I discovered clay while teaching 7th grade math & science.I walked down to my friend’s art room and said, “Let me try that!”.
I was not an artist looking for a medium. I simply fell in love with clay.
I took several pottery classes and eventually studied with a studio potter.
I quit my teaching job and apprenticed in that studio. My life long dance with
clay had begun.
I moved to Cape May, New Jersey where I set up my first studio. Hired to teach at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, I realized that teaching clay brought my two favorite vocations together. Soon I brought students to my home studio.
I wanted to go to gradate school. With both time and money a consideration,
I chose to go to Italy for a summer abroad program with the University of Georgia.
I was awarded 1st place in ceramics. I came to the program with technical skills
and left with my own voice. Several years later I won a fellowship from the
New Jersey State Council for the Arts. I was so proud and for the first time I
felt like a legitimate artist.
Clay is the most amazing material on earth. It is responsive and forgiving.
I carve stamps and patterns that are then pressed into soft red clay. The
magic of fire makes it permanent. I enjoy the challenges in developing my own
glazes. I am truly lucky that I found clay. This is what I was meant to do.
xSusan
