Life & Work with Susie Stockholm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susie Stockholm.

Hi Susie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m in the grocery store with my mother, crying loudly. I’m four. The big crayons pack is my take-home goal and she’s offering me the skimpy 8-pack. I’ve already pictured how I’m going to use all the new colors in my squares, circles and triangles, so I’m not giving in. Thankfully Mother relents, possibly out of embarrassment. Once home, I’m happy and spend hours experimenting with crayons and paper—on the floor, the table, the patio or the front walk. I watch birds, people and trees and try to draw them. Seldom do they look like what I intend. But just doing art thrills me. I’d soon have a grade school teacher who was an artist himself. Gerald Brommer who taught me how to notice life and light around us as an opportunity for creating. Even today, I get chills ordering new paints or taking a class to play and learn.

Now, technology lets me incorporate iPad art and photography into my creative life. The amazing texture of a tree trunk can end up as a background in a photo collage. A rippled glass tabletop serves as a water image superimposed over a watercolor painting Eye on Water. For me, it’s about learning something new and seeing if I can figure out how to do it. Keeping my brain active while learning, then letting it all go to just create and play. It’s even led to creating short videos with vintage family pictures and music for my grandsons. The intent is that in sharing my life experiences, they will recognize the same qualities in themselves.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My signature pieces have been primarily large bold abstracts designed to make the viewer feel something. But my painting spaces have become smaller over the years, so now I paint accordingly. It’s still a joyous experience but I miss the dancing around to make those big, bold strokes on a huge canvas. An accident where my car was rammed into a fire hydrant in 2016 interrupted the momentum I had worked so hard to create for marketing and selling my artworks. Everything stopped for a while and I no longer had the energy to re-start that crazy process. The act of creating then became a form of self-care, soothing for my spirit, mind and body. Water by Accident is a digital photo collage showing images of the 30-foot gusher and my totaled car. I can’t exactly call these last few years my “blue period” but it’s given me an opportunity to learn digital apps and keep up with technology. I do think art can save one’s life and protect one’s spirit.

Right now, I’m into the psychological and emotional weeds sorting out long-buried angst and anger. I’ve never liked to dwell on the negative, but letting it out has been freeing. In April 2021, I started a series that reflects my weekly emotional state. 52 in 52 is a year long project where I commit to one artwork each week that reveals what is going on in my life at that moment. Unexpected Intersections is from this project. I’m also planning a book based on this concept to help people feel and release what’s stopping them from living a full, robust life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is like play for me. As an experimental artist, I’m always looking for a quirky way to present my ideas and embed a sense of feeling into every artwork. Typically I use bold acrylic colors, which I energetically apply to canvas or paper. Painting with palette knives creates texture. Then, I use a variety of garden tools or oddly shaped knives to add more interest. My collages are generally about something that bothers me such as Breaking the String of Deceit or makes me laugh like Gluten Free Vodka or powdered non-dairy packets that actually contain milk for my piece Contains Milk. A highlight in early 2016 was my solo exhibition at the airport On the Move where I was able to show a combination of digital and traditional paintings. My favorites, which were purchased by a neighbor, are City Runways.

What matters most to you?
Sharing the experience of making art, as well as the end product, are equally a joy. Live painting to music is one of the most delightful things I’ve done. The audience gets to call out the colors they want. People laugh and dance. At the end, there’s an auction so everybody wins. I live in a community with several hundred others and look forward to doing this again soon. The Art Abandonment Project is something I participated in while teaching collage and iPad art to low-income seniors. We had such fun leaving our artworks around town for others to find and take home. I once left an unsigned hand-made card in our library, which ended up being given back to me. The finder thought I’d appreciate it!

Pricing:

• $350 to $1500

Contact Info:

• Email: susie@artuitive.net
• Website: https://www.artuitive.net/blog/
• Instagram: Artuitive
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtBySusieStockholm/
• Twitter: @artuitive