Meet Susanne Hale, AMCAW Volunteer
Did you know that AMCAW is managed and run by a large team of volunteers? All metal clay artists, they share their professional skills and energy to help AMCAW create and bring you more programs, tutorials, and fun. We thought you’d enjoy meeting some of these fabulous volunteers – and perhaps become a volunteer yourself!
Metal Clay Beginnings
Susanne Hale’s journey with metal clay began when she took a class at Bead Fest Philadelphia in 2012. Instructors Ed and Martha Biggar opened her eyes to this amazing material. Â
Although she was busy working and raising three kids, Susanne continued jewelry-making over the years, collecting artisan-made lampwork beads and nurturing her passion quietly. In 2017, she began taking silversmithing classes, and by 2018 she was working with metal clay regularly again—particularly PMC and CopprClay. With metal and metal clay, Susanne initially focused on making components to complement her large lampwork bead collection but soon began creating stand-alone pieces as well.
Susanne’s metal clay commitment deepened in 2020 when she went to Sawtooth School for Visual Art to take Carrie Story’s certification course in PMC. She stayed the weekend to achieve the instructor certification, but literally the next week, Covid hit. While teaching was put off, Susanne kept creating and slowly began selling her work at local events post-Covid.Â
Actively Learning
Susanne has taken a number of metal clay and metalsmithing classes over the years and digests metal clay Facebook content and books regularly. She’s also a devoted fan of all the AMCAW learning resources. Susanne is looking forward to attending her second SINTER next year.
Today, Susanne continues to push the boundaries of her work. She loves creating her own textures and learning how to incorporate metal clay with traditional silversmithing. She wants to make more complex pieces and add gemstones. Her journey as an artist reflects a deep love of experimentation—creating something new and uniquely her own from combining techniques and materials.
A Love for the Outdoors
Outside the studio, Susanne’s sense of adventure runs deep—especially when water is involved. Susanne grew up sailing and crabbing at her grandparents’ place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and began enjoying camping and whitewater rafting in high school. Those early experiences became lifelong passions: Susanne and her husband completed their second three-week rafting trip down the Grand Canyon in 2023, and they both enjoy whitewater adventures in their two-person raft. They plan to sail their Catalina 36 down to Florida in November. Water and the outdoors heavily influence Susanne’s design aesthetic.
AMCAW Volunteer
Susanne joined AMCAW in 2020. She answered a volunteer call from Anca Crahmaliuc in March 2025 and stepped forward to help with the marketing team. She wanted to volunteer because she thinks more people should know about metal clay. Susanne is very impressed by the organization behind AMCAW. Basecamp is a great resource, and the work is pretty straightforward, so it’s been easy for her to become a contributor relatively quickly. Susanne enjoys marketing team leads AJ Newell and Susan Lokaj, and the whole team has a good camaraderie.
About Susanne
Susanne and her family have lived in Leesburg, Virginia, in Northern Virginia for 27 years. A career business-to-business marketing professional, she balances a busy life with her husband and a lively pup. Her kids and two grandkids live in Colorado, which they visit often.Â
Find Susanne
Instagram @susannehaledesigns
If you are interested in becoming an AMCAW Volunteer, we’d love to speak with you. Please visit our volunteer page