Susan Finsen

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain one when [s]he grows up.” Attributed to Picasso, this observation reminds me keep searching for my spontaneous five-year-old self. I’ve worked in many media: ceramics, printmaking, painting, and photography. My current devotion to clay hand-building provides wonderful opportunities for play and spontaneity. My work process has a push-pull between minimalist and complex surfaces, and between managed and organic forms. Shapes, marks, colors, lines, and planes are created, refined, moved, and/or erased until I find the look and feel that interests and excites me. More than any other medium, clay is the most elemental and connected to my childhood joy of creating. Cup forms made using the Japanese kurinuki “hollowing out” method have a special appeal as it produces unexpected organic forms and surfaces. I hope others will be drawn to the tactile and playful nature of my work, and that it leads to their engagement with it physically and visually.
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