Turning Leaf Design
Give Us a Call 605-381-5837
Deb Burckhard is a born and raised South Dakota girl. From a young age, she began painting captivation art work for her close family to enjoy and was always taught to think outside the box and be unique. Not knowing she was going to make a career out of her creativity, she started to focus on a conventional path and made the decision to attend college to study English and business. Shortly after, she decided to expand her family.
Having a house full of children to raise, Deb put her life and creative aspirations on the back burner, but her love of art was not to be restrained for long. She spent several years working for the city of Rapid City, SD teaching children ages 6 to 18 all forms of art. Modeling clay, painting, sketching, and basic arts and crafts were just a few things on the menu. This was the starting point of success to a dream she longed for.
Deb decided to start creating her own business in the late 90’s. Putting her unique twist to the traditional process of horse hair pottery, she simultaneously created Turning Leaf Design. Starting with the classic black and white horse hair pottery, Deb’s imaginative vision was not to be subdued! She quickly stepped out of her comfort zone and put her own spin on the horse hair pottery. After years of research and testing, Deb has now mastered flawless color combinations to suit everyone’s needs and desires.
In an attempt to grow her business and make her name more publically known, Deb began selling her pottery at Art and Craft shows across South Dakota. Although sales were rocky to begin with, she persevered. Deb continued reaching for her goals and expanding her boundaries to shows outside the Hills. This helped her acquire a large customer base who OBVIOUSLY became regulars and return patrons as they rapidly fell in love with her work and equally loved watching her art grow and mature. Deb was invited to an annual arts and crafts show at the Crazy Horse Memorial in Custer, SD, that is designed to celebrate artists that meld Native American culture with aesthetic aspects of the new west, called “Gift from Mother Earth Art Show.” During this three day show, judges walk the Visitor Complex and observe the exhibits to evaluate and decide who is to be given awards at the conclusion of the show. Deb’s pottery won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the pottery category. With the help and support of her patrons she continued to develop her business and was soon dubbed “Queen of Horse Hair pottery” by many loyal locals.
Deb continues to grow and experiment with her art while remaining loyal to her returning customers. Turning Leaf Design pottery is now carried in over 300 different stores across the Black Hills and the Midwest. She is frequently the featured artist at galleries across the Midwest.
About Deb Burckhard
