Smartist (Susan Myers) Shows Her Stuff

Artist Susan Myers is a friend of mine. She lives in Pensacola, my home town. That is in Florida for those of you who don't know.
One weekend in the summer of 2006 she and Wendy Cresswell, another artist buddy of mine, drove over to Houston to my house per invitation for a mini two day Encaustic workshop. Susan and Wendy have a long history of work in various and combined media. Susan, for instance, besides painting and drawing and mixed media, works or has worked in metals, ceramics, printmaking and probably other media that I don't even know about. For two very full days, the three of us fused, melted, transferred, etched, scored, collaged to our hearts desire. Evenings, we went out to dinner, visited gallery openings and just had fun.
I should mention that Susan bought and brought with her all her equipment and materials. The instruction was free...just for friends. At the end of the two days, Susan and Wendy packed up and went back to Florida ready to set up in their own studios and get to work. Since then, Susan did just that in her small studio, an area just for Encaustic painting.

A glimpse of Susan in her Pensacola Studio.


Initially, in Houston, she worked on a series with landscape elements and continued those when she was home. You will see these when you check out her web site.

Her experience with other media filters in to her Encaustic works, of course, as it does with all artists. Another thing about Susan-she is a collector of things that often find their way into her art. A few months ago she sent me a message with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. Her excitement was over finding these wonderful little porcelain ceramic doll parts on Ebay and how she had secured the bid. You can see how she put them to good use! Below are just a few of her newest pieces that also reveal her working relationship with the other media mentioned above.


I enjoy these new pieces by Susan and I appreciate the fact that she is working here with wax. What interests me more is what these images reveal.
Susan took charge of the medium and worked it to her advantage, getting it to speak her language, and talk her talk........ "these images are reflections that blend the “real” experience with the memory of that experience." Her own personal experiences feed her content. She speaks of dysfunction and of survival. For her "object is memory." The object, in her hands, becomes a talisman of sorts that transports one to a past moment, another time. One forgets the medium and departs on one's "own personal journey." (Quotations identify remarks made by Susan.)