Check Out Susanna Cromwell’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susanna Cromwell.

Hi Susanna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always felt like an artist inside but after having the first of my four babies, I stopped making art believing that I would have no time until my children grow up. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my fourth that my photographer friend Aundrea Marschoun with Undressed Moments asked me to style photoshoot in 2017. I objected saying that I didn’t feel creative anymore and she told me that was exactly why she asked… because it was time to change that. The photoshoot required me to embroider a wedding dress, make floral arrangements, collect props, find models and locations and more… Allowing my brain to turn on its creativity sparked a part of me that I had not known in a while and I realized that I’m going to either be an artist that makes art, or an artist that makes excuses… I never stopped making art from that day on. Every night I told myself I had to make art for at least 15 minutes… three years later – I am being able to find success as a professional artist, and turns out I didn’t need to wait for my kids to grow up to start.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, working towards dreams with four kids in the single digits requires flexibility. I would work during naps and through the night. I would sell art with a baby strapped to me and walk in to find all my weeks work colored on multiple times. But having a chance be fully be me as a creative while being me as a mom to littles gave me a new and needed energy/ drive.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I live in Maui, and my work is mostly inspired by the island’s flora, fauna, and ocean life. I specialize in printmaking while incorporating painting and embroidery into my art. My style is a blend of vintage botanical drawings, Japanese block prints, and Aloha wear. Lately, most of my work focuses on species that are native and endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in hopes that they will bring people to love and therefore care for their fragile existence. I am most proud of a piece when it is able to balance beauty and science… When I am able to transfer the healing that comes from creation’s beauty into the artwork while also teaching the viewer something about the subject. I believe what sets me apart from others is my non-conventional printmaking techniques… it blends Japanese and Indian block printing with quilting and painting. My frames that are made by my husband are also a part of my artwork because the woods used and presentation are often chosen early on in the process in order to make sure the textures and pallet of all the materials are cohesive.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the Aloha of the people and the natural beauty of the land. I dislike how greed is cementing over the natural beauty and the rights of the locals who are not able to pay their ways out of it.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: CromwellHome.com
• Instagram: @susanna_cromwell_art
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PhFhBdJvxk

Image Credits
Shannon Wilsey Seanna Clark