Glass slippers? No, no–Glass Sue!

September 12, 2008 on 7:33 pm | In Uncategorized |

Hey folks–Happy Friday!

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s written me so far–I LOVE that there’s
already conversation going on! If you’re reading this blog for the first time, I’d love to hear from anyone and everyone a) about their Origin (in the tradition of superheroes, everyone has a story[see my first entry way below]), and b) just write if you feel like writing. I’ll take topic suggestions, questions, or whatever comments you like. I’m easily reached at knapolitano@wizardent.com, and if I haven’t gotten back to ya yet–I’m coming!

Now, moving on, I’d like to introduce a new, recurring feature of my blog:

The Ivy League Spotlight!

From time to time I’ll be bringing you interviews with various celebs, artists, writers, and folks who are just simply remarkable and deserve a li’l pat on the back.

And today, I’m starting with that last one…

Meet Suzanne Rosema. I did at this year’s Wizard World Chicago, and I learned three things: she’s nice as peaches, her husband Scott is an INCREDIBLE artist, and so is she–but in a very unique way.

Here’s a sample of Suzanne’s work:

That’s right. Picture a vibrant dawn breaking in your bedroom window–making Vader shine like a whole Sith-sun unto himself. Brilliant.

Suzanne runs her own art business, working on a commission basis (CHRISTMAS, people! Now’s the time!), and will render your favorite superhero and sci-fi characters in bold, fiery stained glass. Want a whole chapel of Jedi to worship? This lady can make it happen for realsies.

I’ve always been curious about the work that goes into stained glass (plus, of course, what it’s like to be a woman in that industry), so I invited Suzanne and her fabulous husband to sit down with me and tell her story. If you have time, do check out the whole thing–I think, both explicitly and implicitly–this couple definitely has some interesting things to say about gender dynamics and connecting with people. Plus, don’t forget to scope out her contact info at the end if you’re interested in her art!

ME: So…Why stained glass? When did you get into that particular craft, and what was it like to learn?

SUZANNE:Glass is amazing! It is a medium that is almost alive, changing constantly. Every hour of every day it provides a glow and ambiance to the surrounding environment, reflecting the changes created by the passage of light and offering new moods as it plays with your senses.

I have dabbled in so many creative things, wood carving, marquetry, sculpture, every form of needlework. I guess I was always trying to find my voice. After college, (1974) I had a girlfriend that took a community ed. stained glass class. When I went to visit her for a weekend she showed me what she was doing and said it was great fun. She then proceeded to give me a 2 hour “lesson” and I thought, “This is cool!” I then spent the next year teaching myself the ins and outs of glass (I went through at least a box of Band-Aids, ha ha) and I haven’t stopped working with glass since.

ME: Have you always been a fan of comics and sci-fi?

SUZANNE:Yes, although I always followed sci-fi, there was a time that I drifted away from comics. My Mom used to work at my uncle’s market and she would bring home all these comics with the covers ripped off. Sorry if that makes anyone cringe! But I loved reading them: super hero, Archie’s, westerns, Charleton’s, etc. During high school I drifted away from them. You know the spiel; got to get the grades, decide what to do when you grow up, get the scholarships, choose the right college… It wasn’t until I met my husband Scott that comics came back into my life. He was so passionate for them I couldn’t help but be drawn back under their spell.

ME: What inspired you to start rendering characters in stained glass?

SUZANNE: Actually that was Scott also. I would attend all of these comic conventions with him helping to man his table, and one day he said I should bring my glass. I thought ‘no way’: I hadn’t done any comic characters up to this point, and I couldn’t think of any reason that a guy looking for comics would want ot buy a ‘glass trinket box’ at a comics show. Well, Scott reasoned that there were tons of guys at these shows with wives or girlfriends back home and if they brought them something “pretty” home from the comic show maybe it might be a little easier to come next time. Whether it actually worked, I don’t know, but I was very well received (thanks guys!). Well, the next show we went to I thought, this is a comic show, so let’s do at least something comics. And I’ve been doing comic art ever since.

ME: What’s it like, as one woman, running your own art business?

SUZANNE: It’s terrific. To be able to do something you love and make a living at it is the best. I think that in art there is a much more level playing field between the sexes.

ME: Most of your work is by commission: who was your first commission?
SUZANNE: A gentleman by the name of Micheal Reason. He started out as a fan of Scott’s work and has become a good friend.

ME: What character(s) did he want?

SUZANNE: He commissioned me to do Joe Linsner’s “Dawn” character. He was a big fan and had a particular piece of Joe’s art work in mind. After I finished it, Micheal took it to show Joe. It was great, Joe liked it enough that we have ended up working together. I do a series of boxes for Joe that he offers on his web site.

ME: Were you totally nervous about getting what he wanted right?

SUZANNE: Oh my gosh, yes. I agonized over every choice of glass. The character had on a lacy bustier and trying to get that feeling was ‘yikes.’ Well, as I said, I finished it and everyone loved it.

ME: How long does it generally take you to create a piece?

SUZANNE: Well, it always depends on the complexity and size of a piece of glass. However, that being said, my comic roundels [like Vader above] usually take an average of 20 hours.

ME: Ever finish something and not want to give it up?

