Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Susan Barton and I live in a big old house Duluth MN with my husband and pot bellied pig, Henry. I belong to the Duluth Art Institute and was a member of the Fiber Art Guild until time constraints stepped in. I am a trained metalsmith.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I have been studying other crafts and experimenting with other mediums. I also teach bead work and felting at the local bead store. I take art classes at the art institute, a local community college and the two universities. I have also been researching beads. Researchers have found that the very first bead appeared around 40,000 years ago. Now, some researchers are saying it could be closer to 100,000 years ago. I would love to see that very first bead! Humans have been adorning themselves for a very long time!
What first made you want to become an artist?
Growing up, I don’t think it was a deliberate conscience choice. But, in my third grade art class I had an eight year old epiphany, I loved to draw and sing. At 10 I was doing batik and tie-dying my own clothes much to the chagrin of my mother. That’s also when the bead obsession struck, I wanted my own ‘love beads.’ The collection of beads and buttons began then too! I was experimenting with fiber, mainly the dying of my own clothes. I also taught myself to sew, embroider and embellish my own clothes. My mother taught me how to knit and crochet.
There was a long period of time when I didn’t create any form of art, from my early 20’s until my late 30’s. The cliché, ‘art saves lives’ was true for me on a very basic level and I believe that it does apply to everyone. Art is an intricate part of our lives, we can’t live without it, observing, creating and living with art.
As an adult, after 3.5 years into school I can honestly say that I didn’t want to become a social worker. I loved the work but needed to pursue art. That was a late in life choice and at that point I knew I could make that happen.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
At this time, my metals studio is not up and running, I am painting, installing a new floor and ventilation system. I live in an old house and nothing has gone as planned! But I do get many things accomplished without having an actual working studio space. I do a great deal of ‘low tech’ metal work that always has a primitive feel to it. And like many metalsmiths around the world I can often be found on the floor working with metal. But, it can be frustrating to not be sitting at a bench. I also have a few portable work spaces that I can work with seed beads in just about any room in the house.
I have found that there are many crossover connections when designing jewelry. Using different mediums at different times often carries over into the next medium when creating jewelry. Very often designs will pop into my head with no provocation whatsoever. And at other times it really hurts my bean to think of any kind of a bead on a wire. What does spark my creativity is looking at past and present jewelry, my ideas go off in a completely different direction regarding my own jewelry designs. Inspiration also comes from Navajo designers and the history of their jewelry and the sterling silver pieces from Taxco Mexico, around 1910 and through 1960.
I really wish that I had one dominate direction when it comes to creating art and jewelry. I love fabricating. I would love to stay with one medium and not get distracted with seed beads, fiber, clay… My brain just won’t stay on one particular medium.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
The china doll my grandmother made for me. Lucy is a gorgeous doll, she is hand painted and sewn together. My grandmother made all of Lucy’s clothes. She also sewed Barbie doll clothes and clothes for all my trolls, clothes that I still have! My Barbie was quite the fashion plate of the neighborhood!
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Edward Abbey, Dave Mathews, “Writing Down the River” Unforgiven, Talking Heads, Cochise, Tigerlily, My Dinner with Andre, Sarah McLachlan, Dire Straits, “Canyon” The list is never ending.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
The advice I would give to new artists on Etsy is to advertise your work to the world. It’s great to advertise on Etsy but it’s imperative to advertise locally in your hometown and especially online. Place ads with online indie sites that advertise handmade art. Do your research and find what type of site is best for you.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love pounce and the forums. I would like to see the listing process streamlined and condensed, it’s very time consuming.
How do you promote your work?
I advertise online with indie sites promoting handmade! I also donate my work to local charity auctions. Many times I have had neighbors purchase from me on Etsy because they have seen my work at benefit auctions.
In ten years I'd like to be...
In ten years I would still love to be exploring and researching the process of jewelry making. And doing another rafting trip through Grand Canyon… |
