Selma Art Guild to feature artist Susan Youngblood at reception

Susan Keith Youngblood of SKY Pottery in Selma is the Selma Art Guild’s (SAG) artist of the month for April and May. 

A reception for Youngblood will be held this Sunday, April 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the SAG Gallery, located at 508 Selma Ave. 

The reception is free to the public. Light refreshments will be served. And the show will remain up for view through May 31.  

Youngblood served 12 years representing Ward 2 on the Selma City Council and is the former Community Advocate for the Selma Redevelopment Authority. According to Youngblood, she retired from public service and found renewed passion in pottery with purpose. 

Youngblood’s family moved to the Dallas County area in 1966. She graduated from Morgan Academy in 1975, attended Wallace Community College and got married in 1976. 

In 1981 her family moved and settled in the Nashville area, where she began working in the legal field, primarily with crime victims. She continued her education attending classes as she could. 

In 1990 Youngbloodrelocated back to her home in Selma where the district attorney hired her to initiate services for victims. She went on to found SABRA Sanctuary, a comprehensive domestic violence shelter and program; Central Alabama Regional Child Advocacy Center, a program whereby victims of child sexual abuse are served; and a general victim services program established through the district attorney’s office. 

Youngblood used her organizational skills to help the district attorney organize, develop, and implement the 4th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force. She developed and implemented the Community Prosecution Program that focused on harnessing the collective capacities of law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office, and the community to provide relief in the community’s most crime-ridden area.  

Youngblood also initiated the Southern District of Alabama’s Violent Crime Task Force.  Both these programs won national awards two years in a row. One was recognized for the most improved district nationwide (the violent crime task force) and one for the most innovative districts nationwide.    

Upon his appointment and election as district attorney, Ed Greene appointed Youngblood as his executive assistant. And after her retirement in 2008, Susan was elected to the Selma City Council where she served three terms. 

Youngblood is married to B. Lee Youngblood, a retired veterinarian. They enjoy being bossed around by their weenie dogs, Reese, Willow Rose, and Dolly. They are active in their church community, historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Selma, where she is a member of the chancel choir, helps with the children’s choir, is a member of the Daughters of the King, and is in charge of the annual Shrove Tuesday suppers.  

Youngblood said she found a new avocation and “joie de vivre’ in pottery.”  She often donates pieces to agencies and groups for sale or for remembrance during special times to continue supporting her favorite causes.  

She said, “Each piece of SKY Pottery, perfect in its imperfections, is unique… just as each of us.”  

Youngblood said she loves pottery and can be found at Art’s Revive Create Space any day of the week with fellow fulltime potters Susan Hewitt and Bradford Brackin. She said she learned pottery from Jo Taylor and the kiln tender at the time, Lisa Wilson. 

While Youngblood said she plans to one day let up on her obsession, right now, it’s her  
“jam.”  She said, “It makes me happy.”  

Youngblood said her favorite thing is being able to introduce pottery to others. “I love for others to be able to feel the clay and to feel with their hands the feeling that comes from feeling head, heart, handsand clay flowing together.  That’s why everyone’s clay pieces look different.” 

She concluded, “There are some important things to know about pottery: Don’t let anything become too precious. It’s just clay. It’s the art that breaks your heart. It will change your life (in the best way). We share our fellow artists’ successes.” 

The SAG gallery is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. 

The Selma Art Guild was founded in the 1970s to promote and provide opportunities for Selma area artists.