We recently connected with Susanna Harris and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Susanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I absolutely love being an artist. It feels very natural and in line with my strengths and who I am as a person. It’s important to me to have a lot of variety in what I’m doing from day to day. Yesterday I spent the day creating an installation in Michigan. I got back to Ohio around 4am last night. Today was an admin day sending emails, and working on this interview, tomorrow I’ll be at my “regular” jobs installing artwork at one university and as an adjunct professor teaching a drawing class at another. I am currently gaining some traction in my little corner of the art world which feels amazing after seriously working on my art career for about 6 years. I am now being asked to show my art in different venues which definitely alleviates some pressure on application time and funds. It was often one of the largest admin time consumers and second highest expense just below cost of actual art supplies. Along with these opportunities comes higher stake exhibitions that take more time to plan, and I often have to create a new body of artwork for which takes a lot of brain power and time as well. Even though I’m very busy with everything I’m doing I feel excited about my future as an artist and happy that I’ve invested so much time and energy into following my dreams.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Susanna Harris and I am an interdisciplinary artist creating installations out of paper and light. I have always had a creative, problem solving mind. My mom started a birthday party and art studio for kids when I was around 14 years old and I worked there teaching drawing and painting and hosting the birthday parties and other events until I started grad school in 2019 at 26. My mom always encouraged a lot of creativity and I was always enrolled in art, dance, or music classes throughout my young life. I didn’t take any art classes in high school though and ended up starting college for a photo journalism and media communication degree which I pursued for 4 years only to come to the realization that my heart wasn’t in it. I’ve now gained a more appreciative perspective toward what I learned during my time in journalism and that it taught me a great deal about writing which has allowed me to use the skill successfully for many art opportunities including grant, and exhibition applications. However the photography classes led me to consider a studio art BA and required that I take a drawing class which I loved. The professor insisted that I take his printmaking class and after etching a metal plate, and running it through a hand cranked press with paper to reveal a perfect blind emboss print I was awed beyond anything I had ever experienced. This was it! This was what I was supposed to be doing. I received the post bach artist in residence opportunity at my undergrad after graduating enabling me to create a more extensive portfolio of printmaking work to apply to grad schools with. I graduated with my MFA in 2021 and have most recently been creating large installation work with print media for exhibitions at universities, museums, events, and art spaces.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The summer before grad school I learned my mom had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastasized breast cancer. I still decided to continue on my path for grad school knowing it would be a lot of driving the 2 hours back and fourth and that it would be difficult in a way I didn’t want. I started in the fall of 2019 and in March 2020 Covid-19 made it to the US shuttering universities across the country including the one I was attending. I remember looking out of the top floor print studio windows at students running back and fourth to their cars with materials, securing large paintings to the roofs of cars, and dropping freshly made clay objects onto the ground and still throwing the mess into their trunks. I opened my flat file drawer and pulled out my stack of monoprints that had been laser cut, and walked out of the studio. I was happy to be able to go back home for a little while, and remember looking at the building wondering when I would be back. Classes continued online for me, but less than a month later my partner’s dad died in a car accident. I started staying with him to support him and created multiple installations in that house while I was there. I would go to my family’s everyday and would wear a mask because I was so scared I would accidentally give my mom covid who was undergoing treatments. As time passed schools started doing hybrid classes so I started going back to campus more, but still allowed me to be home often. My mom was able to come to see my thesis exhibition which I’m so thankful for because by the time I had my graduation the cancer had made its way to her brain causing a lot of confusion for her. She passed away September 10th, 2021 and her dad, my grandfather who we were very close with passed away September 27th. I continue to create art and work hard on my art career because I know the people I’ve lost cared so deeply about me and my happiness.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I use my art as a way to process the loss I’ve experienced in my life, as well as a way to bring awareness to the climate crisis. I’m visually and conceptually inspired by coral bleaching because it is such a beautifully haunting phenomenon and it demonstrates the amazing resilience of nature. Coral turn white when they are in distress, but many people don’t know they also use a mechanism to turn bright neon colors in a last ditch effort to attract needed wildlife back to the ecosystem. Using these colors, and organic shapes I create environments that are visually surprising and create a sense of awe for the viewer. Using traditionally beautiful imagery helps draw people into the artwork and invokes a curiosity. My goal is to have people think about our world as a shared global community that is interconnected. The things that are done here have an effect across the world and with that information the viewer has the knowledge and desire to make a positive lasting change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.susannaharris.com/
• Instagram: @SusannaHarrisCreates https://www.instagram.com/susannaharriscreates/
• Facebook: @SusannaHarrisCreates https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=susanna%20harris%20creates

Image Credits
Terry Gilliam Photography