Susan L. Williams - Artist 

In the studio...

Self Portrait

(also cover of my personal memoir:

Shades of Grief)

On stage as Amanda in

The Glass Menagerie                                          

       When I was a little girl Grimm’s Fairy Tales,  Disney movies,  Alice in Wonderland and Wind in the Willows charged an early predilection for the anthropomorphizing of  the objects around me.   Everything had a story and an inner life.  Everything had a soul.

       A bit later I received a book featuring costumes from around the world and I began to study them in earnest and draw my favorites.  This early exploration triggered a love of exotic and highly detailed apparel.  

       In my early twenties I began an  extensive foray into theatre.  I acted in and directed many dramas, comedies, musicals and staged radio dramas.   Designing costumes, and sets were part every show I directed and a huge part of what I loved about the stage.   For me, the play was like a blank canvas on which I could turn my vision into a reality.  As a director, the narrative, the plot, atmosphere, in other words, the costumes, sets, and  lighting, were an artistic challenge that I loved to meet.  Stage direction and character development were equally compelling.  The experience opened me to a world of metaphor and archetypes that continue to inform my work. Theater can be a huge leap down the “rabbit hole," and I thrived in it.

       I believe all of these influences provided the genesis of my art which is as much about  narrative as it is about subject.   For me, every sculpture has a history waiting to be discovered.  Each character embodies their own story through costuming, gesture, and attitude.

       Art, directly and indirectly is a part of all of our lives.  Recognizing the turning points, the moments of inspiration is part of the amazing journey of life.

​

​

 Membership :

• San Juan Island Artists Registry

• Founding member of The San Juan Island's Art Commission 2015-2019

• San Juan Community Theater - Board of Directors

• San Juan Island's Artists Studio  Tour 

Awards and recognition:

Anacortes Annual Art at the Port Juried Fine Art Exhibit    

• Bill Mitchell Memorial Award

• Art in the Schools Purchase Award

•  People's Choice Award 

San Juan Island Art Museum Artist Registry Show

•  People's Choice Award

Art Doll Magazine 

•  Article & photos — “A Journey With Rabbits” 

Showings - Exhibits 

• San Juan Island Museum of Art Annual Artist Registry Show 2017- 

• Art at the Port Juried Fine Art Exhibit

• San Juan Island's Studio Tour and gallery show  2010-2019

• Waterworks Gallery, Friday Harbor, WA - Holiday Show 2011

Education - Background

• Artistic Director of the San Juan Community Theater - 2012-2015

• Middle School Art Teacher 

• University of Puget Sound - BA Art Education & Art History 

• Honolulu Academy of Arts - Painting Studies