A smart, versatile and extremely talented artist, Susan is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute. She has pursued graduate studies at Rhode Island School. Her work is held in numerous private and corporate collections, the latter of which include Sprint, Hallmark and H&R Block.
About this project... in her own words:
"There is something reminiscent of playing with dolls involved in the making of this piece. I was constantly placing the banana leaf doll in front of the thorn house, on the side of the house, next to the house, playing around with size and scale, standing back and looking, and looking again; playing around with ways in which different forms fit together, burning a hole in the thorn, securing it and moving on to the next.
The main thing I think about when making this work, is that I can’t think of anything else. It is an absorbing, meditative process that pushes all other thoughts from my mind. I draw a parallel with the children at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. I suspect that they find a similar quiet absorption in making the banana leaf dolls. The focus on the form, on the twisting of the leaf, no doubt consumes them for the period of time that they are creating their dolls.
The thought that kept wandering through my mind as the work was nearing completion was the sense of slowness in life. How it takes a long, quiet time to make change, to cause an effect to happen.
It reminds me of the kind of slow craft inherent in working with the children at St. Mary Kevin. There are many ways for a child to grow, but with careful consideration, time, love and attention, lots of trial and error, and a healthy dose of play, these young children are growing into strong adults who will find their place in the world."
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