Nancy Sausser, Ceramic Sculpture Artist, Tells Her Story

Glimpsing, ceramic, 16 x 12 x 3 inches

Like most artists, I fell into the process of making things early on.  I liked to make presents for people, and after my grandmother taught me to crochet, I started stitching things for family and friends.  I never liked rules or patterns, so I made those up too.  I felt the elation that comes from realizing an idea, from knowing the whole process.

Couplet, ceramic, 14 x 9 x 2 inches

I had a few art teachers along the way who saw my interest and singled me out.  Making things became second nature. A ceramics teacher in 10^th grade was special. She taught me how to think about what I made, to make my thoughts.  Now it was more than just making things for the joy of it, it was somehow wound up in who I was, who I wanted to be, what I had to say. 

Geometric Variations, ceramic,  50 x 50 x 5 inches

I was stuck on clay early on but somehow managed to go to a college that had no ceramics classes.  This turned out to be a good thing – it made me expand. There were fantastic art professors, as well as a renowned English department. I learned to write and I learned to work with wood, to weld steel, to make prints, to draw.  I leaned that the medium was in service of the idea and to articulate my ideas in words as well as in materials. 

A Small View In, ceramic, 13 x 18 x 3 inches

All this came in handy later on. Our experiences come together eventually, wind around each other and converse.  After earning an MFA in sculpture during a period where I was mostly excited about making drawings, I found myself in need of a job.  I started working for arts organizations.  This led to a long career as a curator.  I came to it through the back door, without planning it, but have found writing about art and organizing exhibitions of contemporary art to be tremendously creative.  It’s a collaboration between me, the artists, their work and the space.  Like making art, making an exhibit happen is creating something that wasn’t’ there before. And it reflects back on to my art in unexpected ways.

 Each One to the Other, ceramic 60 x 60 x 4 inches

In the meantime, in my studio, I have come back around to working with clay.  It’s my home base.  I make things that hang on the wall, mostly.  They’re usually about place, and space, about taking you somewhere else, somewhere imagined.  They usually involve repetition and the spark between the line and the curve, between freedom and control.  This work emerges slowly, but it is always there, waiting to happen, waiting to be made.

Moving Forward/Staying Put, ceramic, 21 x 21 x 5 inches

  

This is Week 37 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Nancy's story today!

Su Griggs, Ceramic Sculpture Artist, Tells Her Story

Although I studied painting and illustration in art school, my work in recent years has been focused on ceramic sculpture. I am intrigued by the figure and how it can express the complex world of human emotions. By tearing off the masks we choose to wear by our own nature, or those imposed on us by others or society, we begin to understand what it is to be human and how we are connected.

This angel, above, tells the story of connection, to nature and the earth. The sun, moon, trees, fish and birds are carved in the clay before I bisque fire the piece. They symbolize her essence. I use a low fire clay body and a slab/coil method of construction.

I am motivated by a desire to connect to a creative energy and to have a deeper experience within myself of being inspired (in spirit). Influenced by classical realism and surrealism, I like to re-interpret that era and apply it to the present, with a contemporary twist. I may embed found or recycled items into the piece to invoke a sense of wonder and mystery.

With just a slight turn of the head or closed eye, the piece will convey a story. It may capture a feeling of whimsy or playfulness, or convey an inner world, one of wonder and mystery, or sadness and loss. Two people may look at the same piece and read different things into it. I like to keep it ambiguous in this way so as to open the imagination of the viewer, rather than telling the complete story.

I was fortunate to travel abroad a lot growing up, as my father was a tour director, and I was amazed by the skill and beauty reflected in the works of art at the major museums. I think my imagination was inspired by these travels and how uniquely expressive the artwork reflected different cultures.

My inspiration comes from everywhere really; music, literature, philosophy, science, quantum physics and nature, to name a few. I go in my studio each day to work, with music or an audio book playing in the background. Although, my starting point may be a sketch, I particularly like making a series of miniatures as they let me get into the flow. I like to step out of the way and become the observer. Interesting things can happen that way. The creative process takes over and I constantly surprise myself!

My work can be seen in my Sarasota home studio by appointment, at one of the fine art events around the country where I exhibit, or at the galleries that carry my work. For a compete list of venues, please visit SuGriggsAllen.com.

You can also connect with Su on Facebook. This is Week 29 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Su’s story today!