Susan earned her BA in printmaking from the University of Northern Colorado, and her MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is currently a Professor of Art at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.

"My work explores how our concept of landscape has changed through technology. The visible horizon traditionally defined our relationship to the world; now with our expanding perspective, we feel a kinship with microscopic images and aerial views of planets. Vestiges of built environments, architecture, or even scientific illustration have been added to our visual vernacular and create for us a sense of place. Our bodies are quite literally composed of recycled matter from the stars. We are reshuffled molecules. In this context, I consider myself a landscape painter."

"In my practice, I value symbiotic relationships among materials, process, and concept. I initiate paintings with the aid of gravity and evaporation, working with water media on polymer paper, allowing the pools of water and pigment to settle and form images over time. I am interested in painting as a method of creating an image that represents other substances or realities, but also in paint being (or becoming) an entity in itself."