Susan Speck  handbuilt, funk-tional porcelain  

welcome ::

about the potter ::

Kansas artist, Susan Speck, has been hand-building her unusual porcelain vessels since 2002.  Susan’s pots run the gamut from mysterious, eerie and whimsical to tranquil and elegant.   She creates each pot as a one-of-a-kind piece although they may be part of a series of 10 to 20.

All of Susan’s porcelain pots are created in her backyard studio (she built herself) in Mission, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. She shares her unique Arts & Crafts-style home with her daughter Fiona, her Scottish puppy dog Duncan and the wild chipmunk, Chippy.

Susan comes from a family of artists and studied Art Education at the University of Missouri.  She currently teaches art in the Kansas City area, but in the summer she and her wares can be found at art fairs in the midwest and exhibits in the US and abroad.

When she is not making her fanciful pots, Susan might be found playing the bagpipes in the local pipe band, doing ‘minimalist’ gardening, working on her house and traveling the globe.

 

about the work ::

Susan applies textures to velvety, white porcelain slabs with one of many hand-made stamps, sprigs or rolling tools.  Her highly decorated slabs are then cut and pieced together to build each piece.  After bisque firing, each piece is brushed with colored slip which is partially wiped off.  Although some pots are left with a hard, vitreous surface, some are covered with colorful, but transparent glazes and fired again. 

Susan has found inspiration in her personal and professional life.  She is moved by the folk art traditions of Asia and Central America, in particular textiles, folk pottery, and holiday images.  She is also inspired by architectural embellishments like a Dutch roof line, Mexican tile work and Art Deco terra cotta as well as a passerby’s fanciful shirt, the plants in her garden, even the play of light and shadow on a sidewalk.

Even though her work looks very decorative,she creates each piece so that it is fully functional when neccessary. She wants the owner of her pieces to appreciate their whimsy and beauty as well as their utility.