Linda Threadgill (born 1947) is an American artist whose primary emphasis is metalsmithing. Her metal work is inspired by forms of nature and the interpretations she gleans from the intricate patterns it presents. She explores the foundation of nature to allude to nature and transform it into re-imagined, stylized plants forms.

Born in Corpus Christi, TX, her early interests in art explored both ceramics and painting. She became interested in working with metal while an undergraduate, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia in 1970, where she studied with noted American metalsmith Robert Ebendorf. A portfolio of work based on her experimentation with photo-etching and electroforming led her to study with innovative metalsmith Stanley Lechtzin at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where she was awarded the Teaching Assistantship in the Metals Department, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1978.

A turning point in her career was taking machining class early on. From this class she learned how to create her own tool and the freedom that accompanies her with that understanding. Making her own tools, allowed for her to instigate new crafting processes without predetermined tool uses and limitations.

In 1984, she developed a small-scale portable spray etching machine based on technology used for the etching of printed circuit boards in the electronics industry. This etching machine's simple yet functional design led to its adoption by many university metals programs as well as by numerous private studio artists, enabling them to rapidly and accurately etch and pattern non-ferrous metals for jewelry and small sculpture. Threadgill has shared the technology, techniques and practices associated with her etching machine in over 80 workshops and technical presentations in the United States, Canada, England and Korea. Her work and process are also included in the 1996 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JEWELRY TECHNIQUES. Her role in advancing the die-forming process has been lauded by such other studio art jewelers as Jan Baum. She now lives and maintains a studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

After retiring from teaching, she set off for an escape in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband Jim, a woodworker, to immerse herself in an inspiring, nature-filled atmosphere, complementary to her creative preferences. As a woodworker, Jim crafts custom tools and equipment she may need for her projects, creating a collaboration of crafts between the pair.

Threadgill uses references like her imaginary botanical images and historical pieces decorating her home. Her work includes many wax mold-made, repetitive shapes of bronze, silver, or precious metal clay. She chooses to work in series and will have a vast number of projects going on at one time in diverse developmental stages. She does not choose sizes of her work consistently and, as a result, her methods vary from project to project. Her brass and bronze metals may get as larger as 1/4 an inch thick. To ensure these precise cuts and sizes, she will borrow from local resources like the usage of a water jet in Albuquerque.

(2015) Linda Threadgill: Cultivating Ornament

Threadgill's works are notably part of the permanent collections of the Swiss National Museum, Alice and Louis Koch Ring Collection, The Royal College of Art Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, National Ornamental Metal Museum, The Museum of Arts and Design, Racine Art Museum, MOWA Museum of Wisconsin Art, Tyler School of Art, Switzer Center for the Visual Arts.