Pulling Myself Together by Suzy Gardner, Porcelain, Clay, Steel, Wood
Artist Statement
A native of Western Colorado, I am the descendant of Colorado pioneers, cowboys, miners, American Indians, and artists. I love âfeelingâ the stories of my heritage and my life through my art. Iâve found that Artists plan ⊠and Art laughs ⊠I may start with an idea, but the art goes where it goes! A lot of times the story that comes out may not even resemble the idea I started with; but the piece has created the feelings I felt at the time. My piece, Pulling Myself Together, now in the permanent collection of the Pioneers Museum, started out as a simple wall hanging mask made of porcelain ceramic. I wanted it to be rough around the edges, a little world worn âŠ.but ⊠Artist’s Plan and Art Laughs! It wasnât turning out the way I wanted, the edges kept breaking off and I felt like I was being torn asunder ⊠I mean the piece was being torn asunder đ. Life was putting me through a stressful point right then, and I realized life was imitating art. I needed to pull myself together! And pull the piece together. I was feeling like all my parts were off in the ether. I wanted the viewer to feel the 3-D ness of what I was feeling. Thatâs where the steel bars came from. How could I take these pieces (and I broke off a few more ⊠very satisfying), how could I make these pieces look 3-D and coming at me and âpulling togetherâ. I love that the piece isnât what I planned at all, but so totally âsaysâ how I was feeling. Artists PlanâŠArt Laughs.