SUZANNE: Yeah, I feel that way about a number of pieces I do. But I always get over that because I really do glass so that I can get my artwork out there! I love glass, and when I do something for someone it’s usually because they have an affinity for what they ask for. To be able to be a part of that, and to add to someone’s passion is amazing.

ME: What was the most complicated piece you’ve created to date?

SUZANNE: The hands down answer to that question is a church job I did: Bethel Pentecostal Church. 9 windows, 17 feet tall each, a 3 level, 10 feet tall sculpture and a frontispeice for the pulpit. It took over a year to do.

ME: Is there, in your experience, a difference in the way men and women handle the art of stained glass work?

SUZANNE: From my experience, it seems men are more concerned about the mechanical side of putting glass together. I think women work in a more organic way; their feelings and aesthetics play a much more important role. Technically something may not work but we’ll make it work because it’s “right”. Does it feel right? Can I make this happen or that? And the most effective answer doesn’t always come from an exact measurement.

***
AND NOW (it’s ME again!)…Let’s get Josephine’s Napoleon in here! Ladies and gentlemen, Suzanne’s husband, Scott!

ME: Scott, You are an excellent artist. Tell us about some of the work you’ve done.

SCOTT: Thank you for the compliment. Well, this is truly a long story made short, so, in a nutshell, some of the properties I’ve worked on and the companies I’ve worked for: X-Men, Spider-man, Batman, Scooby-Doo, Space Ghost, JLA, Dexter’s Lab, Prince Of Egypt, Aladdin, Jonny Quest, Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, TSR, Warner Bros., Marvel, DC, Valiant, Disney, Dreamworks, Battletech, WhiteWolf, FASA, Fleer, Archie, Valiant, and the list goes on.

ME: When did Suzanne first “reveal” her talent to you?

SCOTT: We were still dating and one day I went to her house and downstairs to visit her and she was soldering some glass together.
“I thought you did woodworking?” I asked.
“Oh, I do. But I do this, too.” she said matter-of-factly. That was not only when I found out she did stained glass, but also when I became aware of how multi-faceted and gifted she was with her talents. It’s remarkable to see her tackle a new creation.

ME: Do you play any role in her creative or sales process?

SCOTT: I’m proud to have added an extra dimension of draftsmanship to her glass patterns and be a source of drawing knowledge for her. That being said, she’s terribly modest in her assessment of those skills in herself. She’s an incredibly gifted designer with pencil and paper. In the proper venues, I help her flesh out designs and tighten up the working patterns. And I’m the “accurate detail” guy between us for the comic book characters, especially the superheroes.
I also pride myself at being her best salesman. You give me five minutes and I’ll have your entire house planned out with her glass with a five year designing, building and installation plan!

ME: How do you guys support each other in your efforts?
SCOTT: Again, her modesty doesn’t let her see this, but I’m always bouncing ideas for my art off of her and take great inspiration from her veiwpoints and opinions. And she credits me, overly so, for supporting her glass with my drawing skills. Overall though, we do create a very exciting creative give-and-take dynamic with each other’s work.

***

AND LASTLY…a couple of questions for them both:

ME: Do you both ever experience any feelings of competition? How, as a couple, do you work through it?

SCOTT: There’s never been a feeling of competition between us from my view. I’m truly in awe of her skill and talent and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it with her. The closest I’ve come to what I believe you’re asking about is when I see her work garner more attention at comic shows than mine does. And then it’s really a humorous aside where I’ll take a good natured “You’ve learned much, young one, but you are not a Jedi yet!” response to her accolades. It’s really quite a bit of fun. As with everything we do, we gather more energy from it than we do conflict.

SUZANNE: No, we have never competed. Scott is such a fantastic artist and I have always felt lucky to have had his insight, his help, and his enthusiasm for what I do.

ME: How, if at all, do you think men and women think about art and/or comics differently?

SCOTT: Men (and women) tend to stick fairly closely to what is their historical roles in nature when it comes to art/comics. Men graviate to the elements that support the hierarchy of conquest, authority of power, social or community order, hunting skills or the more crude form of it in competitive fighting and symbols of achievement. Women embrace the more complex elements of self exploration, balanced life experience, accumlation of knowledge, growth and nurturing of social evolutions and protective/proactive actions. There’s never totally clear cut lines that neither ever crosses, there’s plenty of cross-over of all elements but I think those are pretty consistent.

SUZANNE: Story content is a more important element to women. The artwork has to have a certain quality, a certain flow to it. And it has to really support the story and be much more than eye candy. Characterization is also very essential; no amount of beautiful art can replace the lack of engaging characters or story line. I think the very best comics are incredibly well balanced, with the art and the story, together, being absolutely and equally meshed. Now guys care about these things too, but seem more tolerant of an imbalance if it occurs. Plus they tend to look for and celebrate a more intense level or presense of the “Yeah!” factor.

***
Alright kids, that’s about it for this week. Special thanks to Suzanne and Scott for giving up their time to have this conversation with me!

If you’d like to contact Suzanne and possibly purchase some of her work here’s her contact info:
Suzanne Rozema
TEMSTUDIO@AOL.COM
231-799-0200
www.catskillcomics.com