Sifu Berchtold

I was born to Swiss parents in Pennsylvania in the early fifties. At the age of six we moved to Switzerland where I lived for the next 15 years. While living in Italian my early twenties I started working in clay. I was inspired by the beautiful Renaissance angels. to this day my sculpture finds its forming angels and saints; to me they represent part of our connection to the spiritual world.
My functional stoneware potteries made to be used in the rhythm of daily life. A handmade piece of pottery is always unique and hopefully inspires the user to cherish life’s precious moments with the same focus that was used to create it.
I now live in Twain Harte with my family where my studio is surrounded by the beauty of nature. I teach clay classes at my studio and am an adjunct instructor at Columbia College.

“I think of life as a spiritual journey, the images that appear in my work connect me to nature, to Tuolumne County, to my spirituality. Trees ground me. Angels connect me to the above. Dragonflies are fierce and effective.”