Susan Greenbaum Presentation

"I do this without any intention of sort, except to have a good time. So it’s all about me. As it should be. The hope always is that I will come up with something at the end of this process that means something to someone, that they find joy in my work. I’ve been working non-stop since May, every single day. Sometimes five to eight hours. I just couldn’t stop. There are always those pieces where you think, “ok, this is the one, the best one. Then you start the next one, and you feel that same power in that new piece." 

Question: Do you work to music?

Susan: I used to work to music, but now I listen to books on tape. It’s an odd thing, it silences something in my brain and it lets my instincts take over. I think it’s the monkey brain, it silences you monkey brain, but then at some point you have to turn off the music, or the books to finish up the piece. That is the toughest part. 

Sandy Visse Presentation

"I was here on Monday and you guys were just starting to set up, I thought “How are they going to do this?” Then I come back today and I see the combinations and WOW! They just work so well together.

I’ve been doing this for a long, long time. I just like playing with the clay. Sometimes it’s not very fun. I have 1,000 pounds of clay, that’s what I have waiting for me to get to. I just enjoy puttering and playing with the clay. I truly enjoy making the pieces. The glazing is really hard for me. I do not like that aspect. I’ve never really been trained as an artist, but I’ve always had an imagination."

Question: You do the real and the whimsical, when do you decide which way you’re going?

Sandy: "It just depends how they come together. I used to do the whimsical, now I do the realistic. Most artists change their style every couple of years, I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I’m working towards doing more larger scale realistic pieces. I like doing the whimsical when I’m in that frame of mind." 

Question: Do you look at photos?

Sandy: "I’ve got so many photos, so many national geographics. Animals are absolutely, absoulutely incredible. Beautify and whimsical too. I don’t always refer to them. I find that sometimes I get too critical because I’m not doing what I’m seeing. Then I do a characture so it’s easier for me. Sometimes photos get in the way of having fun with it."

Question: What cone clay do you use?

Sandy:  "Most of these are cone 6. I used a lot of different types of clays – white, black, terra cotta, right now I’m working with sculpture clay for these larger pieces."