ARTIST STATEMENT:
I have found that the oh-so-human qualities of a person reside in their uniqueness. For that reason, each of my figurative artworks bears a strong physical and/or psychological likeness to the person(s) depicted. After all, each of us has spent a lifetime becoming who we are. I'm always grateful when people pose for the drawings or occasional photographs that I need to create my art and share themselves with me in this way.
People from all walks of life are important to me. Subject matter for my art has included a favorite model's love for her husband, my son's battle with Oxycontin, homeless people, being loved myself, an LGBTQ individual, racism and a volunteer lunch lady at the local Golden Hours Center.
In my ceramic sculptures in high relief those areas were the brushwork on a flat surface evolves fully into 3 dimensions allow me to create new perspectives. Working this way, I can best present the human condition as I see it.
I expand in clay my drawings and photographs of everyday people. These two-dimensional illusions done from a single point of view become a sculpture in high relief that functions from multiple viewpoints. The form is not fully expanded, however, leaving room for surface brushwork to further define the image.
Multiple coats of a fine slip suspension brushed onto the surface make an idea ground for expressive brushwork and sgraffito. This surface sometimes crackles adding a timeless quality.
So much sculpture could be every man or any man. I have found that the oh-so-human qualities of a person reside in their uniqueness and it is that humanness I am connecting to in my work. Compassion for one another in this fractured world is what my work is all about.
ARTIST BIO:
The excellent eye/hand coordination I was born with has played a large role in my success as an artist. I knew as a child who loved ball sports that as I grew older my interest in making art would overtake playing sports. I've brought to the studio lessons learned from countless hours spent on the tennis court including the importance of correctly perceiving perspective and proportion, body awareness, continual practice to keep my eye/hand skills sharp and, perhaps most importantly, perseverance. While at work in the studio I occasionally experience periods of absolute bliss when I feel fully connected to life as I work the clay. Most times I persevere learning from the previous piece as I go forward. I am grateful to have been given the freedom, the ability and the desire to pursue what is most meaningful to me. I've learned from many artists in developing my work including Picasso's painted ceramics and especially the groundbreaking ceramic sculpture of the contemporary artist Akio Takamori. My current work combines all the skills I have accrued over the years working in clay with my ever-growing empathy with my fellow human beings.
www.suznnestorer.com
