With clay I find something I can't find anywhere else in life. It has a rhythm that fits me, a different sense of time. The process of making art moves at a speed that is not efficient or practical. It is more time consuming than what is popular these days. It seems that most people live lives that run at the speed of cars, planes, satellites, and cell phones; with mass production, computers, and commercials bringing us split second products, answers, and desires. Nothing is intrinsically wrong with more, faster, cheaper, but there exists a pace that is like clouds moving across the sky - time's other way of being.

It is the speed of conversation and friendship building. It is the speed of plants growing. It is the speed of creation: creating relationships, communities, beauty; all non-linear, organic, potentially messy aspects of life that fill our lives with meaning. My stone planters are built at this speed, one coil at a time and then scraped for hours until the surface has a wonderfully smooth yet mottled texture. As planters, these stones are intended to be full of life; and my hope is that, with or without plants, their stillness and simplicity will be life enhancing.

My best work is not about progress and getting a lot done, but about striving higher, seeing more, growing deeper, touching upon some of the invisibles of life, and every once in a while - magic - making them visible.

Susan Clusener