Gayle Tustin Papers

Gayle Tustin was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, grew up with an older sister, and was raised by a single mother until she remarried when Tustin was seven. She was fascinated with art at a young age, particularly working with clay. She attended Penn State for approximately ten months but decided to pursue a career in the arts. Tustin traveled quite a bit and was inspired to create and experiment with various mediums, working extensively with ceramics and sculptures, even starting her own line of jewelry. She has participated in numerous artist colonies in countries such as Macedonia, Spain, Germany, Brazil, and South Africa. Tustin took a summer art course at Alfred University and then chose to pursue her studio art degree at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 1996, becoming the first person to graduate with honors as a studio art major. She is responsible for helping to create the No Boundaries International Art Colony, a gathering of local and international artists that meet every year on Bald Head Island to create. As a local Wilmington artist, Tustin was commissioned for projects across the city including, the Safe Passage donor tiles in the Heritage Garden at the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and LifeCare Center’s Wilmington campus.