Susan Folwell is known for her use of contemporary and creative imagery on her pottery.  The piece is part of her “pop art” series. and entitled, “Rapids”.  It is a clay tile carved in the shape of a stamp.  It is painted with a canoeer about to be confronted by a bear or the rapids.  Susan said of this piece:

“The Forever Stamp series are the beginning of a series that I want to expand on over the next year.  The “Rapids” is about nature…well, the danger of man in nature.  There is something about the west that we are so close to nature and yet so far removed from natural dangers.  I wanted to capture a moment of interaction between man and nature, bear and water, the uncertainty of what lies ahead”.

The tile is painted with underglazes and watercolor.  Susan’s pottery is meant to not only connect with us visually but also with touch and meant to make us think.  Her innovative style of painting and pottery forms continues to break barriers within the Pueblo pottery world.  The piece is signed on the back, “Susan Folwell”.

“I’ve always been fascinated with Pop art and it has found a voice in my clay art over the past several decades.  I recently started to immerse myself in the Pulp fiction illustrations from the 1940-70 era.  I was surprised how it created an extension from recent series inspired by the Taos Society of Artists “Taos Light” series.  The Taos Artists’ pieces were more “romantic” in mood and lighting. My current Pulp and Pop series has a harder edge, in lighting, form, and design.  There is a new perspective and a personal challenge to entwine Pueblo and Social commentary into the world of pulp art!”