Suzanne Stumpf, ceramic artist

News

Breast Project sculpture receives new honor

Sat, 06/01/2024 - 19:50 by admin

My Breast Project sculpture was recently selected for inclusion in the Marblehead Art Association's national juried "Variations 2024" exhibition, and I was honored to learn it was selected for the third place prize in sculpture.

The Breast Project began several years ago when a close relative was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a meditation for sending healing energy to her, I made the first sculpture at that time. It was healing for me as well, and after making it, I began to think about the many women I have known who have fought breast cancer - my grandmother, the mother and the sister of one of my closest friends, several colleagues and friends....

I continued making vessels in honor of each person, including many new friends and colleagues who also developed breast cancer along the way through this journey. Most recent additions include an uncle and a cousin, so this work has felt like a “work in progress” through the years.

The sculpture has garnered numerous awards in various art shows through the past few years and I am committed to be raising awareness about breast cancer through sharing this work as often as possible.

 

Exciting news!

Sun, 06/04/2023 - 19:40 by admin

I am happy to share lots of exciting news. I have four works that are featured in juried exhibitions this month. The shows will all run into July. Presently, two works Rock My Galaxy and Vessel (untitled) are on view at ArtsWorcester (44 Portland St., Worcester) where they are included in the ArtsWorcester Biennial. 

I was honored to learn that the Rock My Galaxy sculpture was awarded one of the top prizes in the show, the Westheimer Prize. Both works are already sold to private collectors, so this show is your last opportunity to view them in public! Visit https://artsworcester.org/ for gallery hours. My Fossil sculpture has been selected for the national juried show called “Used” at the Attleboro Arts Museum https://attleboroartsmuseum.org/used/ The opening reception for the show is June 17. I cannot be at the opening reception as I will be in Andalusia (Spain) for a trip that was postponed at the start of the pandemic. 

And finally, Breast Project has been chosen for the Danforth Art Museum’s Annual Juried Exhibition. I will be back from Andalusia in time for the show’s opening reception on June 24.  When I return from Spain later this month, I will be finishing my current kiln. Should have lots of new work to show by mid-July!

Art in Bloom in Natick and other news!

Thu, 05/12/2022 - 17:58 by admin

I hope you have all been well and have been enjoying this fabulous month! May is my favorite - isn’t it a miracle we live on a planet where so many trees burst into flowers before leafing out? 

In this vein, I am happy to tell you that this weekend, at the Morse Institute Library in Natick, my “Teardrop Birch Nest with Eggs” will be shown at “Art in Bloom,” co-sponsored by the Natick Art Association and the Natick Garden Club. A fabulous and talented florist will be making a flower arrangement inspired by my sculpture, and their arrangement and my sculpture will be on view side by side this weekend, beginning on Saturday at 11am at Natick’s main library.

I am also excited to share news that several of my sculptures have been chosen for regional and national shows this Spring and Summer.

I was recently honored to learn my “Relic” sculpture was selected by the Fitchburg Art Museum curators as one of only ten works in response to ten specific highlighted works in their permanent collection. That show will be installed this summer.

Also, my “Nomads” is now featured at the national juried show “Contemporary Clay 2022” in Grand Junction, Colorado through late June.

 

 

 

2019 has been exciting!

Thu, 10/17/2019 - 12:15 by admin

As I prepare for my annual Fall Open Studio, reflecting back on the past year, I feel incredibly blessed by some special recognition my work has received in 2019. In February, the Cambridge Art Association presented me with an “Artist of the Year” award for my “Breast Project 2018” sculpture. I was also very honored to receive First Prize at the Legacy 4 Art Exhibition in North Easton for that same sculpture in June. 

My sculptures were also included in juried exhibitions in North Carolina and in Duxbury, MA.  For the “Winter Show” in Duxbury, my “Diatoms II” was recognized with an Honorable Mention Prize in Sculpture as well as the Viewers Choice Award for the entire exhibit.

In the Spring, I received exciting news from Haystack in Maine: I was selected for a two-week Artist Residency in late May to join 50 outstanding artists from across the US, Europe, and East Asia at Haystack for some time to brainstorm/create/explore. I was so grateful for the time to center myself, quiet my soul, and to develop new project ideas. Much of my time was spent on the Maine shoreline, writing, sketching, taking photos, and reading the poetry of Mary Oliver - stay tuned for the fruits as they blossom now and in the months ahead!

I hope you’ll be able to visit Oct. 19-20, but if not, contact me for a private showing!

 

 

 

“Construction Project” garners attention this Spring

Mon, 05/28/2018 - 07:23 by admin

My interactive sculpture Construction Project has been featured in two juried shows this Spring. Presently it is included in the Natick Artists Open Studio show (juried by Jessica Roscio) at the Morse Institute Library. And in March in April, it was selected for the Maud Morgan Arts center Small Works Salon in Cambridge, juried by Heidi Whitman.

The theme of the Maud Morgan Arts show was “mapping.” The show did not require an artist’s statement, so I was intrigued and delighted to learn of the center’s interpretation of “Construction Project,” as posted in an article on their website:
 
    “The idea of mapping becomes a source of kinetic energy for Suzanne Stumpf’s ‘Construction Project.’ Small white objects resembling sugar cubes are scattered across a tray. A few cubes rest in the two sets of square indentations on either side of the tray, while others sit on the flat surface in between, and still others wait in a bowl nearby. A long white rectangular stick lies beside the tray—possibly a tool for moving cubes into position or possibly the source of new cubes. The viewer senses that the action of moving and creating cubes—the mapping—is still in progress.” 
 
The full article may be available through this link: 

Two Awards this Past Spring

Sun, 07/30/2017 - 12:54 by admin

It's always exciting to have work juried into a national show, but to receive an award for that work is even more deeply affirming!

When I arrived for the opening for the juried show
White/Black/Monochrome at the Bancroft Gallery in Cohasset on April 21, I was surprised and delighted to see an "Award of Merit" sign attached to the pedestal for my sculpture "Diatoms II." Shortly, I learned that this was a Fourth Place Award at the show, and I had a nice chat with the juror Beth Urdang who explained that she had a really challenging time deciding which prize should be given to which work among her top choices.

Later this Spring, I received even more exciting news: my sculpture "Two" had garnered "First Prize" in the 3D/Sculpture category at the the South Shore Art Center's 62nd Arts Festival.

 

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