Susan J. Harris, Artist Bio

Susan was born in Bristol, Virginia, in 1952, and has since lived her entire life in Virginia and North Carolina.  She has been a resident of North Carolina since 1971 and calls North Carolina home.  She worked in the corporate world in Greensboro, NC, for a number of years during which time she met her husband of 34+ years.  In 1978 they moved to Jamestown, NC, where they resided for 30 years and raised and home-educated their two now-grown children. 

She has had eight years of art education consisting of five years of formal training and three under the private instruction of professional artist, the late Frances Kendall.  Frances, above all, was instrumental in instilling Susan with not only a willingness, but a lifelong desire to experiment with various mediums, textures, and methods. Susan continues her art study as opportunity permits.  Over the years she has produced art in various mediums and although she especially enjoys working with stained glass, sculpture and pottery, her preference is acrylic mixed media. 

For Susan, art is the expression of her inner self.  Her work is beautifully indicative of an individual journey, of an exploration of identity.  She begins each piece with a single concept, often a simple observation of nature—the striking color of a sunset, the labyrinthian texture of a leaf.  That concept then evolves, layer by layer, into a larger exploration of mood and emotion with the purpose of evoking the viewer’s own interpretation.  Each painting is a search, a journey, an experiment.  Her work is often best described as contemporary abstract mixed media.

Susan is currently based out of the Greater Piedmont area of North Carolina, alongside her husband, John, and close to their two grown children.  She has exhibited in national juried shows and various galleries across the state and her fine art is in private collections throughout the US and Canada.  Two of her paintings have been selected and published in “Best of Worldwide Mixed Media Artists” Volume 1.