About

Thanks for visiting my blog! I was born and raised in Richmond, British Columbia, by Polish immigrant parents of farming stock.  I love animals and was fascinated by nature from a young age.  This prompted me to study biology, and in 1994 I earned a BSc from McGill in behavioural ecology and in 2002 I completed my MSc in conservation biology at UBC.  But after working a variety of contracts and jobs in my field I realized I'd much rather sculpt animals than write reports about them, so I began to make life changes that would allow me to devote much more time to art. This included a move to Saskatchewan in 2005 where I studied ceramics at the University of Regina from 2006 - 2008, before moving to Halifax.

As of spring 2012 I now live in a country home in Lunenburg County along with my husband, our pets and assorted wildlife. 

Artist Statement:  Process is as important, if not more so, to me than the end product.  Sculpture is a way in which I force myself to be completely present and connected.  I love the opportunity to create something out of nothing and watch forms arise as energy is trapped into matter, and lately have come to think of my sculptures as batteries.  My animal creations are often anthropomorphic and intentionally silly. I also enjoy the challenge of making functional pottery that also serves as art.  So much of what we purchase these days comes from foreign factories and big box stores, that I try to compete with that by providing products in a variety of price ranges.  Each of my pieces is a one of a kind creation since, while I do work in series, I do not use molds, stamps or stencils of any kind.


Places to find my art:

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Shop, downtown Halifax, NS
The Dart Gallery, downtown Dartmouth, NS 
Jenny Jib, Lunenburg, NS 
Made in the Martimes Artisan Boutique, Halifax, NS
Nest, Mabou, Cape Breton's Cabot Trail, NS

For an index to posts with current photos of my pieces please check out the available art page on this blog


Videos:

Pulp Creatures on Vimeo

How to get in touch:

(best) email: paczek.susan@gmail.com
twitter: @susanpaczekart 
Facebook page which isn't checked very often: SusanPaczekArt

Three giant `drag queen`puppets I built in 2010 for the Halifax Pride parade; puppets have bamboo and bike tire backpacks, with masks made from papier macheing over clay molds