Lazy Suzanne

Lazy Suzanne is a new, in-progress series of multimedia work based on my experiences as a an art professor, department chair, program director, and assistant dean. The front-sides of the wearable paintings depict a panorama of my garden–my sanctuary for calm amidst my many responsibilities. The back-sides of the paintings depict visual symbols and metaphors related to my experience serving in each professional role: having a seat at the table, having a lot on my place, having a fire hose of tasks pointed at me, and a nod to Taylor Swift’s Red-era t-shirts with a question commonly asked of me: Do you even make art anymore? I sure do!

The roots of this new work stem from the following:

• I wear many hats: educator, administrator, leader, mother, wife, artist, cyclist, gardener, etc.

• My work-life, home-life, and hobby-life constantly shift as I align priorities from each area.

• I am naturally restlessly creative, so wearing many hats both suits and fulfills me.

• I have been very inspired by Monet’s Waterlilies installed at Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, France since I saw the installation in person in 2007.

• I am also inspired by Matisse’s La Danse, with it’s rotating circle of ladies in motion. I often feel like all of those ladies in one.