Hi, I'm Sue...
Practicing art only came to me later in life. I'd spent my working years with words: writing, editing, analyzing. I developed a love for practical theology, with a Masters in Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary, a few years as a United Methodist pastor, and several stints as a volunteer instructor at the College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda (then Grahamstown) South Africa.
When I retired, I decided to try using a different part of my brain, and take art lessons. I started with watercolor. It was awful. I was awful. But it was also fascinating, and as I studied colors and shapes and practiced painting techniques, I started to see the world differently. I noticed colors and shapes. I could see technique in the artwork of others.
Then I discovered mixed media -- using different kinds of paper, paint, ink, ribbon, texture past, drywall tape, leaves, anything that glue will hold down -- and the angels sang. I love it! It is a joy to play with colors and textures, to make messes and figure out how to fix them, to express things without using words.
One day my mixed media teacher asked our class to write an "Artist's Statement" -- a few words to describe the purpose of our work. My answer came to me whole: "To open hearts and lift spirits." The images and themes in my work are about hope, about the yearnings of our hearts to soar freely and with authenticity, and about the possibilities of connection with all creation. All of this stems from my sense of God, and that God loves ALL of us.
In the pandemic shut-down of 2020, my church (St. Dunstan's Episcopal in Bethesda, MD) began using my work as illustrations during our "Zoom" worship sessions. I began to create images specific to the scriptural passages that were to be studied each week. It has been a lovely discipline, combining faith and art. At some point I decided to make the images available for free download from this website, in the hope that other folks, especially faith communities, might find them useful, as well. In recognition of my work, St. Dunstan's named me their Liturgical Artist-in-Residence in August of 2021.
In 2026, I felt the urge (call?) to pull all my scripture-illustration pieces together, and publish them in book form. Since I knew absolutely nothing about book design or the publishing world, this proved to be another "learning opportunity" and has taken most of the year. "Good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise" (as my Gramma Jane used to say) St. Dunstan's will publish two books of my art & reflections this fall: "Art to Lift Spirits: On Psalms and Stories from the Hebrew Scriptures" and "Art to Lift Spirits: on New Testament Scriptures." Stay tuned!
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