Page 24 - _TX3Dcat1224

SUSAN CALAFRANCESCO

CANYON LAKE

Susan Calafrancesco was born in 1960 and has spent her life dedicated
to the enchantment of storytelling with clay. What began as a high school
ceramics class in rural Rhinebeck, NY; over time, blossomed into a life full
of color, texture and form.

Susan attended SUNY Potsdam in New York state in the early 80’s and
completed a Studio Art Bachelor’s Degree with an emphasis in pottery.
She moved to Texas in 2007 and began her full-time artist career after
raising her two children. Susan maintains a studio in Canyon Lake, TX.

She exhibits her works at various galleries in Texas and across the
country. Recently she was chosen to exhibit at the prestigious, Strictly
Functional Pottery National held in Pennsylvania. She exhibited a colorful,
quirky sculptural piece to hold a salt and pepper basket and a toothpick
holder. Her work, “The Duet”, and fun sculpture with a man and a mouse
playing the same fantastical instrument, is featured in the Lark Book, “500
Figures in Clay volume 2.”

Her works are culled from dreams and silent meditation. Susan is drawn
to nature and often includes animals in her sculptures. These intricate
sculptures will usually tell a story. The viewer can discern their own story,
and the hope is for the viewer to smile at the narrative.

Susan’s recent work encompasses an experimental process of using
natural items, such as beehives, cactus “skeletons”, and other organic
materials. These items are drenched in liquid, porcelain clay and the
organic material is then burned out in the kiln. The resulting pieces are
“stitched” together to form a sensuous, translucent porcelain sculpture.

Every finished sculpture morph from a lump of clay with an idea, to a
flowered alternate reality that mixes earthen textures and delightful
characters into a world of intricate fantasy.