I always wanted to
paint.
It's a
bit
embarrassing
to
admit,
but
it
started
with
painting
by
numbers when I was
nine
years old (a
really long
time
ago!). I
found a certain
satisfaction
in
the
little
pots
of oil
paint
with
their
pungence,
the
exotic
names
of
the
colours,
the
methodical
cleaning and
care
of
brushes
and
at the end a
'proper
picture'
to show
Mum
and
Dad.
At
eleven I
went
as a boarder to
a French
convent
school in Cyprus.
I
gravitated to art,
especially
as it
gave me an
excuse to
escape
Saturday
morning
chores.
For
two
years, every Saturday
morning,
I
learned the reverse-
thinking
needed to
paint on
glass. Again
finishing
up
with proper
pictures to
show
the
parents
with
pride.
Painting on
glass
gave
me a skill
that stood me
in good stead over
the
years, especially in my career in
project management, crazy as it may sound, the
art
of
thinking
things through in
reverse,
from
finished
product to the
beginning
(instead
of
the
other way
around),
turned
out
to
be invaluable.
It
was
not
until
I
was
in
my mid
twenties
that
I
was
able
to
fulfil a
dream and
go
to
art
school. By
this time
I was
married with two small
children. It
was
the
early 70s.
I
completed
the two
year
foundation
course at
Nuneaton
School
of
Art in Warwickshire,
England.
Here I
was
introduced
to
charcoal and conte, nude
models, clay - oh wondrous
clay, negative
space,
silversmithing, the
darkroom and the extensive
realms of photography,
ban-the-bomb sweaters, how to
snooze quietly
through droning
history
of
art
slide
shows,
and
look
sullen,
disinterested and
intellectual while drinking
milky coffee from a
chipped
yellow
mug with
'Pete
68'
in
red
written
on
it
and
the
sticky
evidence it
had
been
used for
soaking
paintbrushes (pause
for deep breath!).
I
left
with a GCE A level
art,
a dislike of
duffel
coats,
a
portfolio
consisting
mainly
of
linocuts
and
abstract
photography, and
the
knowledge that
visual
expression
was a
personal
thing.
These
were two years
I
have
never
regretted.
From
there
I
pursued
a
lengthy
and
successful
career
in
business. In
the late
1980s
I discovered Nova
Scotia
and
my
life took
an unexpected
turn.
Inspired
by
Lunenburg County's
shore
line, I
painted
my first
painting
for
years in August 1989. I
had
no
brushes
but used a
kitchen
knife
and
a
limited
palet. Called
'Water's Edge' (see
below),
it
was
short
listed for
the Winsor
and
Newton calendar
competition
and was
shipped to
New
Jersey
for
the
final
judging.
It
didn't
quite
make
it into
the
final
12 - but
I did
get a
gold
watch as
a
runner up. And
the
confidence
to do
more.
Since
then,
equipping a
dark
room,
setting
up
with a
potter's
wheel and kilns,
painting
on glass
(yes, I
still do
it!),
and drawing,
drawing
drawing
-
has filled the past
twenty
years. Arne and I
opened
Glorious
Mud
Studio in Queens
County,
on
Nova
Scotia's
south
shore,
in
1996.
Since
then we
have
met
great
people
from around the
globe. Some
have
been
kind
enough to admire my
work
and
actually
part
with
their
hard
earned
cash
to
take pieces
away with
them.
For that I
will
always be
grateful.
But in
January
2007 I
signed
up
for
a
refresher
course in
jewellery
making
at a
local bead
store. And in
conversation
with
the
fabulous
instructor heard all
about precious metal
clay. I was
feeling
uninspired about
my
work
and here
was a
possible
solution.
Precious
metal
clay
is
worked (on a
very
much
smaller
scale)
in
the same
way as traditional
clay, but
upon kiln firing
the clay
binder burns
away
fusing the metal
particles, in
this case
silver. Once
firing is
complete
the
pieces are
burnished
and
polished,
they
can
also
be
enamelled
and
worked
on
in the
traditional
silversmithing
way. Each
piece
is
hand-formed
and
unique.
Of course
I
could do
none of
this
without
the support of
Arne. He
frames, cuts
mats, and
fires and repairs
kilns (and
ukuleles).
He also
pots
when
the
mood
takes
him, with
extraordinary
results.
We live a
simple but
idyllic
life
just
a few
minutes
from
a deserted
beach.
Our
gardens and
the
surrounding
natural
beauty
of
the area never
cease to
be a source
of
inspiration and
our
dogs
(see
the
slide
show
below)
keep
us
busy
and
smiling.
As
you
will
see
from
another
page
of
this
site
we
(the royal we!)
also
provide
property
care
services
to
help
pay
the
bills.
When
not
busy
I
play
the
ukulele, have
some
wonderful
friends, and
write
- but
that's a
whole n'other
story
and if
you stop by
for a
visit I
may
be
persuaded to spill
some
of
those
beans.
Thanks
for
reading.
Susan Bunten
Borgersen,
February
2009
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Art Student
N. Warwickshire c.
1972
Coiled and turned large
stoneware vessel with iron
oxides
'A' level exam piece c.
1972
'Still in the Forest'
photography
1972
negative
'Leaping Fish -
after
William
Morris
Mirror
painting 2006