Susan Crocenzi - Explosions of color and form

Note: If you're here from the Polymer Clay Daily article, you might want to scroll down the page and also read the entry about Laurie Mika after you finish reading about Susan.



Sonnet
She traces her love of art back to fourth grade when she won a haiku contest.

Somewhere between then and now, Susan Crocenzi fell in love with mosaics.

The rest is history.

Susan Crocenzi

I met Susan when we took a class together on the subject of how to make tempered glass mosaics. I recall that she created gorgeous work in that class and I am pleased that we’ve stayed in touch. Her photo albums are brimming with her own eye-catching mosaic creations that are just bursting with fearless color and limitless energy.
Route 50 to Peace


The concept of working with tempered glass in mosaic art is one that has grown in popularity since artist Ellen Blakeley's original development of it. Susan has taken Blakeley's idea a step further by combining it with her own special techniques and media such as polymer clay to create vibrant, colorful designs in a variety of forms that recall a number of diverse influences without displaying imitative tendencies. They are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

Fortunately for Northern California artists, Susan will be teaching a class about her techniques this April. Information is available on her web site at Susan Crocenzi Mosaics

Crossroads
Note the organic movement and bold use of color in her work.
Crossroads detail


Susan draws from all kinds of inspiration to create her mosaics. She writes, “In a young adult novel called A Wrinkle in Time, the main character, space-traveling Meg, lands on a foggy, colorless planet and meets one of its inhabitants: Aunt Beast. Meg pities Aunt Beast because she has no eyes. They converse about “sight” and when Aunt Beast finally grasps the concept, her reaction is pity. She worries that Meg cannot truly know others if a great emphasis is placed on appearances.

I like the irony of titling this highly color-saturated series after Aunt Beast. And I love the idea that vision, even for visual artists, is not always our most illuminating sense.”

Aunt Beast series (Click image to enlarge.)
Aunt Beast 2

In addition to having been featured in a number of California galleries, Susan’s work was featured in the 2006 & 2007 Mosaic Yearbook. Last year, her spectacular mosaics were displayed on the homepage of the California Mosaic Arttists, and the mosaic blog, Make Mine Mosaic.

Viewers of Susan’s art never experience a dull moment. Her subject matter is vast, ranging from flowers to insects to free-form color explosions that journey into the far reaches of the most vivid imagination.

Bugus Flashicus


This incredible piece entitled, “Epic” was featured in 2008 Mosaic Art Now Magazine (published Feb '08) It was made with several thicknesses of plate glass, and tempered glass

Epic

Susan writes about her “Sierra Fall” mosaic , “Autumn in the California Sierra Foothills is breathtaking. It's nature at its most flamboyant. It's "Trees Gone Wild!" Most seasons, when I walk amongst trees, they calm me, put me in my little old place. But, in Autumn, these trees ... well, they make me want to go feral!"

Can you think of a better way to capture this sentiment than with this expressive, beautiful mosaic work?
Sierra Fall


I urge readers to visit Susan's web site and fall in love with her work as I have. Many of the pieces there are available for purchase. She also teaches individual and group classes to those of you with the urge to create works of beauty such as these. Her contact info is right there on her web site. Some of her smaller pieces, and prints of select work, can be found at Susan's ETSY shop.

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Big announcement for artists from YouTube !

TubeArts Contest

Fractured Atlas is an official sponsor of the TubeArts Contest, which is a YouTube contest to answer the question "Is there a place for art and writing in the digital revolution?" The TubeArts contest will run from February 29th to April 29th. A panel of YouTube judges will pick three finalists to be announced on May 9th, and then YouTubers will be able to vote for the winner.

The first place winner in the "Art" category (which Fractured Atlas is sponsoring) will receive $500. Two runners up will receive $50 each. Everyone who enters is eligible for a free one-year membership in Fractured Atlas (valued at $75).*

To enter the contest, post your submission as a response to the TubeArts Contest video, and make sure you do all of the following:

1. Title of your submission "TubeArt: _________". The blank space is for the name of your piece. For example, "TubeArt: Technologies Collide"
2. Your video must be posted after February 29th. If you want to repost an old video for consideration that is ok.
3. Your submission should help answer the question, "Is there a place for art and writing on YouTube?" This can be accomplished in many ways. Here are just a few suggestions:

» Find a creative use of the YouTube medium that enhances your art. Video opens up a lot of possibilities for old mediums.