Bela Sandoval Lafferty is an artist and landscape designer born and raised on the Coal Oil Point nature preserve in Santa Barbara, California. She has lived intimately with plants and they have become part of her way of understanding the world. Her artistic practice is tied to deeply experiencing the environment she inhabits and developing a richer relationship with the land she lives on. Having the opportunity to earn an Art Minor from UCSB along with a Sociology degree has informed her practice both sociopolitically and technically. Her core values of plant care and people care inspire her undertaking to express concepts of belonging, self, and environmental justice through the mediums of clay, woodworking, preserved plant arts, and painting.
Curriculum Vitae
University of California, Santa Barbara
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology
Minor in Portuguese, Minor in Art
Dean’s Honors (College of Letters and Sciences)
Experience and Skills
Artist’s Apprentice: Ken Yokota Studio
Honed woodworking techniques of jigsaw cutting, biscuit joining, and metal fastenings
Assisted in the assembly and painting of a 6 burner soda firing kiln
Created metal stamps
Built ceramic molds
Ceramics Apprentice: Easy to Breathe Studios
Assisted in the seasonal production and packaging of ceramic pieces for large wholesale orders
Worked on creating over 300 handmade vessels, for global retail outlet Free People
Maintained the studio space, recycled clay, and organized backstock
Certificate in Permaculture Design: Santa Barbara City College
Received a certificate to design landscapes and create proposals under the principles of Permaculture Design
Observed aspects of Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share into final design projects
Integrated experience in biodiversity, natural building, and zoning to create and design edible landscapes
Media Design: The Greenhorns
Completed several media projects including brand design, illustration, font, and brochure design
Successfully communicated The Greenhorn’s vision for regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems in both visual and text formats using programs like Adobe Illustrator and InDesign
Printmaking Teaching Assistant: University of California, Santa Barbara
Assisted in and taught a class on Intermediate Printmaking to university undergraduates
Managed the analog printing lab by managing supply levels
Nominated for the UCSB Graduate Excellence in Teaching Award as a result of teaching performance