Marianne Groh was born in Alsace, France. She began to sculpt at the age of 12, using the natural clay of Alsace.

She watched people and their mood changes and translated these impressions into clay.

She studied sculpting at the École des Beaux Arts in Strasbourg, France, owned her own studio gallery in Los Gatos, California, and is a sculpture instructor in Provence, France, as well as at Rancho La Puerta, Mexico, and in her own studio.

Marianne Groh's work has been exhibited in numerous galleries, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

A Sculptor's Idea of Childhood

“I get to know a child and his or her feelings before I can preserve a personality in a terra cotta likeness.”

“I tell him a story," says Marianne Groh, a native of France who now works and resides in California,
“and have him tell me a story in return. And I give him a piece of clay, explain what I am going to do, and let him begin a bit of sculpture for himself. This I will fire along with my own work, and present it to him when my sculpture is completed.”

“A child's sculpture will require from three to five sittings. During my first meeting with a child, I try only to rough out the position of the head and arms and legs.

The second sitting brings some features to the clay. Then come the fine details. Whenever possible I work suggestions of the child's special interests and hobbies into the piece. . . . and, of course, the child's own wonderful, always special, personality.”