Susan has been photographing the world around her for over four decades. She spent several years exploring new photographic techniques, including night photography. She expresses this by saying, "when the world is dark, the way focused light falls on an object can isolate characteristics and clarify its identity, even in the shadows." While learning how to render photographs in low light she became interested in making pictures of ghosts, and this started her thinking about her own beliefs regarding life and death, loss, and the multiple layers of reality. The culmination of this adventure is a collection of photographs that consists of 36 images of “ghosts” in and around Little Rock, Arkansas published in 1999 as “Shadows of Little Rock.”
In 1996, Susan enrolled in a sculpture class. That experience provided another avenue to express her ideas. During development of her artistic work, both photography and sculpture, some common threads have emerged. Though the subject matter is diverse, there are two recurring themes: a desire to recognize the natural world we see around us, to look below the surface of an object, location, or time to get at its essence; and, a commentary on current societal trends that can be viewed as destructive to the world and the self, i.e., separation from the rhythms of life, an increasing dependence on and faith in technology, and a sense that safety lies in control.
She observes, "our separation from the natural world may leave us feeling lost, with no anchor in the universe, but rather an uneasy feeling of danger. We risk translating this feeling into a wariness of others that may impel us to seek privacy and safety that, in the end, provides neither privacy or safety."
As we separate from our roots in the natural world, life begins to seem a progression of fleeting images and feelings--no sooner experienced than forgotten. With the camera Susan stops time, capturing moments on film to help us pause and reflect on the physical world and our place in that world. Through photographs and sculptural environments, viewers can witness details that are missed while observing a scene and gain insights into the complex interactions that define our lives. While looking through the lens, details that may remain hidden become apparent; beauty can be discovered in unusual places.