Featured Artist: Susan Saltzman

Susan Saltzman is well known for her distinctive jewelry incorporating beach stones. Much imitated but never duplicated, her work has been featured in a number of books and magazines. Susan sells her work under the name stonz on Etsy.

What is your first memory of making things? Where did you learn to do this?
The first beach jewelry I made was around 1968 when I found a shell with a hole in it on a Cape Cod beach and hung it on a string around my neck. (Didn’t we all do this?!) I have taken many jewelry classes over the years . . . but I kind of just figured out this beach stone thing on my own.

I have been an artist all my life, taking art classes at the incredible Cleveland Museum of Art as a child, and working my way up to a BFA in graphic design/illustration from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design. (Yes, there are a few “Buckeyes” in Michigan.) After that I worked as a designer in the “social expression industry”  until I left to raise amazing identical twin daughters and work on freelance design projects from a home-based business.

What is it that draws you to silver and beach stones?
I have always collected favorite beach stones and beach glass from the shores of Lake Erie near where I live. I am drawn to beaches whenever I travel and fantasize about having a beach house someday. Making and wearing beach stone jewelry allows me to have a little beach with me all the time. I love the way the natural smooth stones feel, and how they marry so perfectly with the silver findings and chains. The beach glass adds a bit of whimsy and color. Every time I make a new SToNZ piece it becomes my new favorite one. I just love to see other people wearing SToNZ. It’s exciting to see how everyone brings their own style to my creations, and somehow it looks different on each person.

I confess I have an obsession with sterling silver. I just keep coming back to it. I love to work with it and I love to wear it. I love the way it looks when oxidized and satin finished for an organic natural look. I have never really been big on bling and sparkle. It’s just not my style. I guess I am kind of an earthy artsy fartsy girl. I do believe in shaving and deodorant, though. There is only so far I am willing to go with this.

Describe your workspace.
Welcome to SmARTwork Studio, Inc, my home-based graphic design business, where I also create SToNZ jewelry. And sew. And draw. And whatever else comes up.

Because I go in so many creative directions, you cannot tell by looking at this room exactly what I am working on at any given time. (I think I must have AADD : Art Attention Deficit Disorder)

There is my Mac for graphic design, photography, and internet projects. There is an ancient wooden drawing/light table from my days at American Greetings as an illustrator. A sewing table that doubles as my jewelry bench. Cups full of markers, brushes, prismacolor pencils, pliers and other tools . . .

My 11-year-old terrier is under the computer table at my feet. A wall of shelving holds a 20+ year accumulation of reference books and periodicals.

Filing cabinets are filled with my “morgue” — the reference files illustrators collect, which basically became obsolete after the glorious invention of Google images. Wire drawer racks are filled with paints, adhesives, tapes, greeting card samples, art fair paraphernalia, camera equipment, polymer clay, and who knows what else.

Maybe you’d better not step in here. It’s chaos, really.  Far too embarassing to show you a photo.

What is your favorite task related to your work? Your least favorite?
Well, though I love to design and make SToNZ jewelry, you know that the best part is walking the beach collecting the perfect beach pebbles and beach glass bits. The least enjoyable part would have to be the bookkeeping/tax filing. Hey, I am ART GIRL!
NOT BUSINESS GIRL. Just ask my husband. Uh, maybe you’d better not.

Tell us something about you that we might be surprised to hear.
I like Cleveland. (Except in February. And part of March.)

What inspires you? 
People with a sense of humor. A beautiful day. A long walk on the beach. Having my breath taken away by the beauty of this good earth. The changing of the seasons, which always brings surprises in our part of the country. Knowing that these bits of nature I gather were here long before I existed and will be here long after I am gone.

Words to live by?
(Inspired by a dear friend who recently lost his battle with cancer . . .)
Take the time to share a good joke. Laughter is the best medicine.
Life is short. Eat dessert first.

Where can we find your work?
A fabulous eclectic home furnishings shop called Three.home on Main Street in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, carries a selection of SToNZ pieces. Other than that, the only place to find SToNZ right now is on Etsy. I am looking into other venues but for the time being, I am happy with these!