Come meet Jim Davis and Susan Feigenbaum

Jim Davis

James Davis is originally from Westland, Michigan, a tiny suburb outside Detroit. When he graduated from The College of Art & Design in Columbus Ohio in 1991, he moved back to The Motor City and began a career in Advertising at DMB&B as an art director for Pontiac Motors. He worked on the campaign to launch the new design of the Pontiac Firebird in 1992. He eventually worked his way up to the prestigious Cadillac account creating print and television commercials for the Cadillac DeVille and Cadillac Eldorado. After several years of advertising cars, James yearned for more freedom and creativity in his work.

So he relocated to the Twin Cities in 1996 where he was a freelance art director for many agencies and design firms all the while collecting discarded objects and assembling works of art. Highly inspired by artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine and Kurt Schwitters, James began exploring the relationship between nature and human beings in his work.

When his mother died in 2003, James was tasked with cleaning out his childhood home. He suddenly found himself surrounded by mounds of memories and useless knick knacks he had no use for. While most of them ended up at Good Will and Salvation Army, some found their way into his work. The most intriguing find was an old steamer trunk that belonged to his father who died from lung cancer in 1971. In it, he found an array of objects that once belonged to a boy who went off to fight in World War II in 1941. Under the folded American Flag were countless letters, postcards, medals, newspaper clippings, brochures, maps, and assorted war memorabilia. He also found his fathers wallet, glasses, and high school yearbook– pieces of which can be found throughout “Material Witness”.

When James is not creating something for his clients, he can be found adhering found objects to a variety of surfaces and experimenting with acrylic paints and adhesives.

Susan Feigenbaum

Susan Feigenbaum is a ceramic artist and educator in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. 

Her sculpture is shown in exhibitions, galleries, and year-round in the Northrup King Building in the NE Minneapolis Arts District. Susan is a four-time recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Learning Grant. With this funding, she brought clay learning experiences to older adults in senior communities. She was awarded a 2017 Jerome Project Grant for Ceramic Artists and created a new body of work that was exhibited at Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis. In 2019, Susan received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant. With this grant, she created sculpture for an exhibit at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, taught a clay workshop at the Arboretum Learning Center, and presented artist talks about her work.

Growing up in Chicago, Susan first learned about art concepts and skills in classes at the School of the Art Institute. Awarded an academic scholarship to the University of Illinois, she earned a degree in graphic design and headed her own business after moving to the Twin Cities. Initially, she chose to explore clay as an escape from the flatscreen world of graphic design. Now the study and creation of ceramic sculpture is a full-time pursuit. 

Susan is a graduate of MN NICE, an advanced certificate program in ceramics at Northern Clay Center. Her sculpture has been commissioned by individual collectors, the City of Eden Prairie, and has received numerous awards in local and international juried exhibitions.