Stones, Wires, and Pearls, Oh My! Jewelry with a Personal Touch Bridget Keefe, USC TODAY Intern
As an integral part of both the art community and School District of Upper St. Clair, Susan Watts is an inspiring example of a collision of passion and dedication, exhibited through her up-and-coming jewelry business, Susa Designs. When asked where the name for her company came from, Susan explained that her own name is derived from “Susa,” which is one of the oldest cities in the world with continual habitation, dating back to 4200 BC. This Iranian city is responsible for a portion of human history that has been discovered through the visuals of jewelry, ceramics, and other ancient artifacts. As a whole, Susa Designs represents a debut line of individuality and creativity that is evident in all aspects of the line. Susan has shared her love and talent for art with the USC School District for 23 years and continues to touch the lives of every student that she encounters as the full-time art teacher at Baker Elementary. After years of guiding her students in their creativity and showing them that they can do things they thought were impossible, Susan has decided to embark on her own creative adventure that allows her to use her natural talents to follow her lifelong desire of creating her own jewelry line and business. From the time she was a little girl making lace with her grandmother and sweat soldering copper pipes with her grandfather, Susan has always been drawn towards the arts. She admits, “I love taking unusual materials and combining them together to create something beautiful.” For example, Susan was able to recover petrified dinosaur bone and turn it into an accent for a set of cuff links she created. As a young high school student enrolled in Mt. Lebanon High School, Susan took every opportunity she could to explore the different forms of art classes, taking a particular liking to jewelry making. The fabricating, casting, forming, and stone setting techniques that she learned as a young girl are skills that she now passes on to generations of USC students looking to explore their own artistic abilities. When she moved on to college level courses, she knew she wanted to be a jeweler, but acknowledged that she had a lot to learn in the process. Looking back on her career path, Susan notes that she is very lucky to have taken the adventure through life that she has as both an art therapist and an art educator, because it has taught her many valuable traits and skills that she can now put towards creating her own jewelry pieces. Susan sees her jewelry company as being a way for her to not only express her creativity, but express a lifetime of learning and growth.
The in-home studio in which Susan designs many of her pieces of jewelry where she uses heavy duty machinery to cut, mold, polish, and solder her creations to perfection
One of the things that make Susa Designs so unique is the fact that Susan’s creations combine her love and passion for family, history, and nature into meaningful pieces of jewelry. In order to do this, Susan juxtaposes metal, gem stones, beads, pearls, leather, and crystals from all different sources using various methods to create pieces of jewelry that combine style, functionality, and meaning into one piece. For example, Susan is in the process of creating a line of jewelry made from sterling silver that will be imprinted with the lace that she made with her grandmother as a child. Susan finds that one of the most intriguing aspects of creating jewelry is designing the clasps for bracelets. The clasp is what makes the bracelet function, and in doing so, requires the synthesis of physics, engineering, and aesthetics to get the design just right. Susan looks to her favorite artist, Henri Matisse, as a source of inspiration for her clasps, often times incorporating some of his shapes into her own jewelry. For Susan, jewelry is more than just an accessory; it is something that becomes a part of your body and a direct reflection of your style and self. For this reason, she strives to always keep her business at a level where she can add customization and a personal touch that will spread to all those who wear her creations. Rebuilding inspirational objects from her family, friends, and nature into modern designs is something that fuels Susan’s creativity and drives her to keep exploring, designing, and learning from the things around her. The combination of both organic and modern aesthetics makes Susan’s jewelry a distinct expression of her growth over the years and her belief that you can have it all; you just need to give yourself a lifetime to do it. This whole process has been a learning experience that has taught Susan that if you work hard and always continue to pursue your passions, you can make your dreams a reality. n
Pictured is a bracelet that Susan designed in honor of Noah, a young boy who died of a rare disease known as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS. Susan used a combination of Noah’s birthstone, continuous shapes, and two strings of pearls to represent not only Noah and his two-and-one-half-year cancer battle, but also his identical twin and the legacy he left behind. Fall 2014
Cuff links that Susan created using petrified dinosaur bone as the central stone and sterling silver as the setting
Contact Susan to see more of her designs or learn more about her business at shw000@hotmail.com. UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
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