Although Susan Gordon had a wonderful art teacher at Grissom High School, it was purely by accident that she started making pottery. "The first time I ever touched clay was my sophomore year of college," she remembers. In the fall of 2001, Susan enrolled in wheel-throwing 101 because it was one of the required studio courses for a Graphic Design degree at Auburn. And she fell in love with it.
"Switching from a more promising career path in Graphic Design to pottery/ceramics wasn’t exactly great news for my wonderfully supportive, but absolutely terrified engineer parents," she laughs. Her parents encouraged her to pursue teaching and create work to sell on the side. Then after graduating from Auburn with a B.F.A. in ceramics, Susan went on to get her Master's in Art Education at Montevallo. That's how she ended up in Birmingham. Susan remarks, "I loved my experience at Montevallo, but teaching in the context of public education wasn’t for me."
In 2007, Susan landed a unicorn full time job as a Director of Arts and Education at the Shelby County Arts Council. There, as the only full-time employee, she ran all of the day-to-day operations of their active gallery, robust education program and monthly events. In the afternoons and evenings, she taught their beginning pottery classes for kids and adults.
Working at Shelby County Arts Council and having a growing career on the side was extremely challenging. Susan says, "For years, I worked six or seven days a week, creating my own work on the weekends and selling it at Pepper Place market, or various local and regional art festivals." She continues, "It was a grind but my desire was to be a full-time artist. If working six or seven days a week is what it takes, that’s what I was determined to do."
Susan practices art journaling to find inspiration. "The Artist's Way journaling method has helped me put any idea, whether good or bad, to paper." Although she loves Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, many times those can drown out her own voice. "I find my best, most truly 'me' ideas from just creating - phone/laptop put away, working in the clay or painting, audiobook playing in my AirPods. That’s my flow state."
Through many years of what felt like an uphill battle to thrive as a creative entrepreneur, there was a moment, in 2019, when things seemed to take off. "It felt like I had been strapped to a rocket ship. My team and I were producing as fast as we could, but we could never meet demand." She continues, "I opened my brick and mortar store on November 7, 2019 in downtown Homewood and by early December, during Christmas, we had almost nothing left on our shelves to sell. That was equally thrilling and embarrassing."
Part of Susan Gordon's success was being an early adapter to Instagram. Susan remarks, "I think the success we began seeing was a combination of the timing of Instagram's popularity, tenacity, and hiring well. I really could not have done this on my own." She smiles, "Oh also, my husband, he is the total opposite of me and works in finance. He has been an unpaid, but the most appreciated, unofficial employee of SGP since day one."
Her encouragement to aspiring entrepreneurs, "If you have started your own business or creative outlet, that is a huge step. It takes a 'humble audacity', as one of my favorite authors, Allen Levi, says, 'to put yourself out there.' It took me over 7 years to build up the courage to take the plunge."
Whether you are just starting out or have been in it for years, Susan asserts two main pieces of advice, "Firstly, there is an African proverb that I love and it says:
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
The first thing I did when I started SGP was to hire help. It probably wasn’t the wisest financial decision considering I did not pay myself for the first few years, but I knew what I wanted to build could not be accomplished without help. It can feel daunting to train new help but if you hire well, your load is lightened quickly."
She continues, "Secondly, delegate your weaknesses. Can you do it all yourself? Probably. Can you do it all yourself well? Probably not. What is your genius zone? What area do you feel you give your best work? Focus on that. Delegate the rest." For Susan, her best work is time spent in creative problem solving, developing new products, improving systems, and visioning for the business.
As far as challenges, she says, "I have really stumbled through knowing when to grow and when to run lean. Mistakes and experience have been my best teachers."
Susan loves visiting the Birmingham Museum of Art which has the largest collection of Wedgwood Pottery outside of England. "I visit it frequently. Josiah Wedgwood, Founder of Modern Marketing, is one of my heroes. Josiah was a brilliant businessman and a gifted artist. He proved that one person can simultaneously be intensely creative and have a genius business mind."
Legacy is a word that a lot of artists and business owners think about. Thinking about the legacy of her work, Susan remembers visiting Pompeii a few years ago, "Near the entrance to see the ruins, there is a tall open air building that houses pottery salvaged from the ruins. I was stunned to see how well-preserved it all was, surviving an enormous volcanic eruption and thousands of years of wear and tear. The idea of creating art objects that could be part of my children’s children’s lives…and beyond, gives me a deep sense of satisfaction."
After all these years, it is still the wavy bowl that she loves to make most. "It is trickier than it looks," she remarks. "It takes over a year for any new maker to become proficient in forming the clay in the greenware (raw clay) stage."
When asked about why she loves the South, she says, "One of my favorite things about the South is how much pride we take in creating beauty when hosting in our homes. We go all out, pull out our best pieces, and serve our guests with love." She, herself, loves creating and upholding beloved traditions, "Living in the South has given me so much inspiration. We southerners also love to pass down heirlooms and that has tremendously influenced how I create."
I find my best, most truly 'me' ideas from just creating - phone/laptop put away, working in the clay or painting, audiobook playing in my AirPods. That’s my flow state.
Mistakes and experience have been my best teachers.
HOW TO BUY SUSAN GORDON POTTERY
You can find Susan Gordon Pottery online www.susangordonpottery.com or on instagram @susangordonpottery. Or if you’re in Homewood or Birmingham, you can visit the store at:
Susan Gordon Pottery
1910 28th Ave S, Suite 108
Birmingham, AL 35209
Store Hours
Tuesday - Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm.
SGP also takes orders over the phone call 205.968.1096.