Leslie Butterfield, Ph.D.

Leslie Butterfield holds several art-related degrees including one specialized in fiber arts from Aarhus Art Academy in Denmark and a masters and PhD from the University of Minnesota. Her master’s program focused on textile design, 2D, 2D and color theory. Leslie’s Ph.D. focused on aesthetics, art history and design theory with an emphasis on Scandinavian art and design. Her dissertation examined the interpretation of meaning comparing the views of the artists to those of the patrons of the individual works of art.

During her professional career, she made a living as an artist, founded a software company, worked for many years in technology and retired in 2015 to Sarasota to spend more time with art.

“Creating is my passion and provides space where I can be calm and express my ideas and feelings. With formal art training from a Danish art school program and three academic degrees in the field of Design, I have studied and produced art objects for decades. Much of my work is project-based and collaborative. I enjoy painting, making fused glass art pieces, creating collages and designing textiles.” 

Leslie’s work is in private and public collections across the United States and in Denmark.

Leslie became a member of the Public Art Committee for the City of Sarasota to review submissions for public art and recommend acquisitions to the City Council. She completed her two terms in 2022. https://www.sarasotafl.gov/our-city/public-art

In 2020, she co-founded Art in Common Places to bring art and poetry to people in Sarasota in everyday places. The not-for-profit organization brings artists and poets together to collaborate on a project over a period of about six weeks. The poems and artwork that result is produced into posters and postcards that are placed around Sarasota County in places where people might not otherwise see art. These teams have created 34 individual projects and volunteers have supported over 100 different locations for display where the materials are swapped out each month. The entire project is volunteer based and sponsored by members of the community. www.artincommonplaces.com

Leslie is also a member of the grant panel for the Tourist Development Tax and Arts funding provided to arts organizations in Sarasota County. In this capacity, she helps review grant proposals from the arts organizations and assists in recommending the distribution of the bed tax money for the county. https://sarasotaarts.org/programs/grants/tourist-development-tax-grants/