Linda Perez became a ceramic artist in 2006, a bit late in life. She was simultaneously raising a herd of beef cattle on her South Texas ranch and, in 2009, became a charter vendor of The Pearl Farmers Market in San Antonio. Wanting to introduce her customers to less familiar cuts, Linda researched traditional ways of cooking beef around the world and found that many recipes were prepared in ceramic cookware—tagines, cazuelas, casseroles, and more. So she learned how to make ceramic cooking vessels and serving ware.

L&M Grass-fed Beef evolved into The Bull and China Shop, and Linda’s customer base grew, with many of her beef buyers becoming ceramics buyers, including some talented architects with the firm of Lake Flato Architects.

Additionally, several of San Antonio’s most noted chefs who had bought her beef over the years were starting new restaurants—Chef Steven McHugh’s Cured and Chef John Brand’s Supper at Hotel Emma among others—and they asked Linda to design and produce tableware for them. 

Linda has been studying ceramics at the Southwest School of Art since 2006, and spent two summers attending workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. She is a member of the San Antonio Potters Guild and feels a day without clay isn’t a complete day. 

Linda’s ceramics are sold in shops, including Spartan and Hotel San Jose in Austin, Texas, and El Cosmico in Marfa.