Conversations with Susan Parrish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Parrish.

Hi Susan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a child, I dreamed of becoming an artist. Winning first prize in an art contest cemented that dream. After high school, I studied art and design, first at Florida State University then at Auburn University, graduating with a BFA in art and design. Soon after I moved to Raleigh and worked in graphic design for about 5 years. During this time, I was continuously taking classes and creating wheel-thrown pottery – bowls, mugs, platters, teapots, etc. Working with clay was a life changer and I fell in love with this medium. After a few years, I began to sell in area craft and art shows and rapidly expanded outside our area, included whole selling my work to art and craft galleries.

After working full-time for 20 years functional pottery, I began feeling burnout and yearned for a change, About this time, I moved my studio to Artspace in downtown Raleigh. With this exciting change and being around other artists, I began to make sculptural ceramic work that was published in papers, national magazines, and books. Twelve years ago, I began a new and very different era for my work. This work included and was focused on using “found objects” in my sculpture, at times including clay as well. These objects would be throw-away items that I would find and save. My first sculpture in this medium was a large rounded flower pot that had been in my attic for years.

I covered it with concrete and embedded in it hundreds of small items, from old broken jewelry to toys from my attic and small containers (i.e, chapstick). This sculpture expressed my growing concern for the oceans with floating islands of garbage. Being able to express my social and political concerns in my work was exciting and stimulated my creative energies My current sculptural designs reflect this path. My goal is to express my concerns about the Earth today and to make people think and feel.

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?
No. My artistic journey sadly included Lyme disease almost from the beginning. I spent years and years making pottery, raising my children, and fighting this awful illness. I continue to fight it daily. Living life with a chronic illness is extremely difficult and friends and family often can’t comprehend the impact.

I’ve sought the best doctor for treatments but medical science has yet to discover treatments that are effective for others or for me. Lyme disease causes many other illnesses. I am driven to make art, even with Lyme disease, just as much or more as I was driven when I first began many years ago.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
After working with found objects for the last 12 years, I’m still as excited about this work as when I began. New opportunities, objects, and ideas come my way daily. One of the most exciting, interesting, and fun aspects of this work is finding and collecting the items, then imagining how each might be incorporated into sculptural work.

Scouring yard sales, thrift stores, and The Scrap Exchange in Durham has become my favorite outings. Many friends and followers of my work also collect objects for me. Recently, they have given me old and broken sewing machines, irons, old scales, and a typewriter along with collections of such things as buttons, corks, sewing spools, and old and broken jewelry.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was an extremely shy child when growing up, This didn’t keep me from having plenty of friends and enjoying life. As a young child, I learned to sew from my mother, mostly from watching her but she also helped. She made her scrap fabric box available to me.

At the age of five, I started sewing on her prize Singer sewing machine. My dad told her she shouldn’t let me as I would sew my finger. She continued to allow this and yes, I did sew a finger. That didn’t stop me. I made Barbie clothes by the dozens, teaching myself to make darts as they were necessary on the large busted Barbie. I also made structures and vehicles out of cardboard for her. I continued with arts and crafts throughout my growing years.

Making things was my favorite activity, from potholders made on a small loom, building and gluing things together, and also forming bowls from the red clay that was prevalent on our GA property. I could never thank my mother enough for being so supportive in this development.

Contact Info:

• Email: susanparrishart@me.com
• Website: susanparrishart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanparrishart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanParrishArt/?ref=ts