{"id":5410,"date":"2010-09-27T16:08:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-27T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/being-connected-sculptor-susan-erikson-hawkins\/"},"modified":"2010-09-27T16:08:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-27T16:08:00","slug":"being-connected-sculptor-susan-erikson-hawkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/being-connected-sculptor-susan-erikson-hawkins","title":{"rendered":"Being Connected: Sculptor Susan Erikson Hawkins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
1:30pm |<\/strong> October in Long Beach is, once again, going GLOBAL<\/a>.  Long Beach Arts Month<\/a> is exploding, with countless events all over the City.  A great way to kick of the celebration is by participating in the LB Open Studio Tour<\/a>, which focuses on the California Heights and Wrigley neighborhoods<\/a>.  Free parking at the Willow Street and Warlow Avenue Metro Blue Line Stations allows you to connect with a trolly, which stops at most of the studios. The studios are open from 11-5 both Saturday and Sunday, and the EXPO building in Bixby Knolls will be home to two film screenings.  <\/p>\n

One of the 20 participating artists is Susan Erikson Hawkins<\/a>, a fine artist who works primarily in sculpture.  With an MFA from CSULB, and a demanding professional career working as a sculptural fabricator for the last four years, she’s just now breaking in her newly completed work space.  She took some time from her Tour preparations to speak about her work.<\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: I do mostly figurative work, meaning from the human figure (for those who aren’t familiar with that term), with mostly traditional materials: clay, plaster, bronze. My foundation training was pretty realistic, but not photo realistic.  The newer stuff is more abstracted and multi-media based.<\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: Do you use live models?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Yes, frequently, but not always, and I don’t limit myself to one complete model.  Sometimes I make composites from different models, if necessary.  I try to use them for anatomical references, but not be limited by trying replicate that too exactly.  I try to use it to support my idea, instead of it being the idea.<\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: What kinds of ideas are you exploring in your work?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Well, movement is always a primary issue for me as I come from a dance background, as well as the spacial issues inherent in three dimensional forms.  The human body is the perfect vehicle for that because of it’s fluidity: It can move in so many different ways that often defy the solidity of it’s form.  But I also use the body as a vehicle to express more internal ideas as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong>At right: “3-1” (B) – Plaster, multi-media -Life-size – (2005)<\/font><\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: What are these internal ideas?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Well, that is a difficult one to answer. A lot of it is really based in issues of the body itself and how one’s personal sensibilities or struggles are so closely tied to it.  The body is essentially the house we each live in, and  plays a defining role in how we function in the world, as well as how we view ourselves. I’m interested in exploring how all those layers are deeply interconnected.   <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: In your explorations, what have you discovered about those interconnections?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: In terms of dealing with those actual issues as well as making the work, it’s very complicated and messy. A friend told me yesterday that my work is very dark.  I admit I was a little surprised to hear that, but I shouldn’t be. It is. I think the later pieces definately reflect a kind of struggle with that last idea.<\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How does scale play a part in your work?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: I don’t know that I use it much, consciously, but it is there.  I think I work more with proportion (the relative size of elements within an object, again for those who aren’t familiar with the difference in the terms).  With regards to scale, I do pieces that range from life-size to pieces that fit in the palm of your hand.  You have a different relationship as a viewer, to each.  The small ones have a kind of intimacy and preciousness to them, where the large ones are more off-putting and kind of disturbing being mostly the same size as you and I.  <\/p>\n

The really strange ones are the 3\/4 life-size ones because they are almost but not quite what they should be.  With regards to proportion, I like to play with that for emphasis, as a way to focus the viewer more directly to  part I am really trying to explore. <\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: As an artist, what is the value of opening up your studio to the public?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Well, you meet really interesting people.  You never know where those introductions might lead. I actually always really enjoy it.  I’ts not so much about being an “all about Me” show as being connected to a community of like-minded people.<\/p>\n

I also think that it serves the greater community by making art a living presence for the non-art community.  People need to realize that art plays a crucial role in the vitality of our culture.  Also, what better way to introduce kids to possibilities previously unknown.<\/p>\n

\"\"At right: “Study” (2010) – Plaster – 10″ x 5″ x 6 5\/8″<\/em><\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How does it feel to be part of a community where so many artists live and work?<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Amazing.  I meet more and more of them every day!  What’s really strange is that, even when I leave Long Beach, I always run into people who have connections to Long Beach through art.  Either they work with someone I know from  CSULB, or they went there themselves, but there is always a connection. But it’s also very frustrating to know that there is this huge creative resource out there that is largely un-tapped, and often under-valued.<\/p>\n

Sander<\/strong>: How can we help folks understand the true value of the creative community.<\/em><\/p>\n

Susan<\/strong>: Education.  Studies repeatedly show that kids who would have dropped out of school stay in school because of art classes.   Art thinking is really creative problem solving.  That can be applied anywhere.  Yet, in times of economic hardship, what gets cut from budgets first? It’s always the art programs.  Studies also show that kids who study music at a young age develop better math and verbal skills, in addition to eye\/hand coordination.  Most people don’t realize that art training is more that drawing pictures and playing with clay, and is applicable to so many industries other than fine art. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

More information about the tour is available at LBOpenStudioTour.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susan Erikson Hawkins is one of 20 artists participating in this weekend’s LB Open Studio Tour. Here, she speaks about her work, and being part of a larger creative community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":70170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}