pottery has won awards at the Sioux Fall Arts Festival, award of excellence, presented with a merit award at Edina Art Festival in Edina, MN. Won multiple purchase awards at the Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City and added to the collection of the Prairie Art Center Foundation. In 2010 and 2011 they won an Award of Excellence for best use of color at Art on the Rocks in Marquette, MI, presented with the People’s Choice award at Hidden River Art Festival at the Sharon-Lynne Art Center in Brookfield, WI, and won the Award of Excellence at the Walnut Creek Art Festival in Springfield, MO.