We were lucky to catch up with Susan Joy Share recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Susan Joy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I had a precious opportunity to collaborate on a performance with dancer, poet, visual artist, musician and foodie S. Hollis Mickey. We met to rehearse at Bivy, a contemporary art space in Anchorage where my solo exhibit, “Sounds Sumptuous” took place in the summer of 2022. Two of my pieces in the show had untapped movement potential. One was a corset-like sculpture on wheels and the second, a tall painted panel connected to a gallery wall with orange cloth hinges. Hollis generously agreed to help create choreography for these artworks in a piece we called “Beside Show”. We rehearsed when her busy schedule allowed. Hollis has myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and our work on the performance incorporated periods of rest. She inspired me with her creativity, humor and skill. The experience is all the more meaningful for us now, as Hollis’ symptoms have intensified, and she must spend most of her time in a horizontal position. Some of her limited energy goes to raising awareness and funds for ME/CFS. We captured a moment in time.
Susan Joy , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born into a close-knit family with 4 brothers in Syracuse, NY. Roughhousing and sports were a big part of my childhood, spurred on by my loving, playful father. Being the only girl and the only one with the attic bedroom, I spent quite a bit of time on my own.
My interest in arts began early, and at age 10, I won a drawing contest (with help from my mother) sponsored by a local dairy. The prize, oh my, was a large pool table with a tan felt lining. Mom and I cooked and did craft projects, including sewing, crochet and tile mosaics. The stage was set and many of these activities carried through into my creative career, though it took a while for me to realize and appreciate it.
I attended the State University of NY at Oswego, enrolled in a ceramics class, and developed a keen interest in clay forms. Professor Richard Zakin encouraged me to delve further into clay and supported my transfer to the renowned College of Ceramics at Alfred, NY. There, in addition to ceramics, I made mixed-media and welded steel sculpture. Then, my passion for book and paper arts began under the tutelage of Professor John C. Wood.
Following my art school BFA, I moved to Brooklyn where for 20 years I worked as an artist throughout the five boroughs of New York City. I took on odd jobs, taught as an artist-in-schools and studied book arts and conservation. I gained expertise with numerous structural forms and methods of cutting, folding, sewing, gluing and surface design.
I had part-time positions in the intriguing libraries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Historical Society and The Brooklyn Museum. I repaired damaged volumes, built custom protective enclosures and constructed book supports for exhibitions. It was such a pleasure to examine rare volumes I would otherwise have never seen.
Whatever I learned, I applied to my personal art endeavors. I make complex yet fanciful books, unfolding boxes, screens, percussion instruments and wearables. My intricate, layered work is steeped in the history of books and paper across cultures and time. I connect to a book’s sculptural and sequential nature, its sounds, and transformations. I use paper, metals, photos, plastics, cloth and threads, and explore color, texture, shape, repetition and geometry. I draw, paint, collage, assemble and realize my vision through long hours and attention to detail. The work embraces humor, is tactile and encourages audience interaction. I am proud and fortunate that, early on, my art was widely recognized for expanding definitions of what a book could be.
Physical performance is a lively way in which I show the dramatic potential of some of my pieces. I collaborate cross-discipline and use mime and puppetry to explore personal ritual and display an object’s intricacies. I took dance and theater classes to become more comfortable in front of an audience and met countless inspiring, creative people in NYC. Institutions such as the Center for Book Arts, Franklin Furnace, Henry St. Arts Center and the Touchstone Center for Children helped promote my artwork and teaching.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I never imagined I would leave “The City” or fathomed I would live in Alaska; much less be here for over twenty-five years. My story is like many who come, plan to stay a year and find themselves here decades later. In 1998, following romance, I took a chance and moved my studio and heavy bookbinding equipment to Anchorage. I also married my husband Paul that year. Our home is surrounded by nature in an urban setting. I continue my art practice in this amazing place I’ve come to love and where I ski, hike, kayak, garden and cook.
In Alaska, my career began anew. I did my best to maintain affiliations in the Lower 48, made fresh connections and thought of myself and my work in different ways. Alaska has a vibrant art community and presents unique opportunities. I exhibited in local galleries and learned bead weaving, felting, fabric dying and how to work with hog gut from local artists. I applied for and was grateful to receive several generous individual artist grants, and commissions for public art. In 2008, for example, I was chosen to design and build a donor recognition wall at the new Providence Cancer Center in Anchorage. My background in ceramics served me well. I filled the 10’ x 30’ wall with handmade baseboard, crown tiles, and a large central circular mural. I collaborated with a local woodworker to create maple slats for the laser etched donor names. I am tickled that in 2023, a moose sauntered into the hospital to munch on some plants and took a gander at the donor wall. How many artists can boast of a moose in the audience?
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Community. The exchange of ideas, resources and methods nourishes me. Being an artist is also gratifying – a combination of learning, discovery and serendipity, in solitude and with others. My artistic life carries over into my friendships, home, garden, kitchen, and enjoyment of the great outdoors.
Contact Info:
- Website: susanjoyshare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/share.susanj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.j.share
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUK4ILoeXW0 Excerpts from “Beside Show”, 2022
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-gdMzZdLm0 “What’s Up in New York?”, 1992
Image Credits
Many thanks to photographers Hal Gage, Clark James Mishler, Fran Durner and Doug Beube.
Moose photo courtesy of Providence Alaska