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Susan Ward
Biography
Although she graduated from university with a double major in psychology and sociology, Susan Ward's career path was radically altered by a ceramics course she took her senior year. Working with clay so engaged her that she went to Mexico for a year to learn hand-building and wood-firing techniques. She continued her studies in Europe; and when she returned to the United States, she was named artist-in-residence for Alamance County, North Carolina. Over time her work evolved from conventionally shaped vessels into more sculptural ones with perforated and scored walls, and ceased being purely functional. Following a critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo exhibition of this new work, Susan Ward returned to school and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and in Sculpture from East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C..
Committed to pursuing her dream of making artwork her livelihood, she came to New York City and set up her studio where her focus soon shifted from sculpture to painting. A recurring theme in her paintings was vessels, particularly beautiful bowls executed in mixed media on paper. To support her studio, she held a variety of jobs, eventually working for a Wall Street firm as office manager, where she gained the business experience that would prove useful in running her own firm. Susan Ward Designs was launched in August 1991 in the Accent on Design area of the New York International Gift Show and has been part of this prestigious juried section ever since. In 1992 and 1994, Metropolitan Home Magazine presented her its Design 100 Award. Her work has been purchased by major corporations, as well as the U S State Department, for presentation to international heads of state and for other foreign delegates and embassies. It is exhibited in museums and galleries, and included in many private collections. Her limited edition pieces are available in 49 states, Europe, Central and South America, and Japan.