Susanne Stephenson Interviewed on 89.1 WEMU's Show creative:impact
Stephenson working in her studio, courtesy the artist.
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumna Susanne Stephenson (MFA Ceramics 1960) delved into her more than 70-year career in clay in an interview with Creative Washtenaw’s CEO Deb Politch for WEMU 89.1’s creative:impact show.
Susanne earned her BFA at Carnegie Mellon University before coming to the Academy to continue her studies in the Ceramics department under Maija Grotell. She also met her future husband, John Stephenson (MFA Ceramics 1958), also studying ceramics.
She stayed in Michigan and taught briefly at the University of Michigan, along with John. While John stayed on at the University of Michigan, Susanne took up a new role at Eastern Michigan University, where she mentored many students from 1963 to 1991 and was awarded the title Professor Emeritus.
Several Michigan institutions have held retrospective exhibitions of Susanne’s work including Pewabic Pottery (2018), the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College (2019), and the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum (2020). These three exhibitions are titled “Transfigurement: The Changing Landscape within the Vessel,” “Transfigurment II,” and “Transfigurement III,” respectively.
Learn more:
creative:impact – Susanne Stephenson: 70+ years working in clay – WEMU
