Lindé B. Martin

Lindé B. Martin [80], well known artist and citizen of the Monterey Bay area and Santa Cruz, quietly passed away on Friday, October 1, 2010. She was born into the Kuchenreuther family in Erlangen, Germany on January 2, 1930. Lindé immigrated to America on Thanksgiving Day, 1953.

Her legacy as a painter and glass artist unfolded in Santa Cruz in the 1960's and has grown to where her work can be found in art collections around the world. Currently she has paintings showing at City Hall in her hometown of Erlangen. Lindé participated in Open Studios in Santa Cruz for many years, and has donated work locally and privately. She owned Lindé Fine Art gallery in Carmel, California from 2000-2008.

Lindé created beauty in everything she touched from her gastronomical sense and taste, to her garden, and her home. As much as she was as an artist, she was a teacher of art and life. Those who have known her, who have experienced her and come to love her, know that she was the real thing -- honest to the bone, opinionated, blunt, colorful, vulnerable, with the roar of a lion, and a heart of gold.

She is survived by her daughter, Cornelia, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; sister, Ingeborg Keuchenreuther, of Munich, Germany; dear friend, Leroy Rockelman of Aptos, California, and more friends than most of us can imagine. We will miss her. If you'd like to share stories or experiences about Lindé, please visit www.lindememorial.wordpress.com.