Meet Susan Woods | artist/sculptor/maker-designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Woods and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up in a small town in NH, because my father bought a business there and moved us from our small town in Upstate NY. My father was 3rd generation in a milling company that had a fire, and he decided to move the family. Luckily, my father’s parents were also classical musicians- his mother playing the piano and organ, and his father the violin.

I loved the piano at a very young age, and was only allowed to take lessons when turning nearly 5. My lessons were of the classical, classical kind, meaning that there were all kinds of finger training and learning of scales, arpeggios, music writing and classical music.
I was also enrolled, through my teacher, in a program that I yearly performed in front of judges receiving marks on playing. With the advancement of my piano learning, the performances became more difficult and lengthy.
The teacher also had recitals each year with her students. I think she must have been a respected teacher.
I continued with her for 10 years, then for a year with jazz. As a teenager, I decided that I did not want to play any longer, and, at the suggestion of my high school art teacher, I made an art portfolio to apply to art schools. At this time, I did not know what a portfolio was.

I was accepted in a small, dynamic art school. It gave no grades, but, twice a year, the students went through an evaluation in front of the teaching staff. This school was an outbreak from institutionalized education and offered a strong direction in skill. On my 1st evaluation from my figurative drawing teacher, he remarked: when you arrived, you were the worst in the class, now you are the best.

What I am trying to say is, my classical upbringing through my grandparents’ musical practices have stayed with me throughout my career. This is not to say that I have not ventured into an experimental artist. This is to say that the type of education that teaches skills along pulling out talent, if there, has been with me since the beginning, and that I believe in this.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been an artist since a child, starting with classical piano at five. Morphing into the visual arts as a teenager, sculpture quickly became my main interest.

The craft of sculpture lends itself to many businesses. From the beginning, I took the practical aspects of sculpture-making, to build small businesses that supported my studio and private life. I taught plaster mold-making privately and in art school, workshop situations. I cast peoples clay sculptures into plaster and bronze. I co-owned and operated a bronze foundry. I had a crate making business, was a metal fabricator for high-end designers in NYC, a sculpture technician, and finally started a makers-design business that I called, Aswoon®, that earned its trademark in 2008.

Aswoon® became very successful by attending international furniture/design fairs. As an experimental sculptor with a large cache of honed skills, I had the luck of coming up with some very good ideas/art-design that caught the eye of many magazines/media and tradespersons, and business blossomed. The main lines of design were manufactured from upholstery springs and bent poplar plywood, both common materials. Being materials available to all, I decided to have some of the pieces registered & numbered as copyrights to protect against imitation. The original art works became a commercial success. I sold to many parts of the world.

I enjoy experimenting with materials and it was extremely fun making furnishings that were sculpture and yet, as seating, very comfortable. When making a new piece in the studio, everyone entering had to test the seat, including the UPS man! As there are all sizes of people, I wanted to make seating that was as universal as possible. Seating is a difficult subject in the modern sense as lines are simple and sparce. Setting the angle of the seat is crucial. I thoroughly love making things for the home including lighting. I have made several versions of chandeliers, the most popular being the Molecular Chandelier, which I sold through the NYC store, ABC Home and Carpet, for a long time. Now I make custom pieces through the sales from the studio.

My early work as a fabricator, my extensive knowledge of materials and the years fulfilling custom work through the trade and private clients, gives me a comfort level in creating pieces I might never think of on my own, which challenge my techniques and vision. I love making custom work.

My fine art continues. I like the mixture of serious play and that of more craft-like activities. For me it exercises my creativity.

I guess what sets me apart from many artists/sculptors is my abilities learned through curiosity and from the many great teachers I have had when going through art schools. I went to many schools and had such luck learning from talented teachers who were also professional artists. Each had some special knowledge they were able to share. From all, came voices I was able to ingest and unite. Because of the practical parts of this knowledge, I was able to piece together a living and remain in the studio mostly full time.

I also like people and this is crucial in creating custom work.

Many visitors have come to the studio in groups or tours from many areas of the earth, including school classes. I love this as I want to show and explain how wonderful it is to lead this alternative life as an artist/maker/functional-art-designer.

Ideas coming from clients, from interior designers, architects or private clients are most welcome. It is a collaboration I relish. Choosing me, one receives a wide realm of conversation about the proposed project. My background is wide and my creative interests, too. My classical background, including figurative sculpture, along with the experimental and adventuresome nature of my vision(s) and skill are a mix that few artists possess. Simply try me and I am sure you will be very pleased(!)…and me as well(!)

I have had the good fortune of receiving commissions for private homes, commercial enterprises and public spaces, such as Lincoln Center in NYC and Newark Liberty International Airport, in NJ. I am able to work with multiple partners, manage large projects and budgets, and do so with calm progression and under ethical terms. Experience has taught me.

Coming to Tucson from Brooklyn, NY during Covid, I am still trying to meet people and establish myself here. However, it is through others who bring me to larger perimeters or distances, or into larger spheres, I am specifically hoping to meet, even if it is a local project that helps me learn more about the area or increases my knowledge of skills.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a quiet, artistic type. We also arrived during Covid, so, we are now discovering places that are opening either for the 1st time or are re-opening full scale.

I like going through Gates Pass. It is a beautiful, bizarre visual experience, and then there is the expansive, glorious desert beyond, with small roads leading here and there, places to get out of the car, make some pencil drawings or quick paintings.

A drive up Mount Lemon is another fabulous visual journey and one that offers several environmental strata, with places to get off and hike, or view long distances 360°, or a destination away from the desert heat as the height offers several 10º differences.

Bisbee is a great, historic town with wonderful places to eat and a charming street to shop for local arts and crafts. The defunct mine is an amazing sight as well. Driving along route 80 one passes through many small towns and landscapes typical of the area.

Walking up Sabina Canyon, a 4-mile paved trek, with paths to explore is an easy incline and beautiful amongst mountains, waterways, and native flora.

Visiting museums, like the Tucson Museum of Art, the Arizona State Museum, the Center of Photography, are great local cultural destinations.

The thrift shops are Fabulous.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jeff Britton

Website: https://www.aswoon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sus_woods/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=aswoon%2Fsusan%20woods

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5_UuVo7mk

Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUTUWLaUm7k&t=53s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDee0pl6biA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG6mvZqrBnY https://youtu.be/UhJ2p5gldNg

Image Credits
Kris Graves, Istvan Vizner, Thomas Ernsing, Kronus Photography