Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Garry.
Susan, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
As a girl I took various plein air painting classes, worked to teach myself fashion illustration, and redesigned the numerals 0-9, as well as a number of alphabet letters. At college, I majored in Studio Art and spent the next twenty-five years as an art director and graphic designer at various advertising agencies in New England, and, finally, at my own design studio in Portland, Maine. In 2012, I stumbled upon wet felting via Etsy and a felted hat purchase for my daughter. It was a revelation and a turning point. Four years ago, I moved to Western Avenue Lofts and committed to full-time felting.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I make wearables–coats, dresses, jackets, vests–and accessories. I also make vessels and two- and three- dimensional wall hangings. Felt making is a time consuming and often meditative process using essentially sustainable resources: wool, silk, soap, water. The finished product can be thin and light as air or thick and durable and sturdy as a rug. It is the endless potential of felt making that both fascinates and frustrates me. There is a graphic and organic quality to my work as I play with combinations of and relationships between color, shape, and texture. Success for me is creating an object or garment that adheres to my intention, is aesthetically pleasing, and feels whole. Persistence, faith, and discovery are critical.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Everyone works this out in their own way. And there’s a wealth of information online. I am reminded of something John Updike once said. To paraphrase: “It’s a good idea to write a best-selling novel.”
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I work out of my loft at Western Avenue and invite visitors by appointment. I show work at the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell, MA, and at various regional and national craft shows.
Contact Info:
- Address: 160 Western Avenue, Unit #111, Lowell, MA 01851
- Website: www.feltexperience.jimdo.com
- Email: sgarry@gmail.com
- Instagram: @felt_experience
- Facebook: www.facebook.com /Felt Experience
Image Credit:
Claudia Dricot
Daniel Mathieu/Devezon
Wayne Earl Chinnock
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