Interview with Susan Rodio, Fantasy Artist from OZ

Susan Rodio will be my featured guest in the Creative Soul Circle Q&A Group for the month of June, 2011. Sign up is here and it's free to participate (for women only).

1. What aspect of creating your art or craft do you find the most enjoyable?

My favourite aspect of creating an artwork is coming up with the idea, the initial drawing onto canvas and then at the end the finishing touches and final details. 2. What originally got you started creating your art or craft?

I was always interested in drawing and initially copying what I saw, trying to replicate images in books and what I saw in reality to paper. I realized quite young that I had a good eye for that, so I kept going with it. I started drawing when I was around age five. I would sit and draw for hours, spending more time indoors than my siblings.

3. Who has inspired you the most creatively, and why?

I honestly can not say that one person has inspired me with my art because inspiration comes from so many different sources for me. But the person who allows me to keep the flow of creativity happening is my partner Anthony, for he fully supports me and my creativity which allows me to feel that I can do it without feeling judged. 4. How did you decide what medium to work in?

I actually really love oil paints even though I work in acrylics, I decided on acrylics as my studio space was quite small and I didn't feel that I had the luxury to indulge in oils as I find them a lot messier to use and then clean up after. The beauty of acrylics is that they dry very fast which helps a lot when layering paint which I do a lot of in my work.

5. What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art or craft?

I aim to convey something other than the ordinary or mundane experience of life, I want to convey a passionate and inspired connection to realms other than the physical realm that we engage in day to day.

6. If you had to choose a fruit or vegetable to describe yourself, what would you choose and why?

Hmm that is a hard question, maybe an avocado, slightly tough on the outside but soft and mushy on the inside. 7. If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your creativity, what would that be and why?

I would say oils because they are my first love as far as art mediums are concerned and they convey luminosity and light and shadow much more beautifully than acrylics in my experience. 8. What advice do you have for others who are just starting to develop creatively?

I would say enjoy it and study other artists and art history too, as I think there is a lot to be learned from the work and lives of many brilliant artists from the past.

9. What role does spirituality play in your creative life, if any?

It plays a huge part for me. I could not imagine living my life without feeling or being aware of a connection to something other than the material sphere of life. My connection to the spiritual realms comes through my art.  Through my artwork I take time to connect to spirit and to see what needs to come through. It is through my connection to something on a higher plane that comes through most of the time to inspire me.

Susan's Bio Website Etsy Shop Blog

I am a traditional painter from Australia. My paintings are inspired by many things especially Nature, Spirit, Folklore, Symbolism, Dreams, Astrology & Mythology. My works are painted by hand with high quality acrylic paint and are on either stretched canvas or canvas panel.

Most of my works include images of Fairies, Mermaids, Goddesses, Angels, Magic and Nature. These images come directly from the heart and soul and art for me is a need to express through my creativity beauty, magic, connectedness and feminine power and mystery.

Taxi Ride

I am in love with silence and feel blessed beyond measure to live surrounded by the sounds of nature: the dove, multiple bird sounds; chirp, cheep, aw aw, hoohoooohoo, week week and long drawn out warbles.

I sit and stare at my silk canvas trusting in the process. The idea is to paint this series (Journey Into Intimacy) over one year's time and just let the process carry me where it will. My only expectation is that I'll have a body of work with some strong pieces at the end of the year.

I paint nearly every day and I write as well. The writing spurs the painting and the music I choose provides extra juice. I never know what the painting will be, I just wait for the emotion to take over and I follow where it leads.

Why is it that some people cannot acknowledge other's talents? Is it a fear of denigrating their own talent? It's as if some people feel as though they only have a limited supply of love to give out and that they must hold on to it tightly to prop themselves up, leaving very little room for anyone else. Thoughts, anyone?

It's easier to paint by charging forward, not quite sure if I like the painting or not! Sometimes, fuck it...I just want to leave it be, accept that it's perfect as it is although I know it's not over yet! (oww! paper cut!)

"We've all been pushed too far I guess on days like this" - from the song "Taxi Ride" by Tori Amos.

Musical Ambience: Tori Amos ~ Scarlet's Walk

Waiting

Waiting, endless waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Making it happen.

Serving self. Serving others.

Feeling the balance. Staying centered.

With energy to burn.

Each canvas a birth, a rebirth, struggling to assert itself. To live. To be human.

How to transcend self and self serving? Through painting and service to others. By putting emotion on paper. By transforming pain into purpose - a reason to live.

Waiting - acrylic & pastel on silk - 3.5' x 3.5' 

I'm not feeling beautiful. I'm just me - trying to survive, feeling the animal in you.

Pain borders on ecstasy, or have you been sleeping?

Musical Inspiration: Booth - "Carbon", Jose Gonzalez - "Veneer".