Susan Peterson | Also Known As: Susan Harnly Peterson
Susan Peterson is known for high fire reduction stoneware functional wares made of natural clays with engobe surface decoration and for her experimentation with coper oxide blue and green glazes.
Peterson had a ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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Susan Peterson is known for high fire reduction stoneware functional wares made of natural clays with engobe surface decoration and for her experimentation with coper oxide blue and green glazes.
Peterson had a lifelong relationship with the pueblo potters in New Mexico with special relationships with Lucy Lewis at Acoma Pueblo and Maria Martinez and her family of San Ildefonso Pueblo. In 1965, Peterson?s idea for a Native American ceramic program taught by the potters of San Ildefonso Pueblo and other Native American potters started at the Idyllwild School of Music and Art (ISOMAT). To mark the first year of this program lead by Maria Martinez and her family, a joint exhibition of the works of Peterson and Maria Martinez took place at California Museum of Science and Industry.
Numbered among Peterson?s students are John Mason and David Benge. In addition to teaching, Peterson initiated many innovative programs to support local potters including the Clayworks Studio Workshop (New York City), and the Appalachian Center for Crafts.
An oral history interview with Susan Peterson conducted by Paul J. Smith on March 1, 2004 for the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America can be accessed here.https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-susan-peterson-12242
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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Studio Potter
Established Ceramics Department at Wichita Art Association School, Wichita, Kansas
1952-1955Established Ceramics Department at Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, California
1955-1979Established Ceramics Department at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
1956-1985Established Ceramics Department at Idlyllwild School of Music and Art (ISOMAT) (University of California Summer Campus), San Jacinto Mountains, California
-1994Established Ceramics Department at Hunter College, City University, New York, New York
Other
- Public Collections
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Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
- Bibliography
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Held, Peter. “Remembering Susan Peterson.” Studio Potter 37.
Link, Sarah and Leopold Foulem. Edges: in Thought, in History, in Clay: 4th International Ceramics Symposium. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Ontario Clay and Glass Association, 1987.
Women in Clay: the Ongoing Tradition. Ames, Iowa: Octagon Center for the Arts, 1984
Peterson, Susan. Working With Clay. New York, NY: Prentice Hall, 1998.
_____________. Contemporary Ceramics. New York, NY: Watson-Guptill, 2000.
_____________. Pottery of American Indian Women: The Legacy of Generations. New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 1997.
_____________. The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez. New York, NY: Kodansha USA, 1992.
_____________. Smashing Glazes. Madison, WI: Krause Publications, 2001.
_____________. The Craft and Art of Clay. London, England: Calmann & King LTD, 2000.
Susan Harnly Peterson Ceramic Research Archives are in the Arizona State University Archive
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Susan Peterson, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/susan-peterson
