Susan Gross: Accentuate the Positive

August 14th to August 29th

This work is a combination of collage, printmaking and mixed media.  Some pieces are abstract, some are representational and still others are an exploration in pattern and mandala-like imagery. Using a lot of texture and color, I also love to play with words and hidden details. I have been coming to the island for over 25 years, and finally took the leap to move here. Two months after I arrived, Covid-19 brought me to a new level of nesting! I have been engaging with my new natural surroundings and integrating much into my days and work: the sweetness, the turbulence and the impermanence of life.

ARTIST STATEMENT
I enjoy the process of creating objects, mementos and moments in time. I find inspiration in so many things: nature, color, words, textures, music and film, love, loss and the cycle of life. I am instinctively drawn to collecting things; shells, pieces of string, leaves, glimmering edges of discarded paper, old letters, stamps, and decaying books. I often adopt another’s’ keepsakes to translate or incorporate into my own work. Part of the joy of creating art is not knowing where I am going as I begin. Immersed in my materials, I spontaneously and intuitively paint, collage, draw or construct. Unconscious thoughts and ideas surprise and guide me through this practice.