Susan Kelly, People's Choice

Susan Kelly

Susan Kelly, winner of the 2008 SASS~e People's Choice Award, has learned a thing or two over her lifetime as a successful visual artist. Susan's success is a result of much more than the development of skill and technique. Success for Susan has been a journey of living in balance and of keeping several elements of imagination alive that has evolved into a way of life. Inner qualities such as believing in herself, perseverance, finding personal satisfaction with the work, and tending the fire of inspiration are held in delicate balance with finding a supportive working environment. Susan offered up some gems of wisdom for aspiring artists over a pleasant afternoon chat at the Cowichan library.

There are many essential ingredients needed to grow an artist, and two that Susan sees as critical are handeye coordination, and imagination. The visual arts are communicated by hand-eye coordination. Developing hand-eye coordination through drawing skills is so important, even artists who have developed foot-to-eye or mouth-to-eye due to disability require physical coordination in the expression of thought, feeling, or spiritual insight.

The best approach is to make art play, to spend time doodling, to let it be fun, to let it be associated with games. While pursuing a B.F.A. with Distinction from the University of Calgary, one of the assignments Susan and her fellow students had was to develop a board game so they could see art as play and develop their imaginations.

To develop imagination, Susan suggests keeping a written, informal diary and write about what you are attracted to: colours, ideas, feelings, textures, shape, and patterns. "Developing verbal skills around your inspiration, around your imagination gives you another connection to what it is that you are experiencing and able to draw upon. To play with words and language, being able to connect your ideas, being able to verbalize and discuss your ideas, having a journal to refer back to shows where you have gone and where you are going, and allows you to draw upon what you have on record. It helps to draw you and your ideas out. To be able to have a dialogue is also part of building an arts community."

Artwork by Susan Kelly Spring Art Show & Sale ~ extravaganza (SASS-e), 2008 People's Choice Award

Susan's favourite areas for personal inspiration are found in history and in the natural world. History of art was always a pleasure, through finding an artist or an era that captures the imagination. An artist will always hit a dry spell. If you find yourself at a wall, you have to stimulate yourself. Keeping a visual journal is also helpful. Susan finds her collection of post cards, cut out images posted on the wall, filed in shoe boxes, entirely unrelated images but visually stimulating, are references to inspiration. "What things really speak to me ?... I have luckily been able to narrow it down to a couple of things. One of them I could see as a tapestry weaver was texture, and the other was quality of light. One of the things I have tried to translate in my paintings is an illusion of texture, but with a smooth finish."

Susan received an Honours Diploma from the Ontario College of Art where entry was by competition. She earned a B.A. from the University of Guelph and followed this with her BFA.

Susan Kelly's career began with a 10 year span as a commissioned tapestry weaver.

"When you work for a client, you need to find a way to satisfy yourself and to satisfy your client, because number one you have to make yourself happy otherwise you won't stay in the arts."

Susan found several challenges in her work. Working on a painting for so long, she questions the validity of it. Painstakingly building up layers of glazing in oils is time consuming. You must apply rules to how you work; you have to honour the process. The amount of time it takes to work up an image begs the question, "is it worth it?" You experience the loss of spontaneity due to length of process. The process can really fight you and you are always looking for an easier, quicker way."

Susan's advice: "don’t get dismayed or frustrated, work through it and believe in yourself." And is it worth it? According to the voting public at last year's exhibition, it most certainly is. Attend SASS~e, the Spring Arts Show and Sale extravaganza at the Quw'utsun Cultural and Conference Centre for your chance to select the 2009 People's Choice Award.