Susan Hanft is creator/owner of Gone To Pot. She studied both ceramic sculpture and printmaking and uses drawings, pattern and typography in her pieces, giving them a distinct graphic quality. In addition to her ceramics, she also shares her enthusiasm for sewing and stitching on her Instagram feed.
She lives in Bastrop with her dog Pearl.
1. Why did you move to the Bastrop area?
After a bad breakup, I decided to leave Houston, where I’d been living for the previous 30 years. I’d loved being in the crowded, vibrant city during that time, but was ready to experience a slower, calmer lifestyle in the country.
I chose Bastrop, in particular, because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my aging mother. My father and sister were already residing in the county, too.
2. What compels you to spend time creating?
I don’t know, but think most people have the creative urge. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t involved in some artistic endeavor. Since childhood, I’ve drawn and sculpted. As a kid, I also studied violin (my playing was awful) and taught myself guitar (equally bad), but dance was my primary interest. When chronic injuries ended that career, visual arts became more of an outlet. I’ve always enjoyed writing, too.
Spending time in the studio now helps me quiet my mind during the ongoing pandemic.
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
I’ve learned how to colorize black and white photos and gained a few rudimentary computer animation skills.
The big lesson has been patience. A while back, I adopted a little feral dog. Pearl was terrified of everything human, so fearful she tried to jump through a closed glass-paned window the day I brought her home.
It’s been impossible to hurry Pearl’s trust in humanity. (It was nearly a year before she wagged her tail at me.) She’s taught me to better accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
Making stoneware teapots while listening to the Global Psychedelia channel on Mixcloud
5. Cake or Pie?
Pie, fruit or pecan, but vegan, please.
Bean & Noodle 