Susanne Stephenson was born in 1935 in Canton, Ohio. She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Stephenson continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, receiving her MFA in 1960. She then went on to teach at the University of Michigan (1960-61) and has been a professor of art at Eastern Michigan University since 1963. Full of bright colors inspired by nature, Susanne’s work exudes vibrant energy. She began exploring wheel-thrown ceramic forms as canvasses ready to be glazed in the fall of 1958. The spontaneity and pliable nature of clay excited Susanne, and she began challenging the viewer with regard to the functionality of her work. Susanne continues to maintain Stephenson Studio with her husband John Stephenson in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2010.