Local artist breathes new life into old scraps

Originally published in Splash Magazine, July 2012

    Gulf Breeze artist Susan Mayer’s work has struck a chord with many area art enthusiasts.  Specializing in sculptures made of discarded glass, metal, and wood, she finds that people are intrigued by how the parts contribute to a finished piece.  

    “When they see a part they recognize, you can see the gears in their heads start turning,” she says.  It’s easy to see why--seeing her huge collection of as-yet unused materials, one can’t help being fascinated to see what will eventually become of, for example, an antique roller skate.  Even rusty sections of wire fencing elicit her excitement -- “What’s not to love about those?”  

        Mayer’s background may seem unlikely for a successful artist.  Rather than focusing on the humanities in school, she says, “I was really good at math and science.”  She made a 30 year career as a medical transcriptionist, a job requiring extensive work with data and technology.  

    “I didn’t like watching TV, since looking at a TV was too much like looking at a computer screen,” so she began using her free time to experiment with art as a hobby.  Now, she does art full time, but her work sells so quickly that she has a hard time meeting demand.  “I can’t make this stuff fast enough.”  

    One of Mayer’s favorite sources for materials is The Shard Yard, a sort of boutique salvage lot in Pensacola hosting a variety of discarded materials, some dating back to the 19th century.    She also gets materials from a local scrap yard, and from fellow artists working in the same medium.  By using a mix of locally-sourced elements, Mayer’s work visibly links art and archaeology.  Her uses for the scraps she collects are unexpected yet seem obvious in the final product.  As she puts it, “You’d be surprised how much thought goes into not over-thinking it.”  Part of her success lies in her ability to make connections that most would overlook, but that Gulf Coast residents find relatable: she says that locals are quite familiar with scrap from their experiences with hurricanes, which too often create overwhelming amounts of junk to be dealt with.  By using similar materials--old furniture, broken glass, rusty hardware--she makes refuse functional again, which can be appealing to people who have seen their own functional items become refuse.  

    Mayer has developed a good reputation for her works that reflect coastal imagery, especially marine life, but the full range of her work depicts an impressive variety of themes.  Her shadowbox designs stand out in particular, one of which took second place at a recent art show in Foley, AL.  She likes to balance pieces that she can repeat several times for sale at markets and festivals, and one-off pieces that allow her to explore different subjects.  The latter take longer to assemble, since she has to wait until she can find the right fragments to finish them.  She typically has several things in progress at a time--completion depends on when the right materials come along. 

    At art shows, Mayer says she is frequently asked “Who’s your guy?” or “So your husband does this?”  She humorously brushes off such implications that someone else, specifically a man, created her work.  She says the questions generally stem from the apparent use of heavy-duty machinery in the art’s construction.  She points out a cordless drill (“I burned out two others”) and her table saw at one point during this interview-- “Because women obviously can’t use power tools,” she says with a grin. Some of her works incorporate discarded tools, which she says is partly inspired by these interactions.  “Women ask their husbands what kind of tool that is, and then they’re talking about the art and they end up taking it home.”

    The evolution of her style is influenced by practicality and patrons’ tastes.  She designs her “window wonders” (wooden frames that suspend unique bits of glass and metal on strings) to be free-standing in response to patrons’ concerns about finding wall space to hang them.  As for future plans, she says, “fabric has always been a love of mine,” and some of her work in progress includes cloth elements.  

    “I’m trying to get away from fragile things,” partially because she likes people to be able to touch the art-- “I want my stuff to be bulletproof.”  She does admit, though, that some experiments with different materials, specifically an armadillo sculpture based around a catalytic converter, teach her what not to continue working with.  

    “Automotive steel--not my favorite.”  

    Though her style is continuously evolving, she likes to keep it grounded in what people are interested in seeing.

    “I’m happy with keeping it accessible for people and still changing it up.”

    Mayer and her work can be seen at Palafox Market every other Saturday (upcoming: June 30, July 14, and July 28), as well as Art Night on the Bayfront at Jaco’s on July 25.  She will also have entries in the Pensacola Beach Art & Wine Show and the Navarre Fall Arts Festival, both in October.