Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Beiner.
Hi Susan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
I was the daughter of a chemist father, whose hobbies were who hybridizing roses and figure skating. My mother who amongst many things collected porcelains and used them during holiday dinners narrating the story of each piece. I started as a painter in college but experienced several media to figure out where I felt comfortable, then I enrolled in a ceramic course. My first experience beyond wheelthrowing as a beginner was moldmaking. My first plaster slipcasting mold was 17 parts which took me 3 weeks to complete, I cast it 3 times, then lost track. I was also interested in glaze as a coating, a color and a surface which had many variations and I was intrigued.
During graduate school at the University of MI, Ann Arbor, I was moldmaking and slipcasting assembling parts together to create Teapot /Teaset forms. My research included 18th century European porcelains and silverware cast pieces. I was interested in creating surfaces that were an interpretation of narratives through form instead of a flat painted surface. I also enrolled in a glaze class and began understanding glaze chemistry, without digital formats. I used glaze more like a painter, than a ceramic artist. Always thinking about color and layering glazes to achieve perspective in surface and color. My works became objects of encrusted chaos narrating various stories concerning energy.
After graduate school I stayed in Detroit, had a studio and was working in a supportive community of artists which further fostered my passion for ceramics. My mentors guided me through teaching jobs so I could live and continue my art practice. My work continued to evolve influenced by the industrial environment around me. I would walk around demolished buildings and pick up hardware parts, slipcast them and utilize as assemblage for my teapot works. After moving to CA in 2000 I was influenced by the quality of light and natural surroundings. My work changed and I became connected to nature and environmental influences. The rest is an adventure within learning about the environment.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I didn’t think about anything as a struggle, moving across the country a few times and money difficulties, but I just seemed to keep going and worked through the difficulties.
I think if you focus on what you are passionate about everything falls into place.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Artist/career
As an artist I have been exhibiting my ceramic works nationally and internationally. Most of my career has been creating sculptural wall pieces that I believe engage the viewer in a way that allows them entrance into the natural environment. They are densely chaotic and still retain a connection to a history of narratives from 18th century porcelains through travel and research over the years. They portray my adventures, and concerns of how I experience the world.
Additionally, my experience with glaze has further developed and I feel very connected to color palettes and materials. I think about how to utilize them for content as well as surface. I began creating vessel and utilitarian pieces as glaze tests so I was able to market them and experiment with various glaze surfaces while feeding my color habit. I now design with color on form and have an additional line of vessels and utilitarian ware.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Being happy and remaining passionate and curious about creating work. Learning and taking part in the world around me with humility. Being grateful and paying it forward to the younger generation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://susanbeiner.com
- Instagram: @susanbeiner
- Facebook: susanbeiner
