Artist Profile: Susan Turfle Captures Earthy Designs in Organic Clay Beads

As far back as Susan Turfle can remember she always felt the need to create.  As a child, she could often be found in her bedroom, busy with one project or another while her siblings were outside playing with friends. 

As an adult, Turfle found herself playing the roles of wife, mother and  Supervisor of the Business Systems Group for the National Security Technology Department at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL).   

When Turfle’s father became ill with cancer, she decided that she wanted to focus more on family and she left her job at JHUAPL and became a stay-at-home-mom. 

Over the years, as her kids became more independent, Turfle began to pursue her creative interests more earnestly.   At one point Turfle sought formal training in clay work, developing strong foundation through the instruction of potter Terry Whye, located in Finksburg.  

As the hobby and interest and skill developed over twenty years, it was a natural progression to pursue this art form in a more professional capacity.  Two years after making her first porcelain bead, Turfle opted for the new role of business owner, as she had created Lundela, LLC. 

Patch: How would you describe your art and your process?

Turfle:  I make porcelain beads.  I usually incorporate the beads into jewelry and sometimes baubles, such as wine stoppers or bottle openers.  However, I also sell my beads to other artisans to be used in their own designs.  I use porcelain clay due to the fine texture, the white color of the clay body and its ability to be fired at a high temperature (which makes it more durable than other types of clay). 

My process involves many steps, including staining the clay to the desired color, forming the beads by hand and decorating the beads using various techniques.  I fire the beads twice in a kiln, reaching a final temperature of over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

 It takes me approximately two weeks to make one batch of beads due mainly to the kiln time.  Each firing is six to ten hours and it takes an additional twenty-four to thirty-six hours each time for the beads to cool enough for me to even be able to touch them.  

Patch: What do you enjoy about creating this type of art?

Turfle:  First of all, I cherish that fact that porcelain clay is organic.  It is a result of decomposing rocks.  In addition, I enjoy the limitlessness of the medium.  Obviously, there are limits to porcelain clay.  However, there are so many options that it feels limitless.  I constantly have ideas running through my head and keep notebooks to record my design ideas and possible new techniques.

Patch: What/who inspires you and your art?

Turfle:  Making porcelain beads fills me with a sense of joy and accomplishment.  It is a way of translating inner vision to outer reality. 

I enjoy the repetitive nature of forming each individual porcelain bead.  This repetitive nature of work frees my imagination to envision the embellishment process.  The ornamentation of my beads leans toward earthy influences.  The swirls of my slip trailing may be viewed as being similar to the delicate tendrils of a vine. 

As one strives to find balance in their life, I strive to find balance in my work.  I have found this balance through the inclusion of celestial objects in my embellishments.  Hence, the impression of the sun, moon and stars found on some of my porcelain beads are a way of counterbalancing earthy influences.      

Turfle is a member of Beads of Clay (BoC), an organization of professional ceramic bead artists, founded in 2004.  The organization also includes hobbyists and fans of ceramic art beads.   

When she is not working on beads, she loves spending time with her family, reading, painting, gardening, scrapbooking and getting lost in a good movie.

Turfle’s work can be viewed and purchased through her ArtFire shop or her Etsy shop.  More information is available on her facebook page and updates are availble through twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LundelaBeads.