Speaking of Art with Suzanne Harding...

2015/05/13

By M.Sebastian Araujo

Sometimes Life can be a truly magical carpet ride.I have always been blessed with knowing that Magic when I see it.A feeling,a place or a persons creativity will shine light out into this world of ours and luckily we catch a gmiller of it in Art!My pal Suzanne’s Art and Life are truly Magical . BeeKeeper,Artist and One of the Loveliest Women I know! Recently we had a chat about just how she does it. What inspires the many ways she finds that inner voice and listens to it and than sends it out into the world around us….

What in Life and the World around you affects your Creativity?

Oh please….the color of the rug, my angst of a day, cardinals (both kinds), boredom, museums, nature (of course), what I have in the bin under my bed, that genetic itch, pure curiosity of how this can be put together with that. People, the psyche, animals, spirit, stupidity, goofiness, color, stripes, the need to do something, anything, else.

What is it like to live off of ones Art in this World we all call home Today?

Easy if they don’t have to rely on living off their sales. I think their are less private commissions, less patrons of the arts, less money put towards promoting the arts. Art and Recreation are the first things cut in schools when there are budget cuts. In America the Arts aren’t as connected to the culture as in other countries. Perhaps there are too many cultures or not enough. Support from a community, a culture that shares ideas and gives you a place…that’s what I find missing.

Did you have a “Shinning Light Bulb” moment when you realized ,you were an Artist?

I made a “sit-upon” in Brownies when I was about 6. I made this square of fantastic blue and green vinyl which I stitched up the sides with yellow/orange yarn. The filler was newspaper. It was used to sit on when you were outside. I was so happy. But as an adult the lightbulb is dimmer
and I am trying to find out which room it’s coming from.

Collage

What is it that makes someone collect Art?

Something in the heart…a spark that is ignited within someone with cash in their pocket. Or the idea that “this will be worth something someday”. Something NEW, never seen before, which is pretty rare these days. Though no one makes something truly the same as the next person unless it’s manufactured. It comes from the inside out

Mixed Media Figure

What is it about Ptown that keeps you and other Creative people living here and coming back?

The influx of people and money here is very appealing to Artists.The art community is strong,and though it can be competitive and sometimes “all the same”, there is a niche of the Cape Cod artist that is unique. We have four Art Schools with amazing teachers and classes in a very small area (Ptown and Truro). We are surrounded by beauty in nature and on the streets. There is a lot of stimulus, a lot of sharing, a lot of support with the town artists. A lot of people retire here, they have time to take up a second career as painter, potter, printer etc. There are facilities to do your art, studios to rent, places to be visible, fundraisers to get involved in…and you don’t have to be GREAT, you just have to be willing to do ART.

Mixed Media Figure

It is truly amazing that amid all the mass produced and digitally generated imagery and idea and technology…a small spit of land on the very edge of the known world has with stood Time,Tide,Treachery and Many many humans. And that place called Provincetown has welcomed and embraced it whole heartedly .Somethings are fundamental and for a base of life,Art in Provincetown seems to be a good one!

Hand Sewn Creatures