Susan lives in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon with her family. While working at her other career, during lunchtime walks through the NW industrial area, she found bits of broken rusted steel. After a sizeable collection, she asked a welder friend to make them into a bird sculpture she envisioned. He suggested that she take a welding class and make it herself instead. She took his advice and fell in love at first sight with the puddle of molten steel while welding.

 

Years later she still remains smitten and has moved on to finding much larger pieces of cast-aside steel that want to be art, and has incorporated other mediums.

 

Public installations of Susan’s work in Canby and Tigard, Oregon are made from salvaged farm equipment and steel beams from building demolition. Her piece in Birmingham, Ohio is her first entirely fabricated public installation.