Meet the Artist

In the beginning...

I fell in love with pottery during my first college ceramics class in the spring of 1993, but the desire to "play in the mud" must have existed since childhood, as there are photos of me as a little girl covered from head to toe with mud after enjoying an afternoon of sliding on the mound of dirt in my backyard.

I graduated from Bethel College with a BA in studio art in 1996, and began taking the first small steps toward becoming a working artist. I created my first Celtic works in 1999 and focused on that unique style until 2012. Recently, I have begun working with a wider range of geometric, floral, and ethnic designs, incorporating bright colors through the use of underglazes. While I still enjoy working with Celtic knots and spirals, I'm excited to see the direction this new work will lead me.

Artist Statement

Much of my inspiration comes from the metalwork and illuminated manuscripts of ancient and medieval Ireland and Scotland. This Celtic style of ornamentation appeals to me in both a visual and spiritual way, and I admire the way the Celts of old blended the spiritual with the mundane.

I find the abstract, geometric nature of Celtic ornamentation to have a meditative quality, and while we don't really know what the original designs may have meant, interlacing knotwork has come to symbolize an interconnectedness of life. For me, the designs are equally a decorative element and an expression of my faith, connecting me to the world past and present.

With my candle globes and lamps, I am combining the Celtic ornamentation of my other pottery with the idea of illumination, both in a figurative and literal sense. I think of Christ's instructions to "let your light shine," and hope the light of my work will touch whoever uses my pottery and help them find the sacred within life's daily routines.

I use a grid system to aid in the initial layout of the interlaced knotwork, and a compass for the exterior boundary of some spirals, but I do not use any templates or moulds when sketching my designs directly onto the leather-hard porcelain. Once the design is established, then I carve in deeper relief with a variety of sgraffito and loop tools, and a small pointed knife for pierced work. Some pieces are then finished with a single glaze that will break and highlight the carved lines of my work or with a combination of a clear glaze and a sprayed glaze to create a gradation of color. Other pieces are inlaid with black slip to emphasis the line work or colored with underglazes to reflect the colorful nature of the manuscripts that inspire my work.

Education

Awards/Honors

Exhibitions

	2017	Let There Be Light A juried exhibition Trinity School Christian Arts Festival, Eagan, MN
	2014 - 2016	Come to the Table A curated exhibition CIVA Traveling Exhibition
	2012	30th Annual Cross View Christian Art Festival A juried exhibition of Christian art Cross View Lutheran Church, Edina, MN
	2012	delecTABLE: The Fine Art of Dining A juried exhibition Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO
	2012	God's Greatness In Small Things A juried exhibition and competition Central Baptist Church, St. Paul, MN
	2010	MNWCA 2010 Members' Exhibition A member exhibition Northrup King Building, 3rd Floor Exhibition Space, Minneapolis, MN
	2010	History in the Making V: Ceramic Traditions Contemporary Pots A national juried exhibition The Firehouse Gallery at Genesee Pottery, Rochester, NY
	2010	Dining In III: An Artful Experience A national juried exhibition 18 Hands Gallery, Houston, TX
	2010	2010 Cross View Christian Art Festival A juried exhibition of Christian art Cross View Lutheran Church, Edina, MN
	2010	Porcelains and Celadons A juried exhibition The Myers Gallery at Muddy's Studio, Santa Ana, CA
	2010	The Foot in the Door 4 An open exhibition to all Minnesota residents MAEP Gallery, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
	2009	Illuminations: The Art of Light A national juried exhibition 18 Hands Gallery, Houston, TX
	2009	History in the Making IV: Ceramic Traditions Contemporary Pots A national juried exhibition The Firehouse Gallery at Genesee Pottery, Rochester, NY
	2009	Dining In: An Artful Experience A national juried exhibition 18 Hands Gallery, Houston, TX
	2007	Empty Spaces: Bowls A juried exhibition Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
	2006	1st Biennial Concordia Continental Ceramics Compeition A regional juried ceramics competition Concordia Gallery, St. Paul, MN
	2005	Salon 300: Minnesota State Fair Overflow Show A MN State Fair overflow show Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN
	2004	Salon 500: Minnesota State Fair Overflow Show A MN State Fair overflow show Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN
	2004	Juried Religious Art Show A juried exhibition for Minnesota residents Grace United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, MN
	2002	Strictly Functional Pottery National A national juried exhibition Southern Market Center, Lancaster, PA
	2002	2002 Celtic Art Exhibition & Contest A juried exhibition and contest; 1st place Traditional Category Gallery O, Dallas, TX
	2001	Winterfest 01 A juried exhibition Period Gallery, Omaha, NE
	2001	Strictly Functional Pottery National A national juried exhibition Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
	2001	2001 Christian Art Festival A juried exhibition Woodbury Luthern Church, Woodbury, MN
	2001	Handcrafted A juried exhibition of ceramics, fiber, glass, metal, and wood Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC
	2000	Functional Art Show A juried exhibition Art Collective, Minneapolis, MN
	2000	18th Annual Christian Art Festival A juried exhibition Cross View Lutheran Church, Edina, MN
	2000	Transformations A juried exhibition of fine crafts Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Wayzata, MN
	2000	The Foot in the Door 3 An open exhibition to all Minnesota residents MAEP Gallery, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
	1996	24th Annual Raspberry Monday A juried student exhibition Eugene Johnson Gallery, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
	1996	Sojourn A senior thesis group exhibition Eugene Johnson Gallery, Bethel College, St Paul, MN
	1995	23rd Annual Raspberry Monday A juried student exhibition Eugene Johnson Gallery, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN

Publications

• Hibberd, Susan. "You shall have a fishy..." Kent, UK: Butterfly Cottage Publishing, 2011. 90-91
• 2011 Potters Council Calendar - Mug Collection, August
• Crafts insight: Ceramics, The Crafts Report, April 2004, 19
• 2004 Clay Lover's Calendar, February & September

Professional Affiliations

There are numerous organizations for artists and potters that work toward promoting the arts. The following are organizations of which I am currently or have previously been a member. The years of my membership are in parenthesis.

• ACC - American Craft Council (2001 - 2004; 2011 - Present)
• COPA - Corcoran & Powderhorn Artists (2017 - Present)
• Potters Council (2001 - 2013)
• MNWCA - Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists (2009 - 2010)
• CIVA - Christians in the Visual Arts (1998 - 2005)
• MCC - Minnesota Crafts Council (1999 - 2004)
• NEMAA - Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (2002)