Susan Breen Silvy has been a professional artist for almost 20 years. A graduate of the University of Central Missouri
with a degree in Public Relations and Graphics, she went on to work as an account executive in the advertising industry.
In the early 1990’s Silvy studied traditional metalsmithing with Genevieve Flynn. Also that decade,
she became interested in glass bead making at a time when the art of contemporary glass bead making was just beginning to
emerge. The self-taught bead artist was published in numerous publications including the magazines Lapidary Journal
and Bead and Button; and several books including 500 Beads, Complete Book of Glass Beadmaking, and was a featured artist
in Formed of Fire, Selections in Contemporary Lampworked Glass. She was the recipient of numerous awards for her glass
work including first place in Lapidary Journal’s Bead Arts Awards in 2003, first place in Bead and Button’s Bead
Dreams 2002 Awards and first place and judges choice in the 2002 and 2001 Gleaming Treasures national exhibition. Her
work can be found in the permanent collection of the Missouri Governors Mansion, the Bead Museum in Washington, D.C.
and the Bead Museum in Glendale, Arizona.
From 2002-2005 Silvy was president of the International
Society of Glass Beadmaking at a time when glass bead makers were striving for recognition of their diminutive art form in
the world of glass art. She conceived and curated “Obsession - A Ten Year Affair with the Bead”, a traveling
exhibition and catalog to commemorate the ISGB’s tenth anniversary.
In March 2006
Silvy was PMC Certified by Barbara Becker Simon launching her into a focused exploration of metal clay and has attained Level
1 of the Masters Clay Registry. Using her knowledge from working with several different media, her current work combines
the soft lines obtained with metal clay along with the crisp lines achieved through sandblasting and construction techniques.
Her metal clay work has appeared in several publications including the 2009 and 2008 PMC Guild Annuals.
