Statement and Bio

Artist Statement

Hands touching clay, I feel alive: soul, spirit and body, connected. I make functional and sculptural ceramics for contemplation, relaxation and the practice of life. Sourced from our earth, clay is rock weathered over time. Intrigued by the scientific and haptic nature of the material, for me it links humans to our planet and each other. 

The vessels and objects I create invite hands to receive the comfort and power of clay and explore its strength, fragility, and permanence. Quiet nuances inspire my surfaces: buildings tangled with vines, botanical shadows cast on sidewalks, weeds poking through cement, or plant life dancing in the ocean; fleeting moments of beauty made permanent in my brushwork and firing process.

I continue to explore a variety of clay bodies and glazes in different firing atmospheres and fuel sources, including gas, wood, electric, to learn the chemistry occurring in each kiln that best enhances the work placed inside it. Every clay pot has its own story and can serve as a reminder of our individualism and humanity.

Artist Bio

Susan Messer McBride of Mind Clay Body Studio unearthed her passion for clay after receiving the M.S. in Education/Social Policy from Northwestern University. A Chicago based educator, ceramic artist, and painter, McBride has taught in the US, China, Kenya, and Mexico. She is certified in Clay Field Therapy, a haptic based, sensorimotor intervention that can help heal trauma or developmental delays.

McBride crafts pots inspired by the intersection of natural and urban environments and finds purpose and peace through ceramic work. Wood firing and studio affiliations include Made Chicago, Barro Sur, Taller de Terreno, and Theaster Gates Studio.

As an artist-activist, she organized and led Nasty Women Art Chicago, co-created "Pots to the People: Seconds for the First Amendment" and was an invited artist for "Still Counting," an exhibit honoring women's rights at SOFA Chicago. Representing Firebird Community Arts, she taught a hand building series for Red Line Service members, an arts-based support group for the unhoused, in Hull House Museum’s "Radical Craft" exhibition. Cast in a print media campaign for The Field Museum, her portrayal as 'Viking woman' was featured on billboards and buses throughout the city.