Susan Conrad Risse is a mixed-media artist, currently living and working in Salt Lake City, UT. When asked what her “medium” is, Susan’s response is “Everything!” She says that “Life is Art,” and the “mediums” are all around us. She paints, sculpts, collages, creates jewelry, decorates interiors, embellishes, and uses her creativity in just about all of her daily tasks. Whether it’s setting a beautiful table, painting a large canvas or art journalling to work through life situations, Susan chooses to make every day Artful, playful and fun!!
……Life is a journey, a different one for each of us. My life began as a sheltered child, growing up in a small town just outside of St. Louis, MO. “Mayberry” it could have been called. Being raised in a “traditional” intact family with a father who “brought home the bacon” and ruled the roost and a mother who stayed home with her four children and was a dedicated wife and homemaker. A storybook childhood, one might think, and in many ways it was.
I was a “good girl,” earning good grades and causing very few disciplinary problems for my parents. And then came high school! I experimented in many of the things that teenagers and young college students try, and somehow survived in one piece!
My family’s value structure had always taught me to do the “right things”…….education, career, marriage, home, children. And somehow, miraculously, I’ve accomplished all of those things.
But deep at the core of my being, is a wild child, an explorer, an artist, who wants to live a magical, mystical, and exciting life. Soooooo………. at 23, I made it my mission to become a traveling gypsy, a world explorer. The best way that I knew to do that was to become a Flight Attendant. I applied to all of the major airlines and a few months later, in April 1985, I was hired on as an international flight attendant with a major airline. I was so excited! I would travel to exciting locales and live in places like NYC and LA! For a small town girl, this was a dream come true!
For 20 years, I worked as a flight attendant moving ( by choice) six times to experience new adventures. It was an exciting and FUN career, living in and visiting so many places in the world. I wouldn’t change a thing about that chapter of my life.
However, something was missing. I had been an artist since childhood, creating things with whatever I could get my hands on around the house. I remember weaving and making candles (by myself) in our basement.
My Mother was wonderful, and exposed us to EVERYTHING, whether we wanted to or not. Every sport, piano lessons, art classes, theatre, just to name a few. The thing that never stopped enticing me was ART, all of it. We did ceramics, painting, theatre productions, jewelry making, and, of course, the infamous weaving and candle making in the basement.
But, as life went on, education, work, children and family obligations took all of my time. So the ART STUFF got put on the back burner (way in the back!) As my children became a little older and my work schedule lightened up, I began taking art and theatre classes again. My passion was re-ignited, and I have been on a creative journey ever since, exploring many different forms of art.
Moving from Southern California to Olympia, WA in 2003, nearly broke me. I turned to art, spirituality, and yoga, just trying to survive, raising two preschoolers, nearly on my own, with no familial or other type of support system.
Coming from charming and sunny Long Beach, CA, to small-ish Olympia, WA, I was in full on culture shock. Gypsy Girl was NOT happy being cold, wet, and isolated! But gypsies always survive–they’re used to moving around a lot! I began reaching out–yoga studio, book club, art classes. But the real medicine for me came in the form of a beautiful, peaceful Benedictine Spirituality Center. You see, the Benedictines believe that art is a form of prayer and connection to Our Higher Power. I began taking workshops and retreats that wove Spirit and various art forms together to strengthen not only my faith, but also my art skills. And the community of nuns and the like-minded students became MY TRIBE. This was how my Sacred Art Practice began. Making Art is prayer–using one’s hands, heart, and ideas that come from Spirit to create something tangible is an incredibly transformative experience. I continue, to this day, to use my creative practice as a vehicle for healing.
I also discovered the amazing visionary artist, Shiloh Sophia McCloud around the same time. Her art, workbooks, and workshops literally changed my life. To this day, she is an incredible inspiration to me, along with the tribe of Cosmic Cowgirls that I work with! Art saved my life in Olympia.
One cold, rainy morning in the winter of 2008, I woke up and decided that I was moving back to a place where I felt healthy, happy, and warm! I told my husband that it was time for me to head South and feel the sun on my face again. He landed a great job in Honolulu, HI! We moved there in July of 2009, and I lived and worked in my home and studio, high up on a cliff, looking out at Koko Head and the vast Pacific Ocean until this past summer of 2017, when adventure and opportunity called again. The stars aligned for us to move back to the U.S. mainland, specifically, beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah, to be closer to our families and our first child in college. I now live and work in the charming, artsy community of Sugar House. The people here are so warm and inviting, and I love the gorgeous mountain views everywhere I turn. The art community is vibrant and abundant here, as well.
My art is influenced by many things–Mother being the strongest. Mother Mary, the sacred relationship of Mother and child, Mother Earth, and being a Mother myself. Traveling the world, experiencing many cultures and peoples also inspires me deeply. Over the past few years, my art has shifted more to “Depth & Shadow Work,” that is, exploring both the dark and the light areas of my consciousness and my life through creative expression and exploration. Art-making continues to inform, illuminate and transform my life and experience. I also love teaching and guiding others in workshops, classes & in one on one settings.
I’m living My Big Dream, and designing my life to be as I want it to be! If I can do it, so can you. Dream Big!!!!
Susan
aka The Glitter Gypsy
