Process

All my pieces are entirely hand-built, unique and one-of-a-kind. Currently I'm working with white clay and each sculpture is fired to cone 5. People have asked me if I use models; I do not, although I do use a mirror to figure out how the face looks doing certain things, such as grinning. But it is not my face that is seen in the piece either. I have inclinations towards a certain type of nose, mouth and eyes, but I also like to play with different shapes to keep the mix interesting.

I work mainly with slabs of clay, which I roll out by hand with a huge rolling pin. I begin the free-standing sculptures with the face, which starts as a solid ball. I add the features and when they are completed, I push out the face from behind to both hollow out the head and to distort some of the features. Once the face has the character and expression that I want, I completely hollow it and move on to making a suitable body, if there is one, and any other features such as hands. The animal is the last piece to be made and is also completely hand-built. Sometimes I do not attach the animals to either the figure or a tile until after the final firing so that the opportunity exists to put them with another figure if, in a sense, they tell me that they want to be together for the sake of the story I'm trying to tell. When I am satisfied with the pieces, I hollow out and check the insides for construction soundness.

When the figure, tile or mask is complete and hollowed out, I put on the first coat of underglaze colors and do the bisque firing. Years ago I realized high-fired matt underglazes give me the color I want, so I rarely use glazes anymore. After the bisque firing, the work is underglazed again and fired to cone 5. Occasionally the underglazes vitrify at cone 5 to shine a bit, which is unpredictable and adds to the pleasure I feel when I open the kiln. If the results are still not quite right I will refine and refire the colors once more. Sometimes the work is fired three times.

The titles may occur to me before the piece is started, during the process of making the work or at the very end. I see titles, faces and animals everywhere in my everyday life and tuck them mentally away for the right piece.



email: susan [at] susanrooke.com