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Susan Janzen's Bio Growing up on a farm on the Alberta prairie, I remember the hot, dry summer days that seemed endless. Born the youngest of three children and much too young for the “real” chores, I went down to the pond where I made mud-pies in sardine cans by the dozens, decorating them with leaves and setting them out to dry under the Crab Apple trees. An old, dilapidated chicken coup became my “store” and I had many delighted, imaginary customers who bought my pies with huge sums of leaves. After a long, hard day in the “store” I would go off wallowing in the mud in the irrigation ditches teaching myself how to swim. Perhaps it was then that my destiny with clay began, and not because I read every book and magazine, took a million classes, entered exhibitions, got collected and sold lots. So, here I am living in Nakusp, B.C. with my dream studio nestled in the trees, overlooking the lake and revelling in the awe inspiring beauty of the mountains, continuing exploration in colour, patterns, contrasts and forms… and still wallowing in the mud.Susan Janzen has been producing unique hand-thrown pottery for 21 years. Working with many styles over the years, she is now focusing on the production of unique, one-of-a-kind, pit-fired pottery statements. "It is interesting to me as a potter to research origins of earlier potters and their techniques. Using this knowledge as a background, I began exploring primitive firing methods. These pots are a sample of that interpretation. My pots are wheel-thrown, trimmed and burnished. They are then pit-fired amidst sawdust, local woods, and leaves. Although my pots are being made today, they've captured the essence of this ancient method." Permanent Collections   |