"Building a Heart" Collage

I’m Susan Richardson and perhaps like you, I’ve worn many hats — mother, daughter, sister, grandma, artist, friend, worker, and spiritual seeker. I’ve spent most of my life seeking to reconcile the inner search for a deeper meaning and the desire to find success and recognition in the social world we all live in. On that journey I’ve had highs and lows. Joy and tears. I’ve spent a lifetime making art that tells that story.

I use layers of paint, text, and hand lettering to represent the journey of our lives. I add layers and peel them back to reveal buried ones. It’s bold and strong as well as delicate and ephemeral. That’s life. Amidst all these layers of old and new, inner and outer, we can create a gorgeous harmony. Each of my pieces expresses this interplay of inner and outer, past and present — like a wall that has witnessed wars, parades, graffiti and layers of posters that become tattered and papered over. It all tells the story of a time and a place. I hope that when you see my work, you experience that deep connection that makes you feel the beauty, the magic and the mystery.