Interview with Suzanne of Sushipot

This week I am so happy to be interviewing Suzanne of Sushipot. I've admired Suzanne's work for years. If you'd like to see more, she has two Etsy shops: Sushipot and Sushipot Parts. Suzanne also has a Flickrstream and a blog.

You originally trained and worked a stone sculptor. What influenced you to switch to collage and assemblage art?

Looking back I’d have to say my initial desire to start working in materials other than stone began while living in Mobile, Alabama in 2005. At that time I was employed as an artist for a company that built Mardi Gras floats. We worked with various odds and ends of materials such as paper mache, wire and wood and we had to dismantle and re-assemble parts and pieces from floats used the year before. It was a challenging job both physically, artistically and ultimately very liberating. I began to scavenge tactile bits of ephemera from the float barns and in my spare time started creating small assemblages out of wood scraps, old toys, Mardi Gras beads, bits of metal, paper and paint.

You are a stay-at-home mother of a young daughter, as well as, a prolific artist who works from home. How do you balance the two? 

It can definitely get tricky at times but I liken the ideal of “balance” to more of an “ebb and flow” or a “give and take”. What works and lends “balance” during one season doesn’t always work for the next. There’s a constant juggling act going on during periods of transition in both work and family life where we have to “go with the flow” or fall off that proverbial tightrope. If it weren’t for my wonderful husband Patrick, being my voice of reason when the going gets tough, I’d have fallen off a long time ago! He keeps me sane and supports my work as an artist 110%.

You’ve been successfully selling your art on Etsy for years now. What are some of the things you believe a crafter/artist needs to do to “make a go of it” on Etsy?

Aside from every artisans’ ideal of a unique product and decent photos--to succeed on Etsy you definitely need to invest in a dependable coffeepot, as much technology as your fledgling business can afford (ie, the iPhone has changed my world!) and a close support network of like-minded entrepreneurs whom you trust to bounce ideas with and share advice. That said—at the end of the day—you need to be willing to work harder than you’ve ever worked before.  

I am especially taken with your new series of curated collections. How did you come up with the idea? Where do you find all those fascinating objects?  

The curated collections emerged from the obsession I have with collecting little objects. I find them all over the place—thrift shops, antique dives, estate sales, junk yards, online venues, yard sales in the summertime and family members tend to send treasures my way too. I either had to stop thrifting ‘n antiquing, or move into a larger studio! By putting together the collections of vintage goodies I can continue to enjoy the thrill of the hunt while financing my habit and desire to work from home. It’s always fun to know that someone, somewhere in the world, is enjoying the collection that I’ve put together.

I also really like your new Bricolage series. Can you tell us a little about those pieces?

The Bricolage series are like the curated collections in a way. They are basically 2 dimensional collections of ephemeral snippets that have been carefully collaged and quilted in a grid-like arrangement. The process of creating these pieces is very cathartic.

Who are a few of your fellow collage and assemblage artists whose work you admire?

Three mixed media artists I’ve admired during my time on Etsy and have enjoyed watching their works’ progression over the last few years are Dolan Geiman, Hollie Chastain and Vivienne Strauss.

I’m sure at this point, your life is full to the point of bursting, but thinking ahead a decade or two, what new creative pursuits or skills would you like to take up?

There are so many things I would like to try some day. One thing I would like to spend more time doing in the future is blogging. I finally started a blog for my business a little over a year ago and wish I’d started sooner. I find myself wanting to spend more time on it but I just don’t have the time these days!