Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Lamoureux.
Hi Suzanne, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a lifelong fine artist and craftsperson. Through my mother, an award-winning artist and art teacher, I had access to all the good art materials and great teaching from a young age. My paper obsession really began when I was given some origami paper while in grade school and it hasn’t stopped…. As an adult, I have collected beautiful art papers, finding new and unique ways to use my treasures. I call myself a “paper dragon”. I do have an obsession. And this obsession with paper, fiber and texture finds its way into my fine art as well as items I craft for sale.
My fine art ranges from photo realistic animal portraits (in pastel, watercolor, oils) and florals to 3D cardboard creatures, covered with ephemera, printed material and maps, each with a fleshed-out story. My art has been featured in several different galleries, and my small gift items have been best sellers everywhere that carries my creations.
I have recently relocated to the Detroit area and I’m excited to become part of this art community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have Multiple Sclerosis. Diagnosed in 1998 at age 22, days before starting my first job in technology in NYC- I have had to be mindful of how I spend my energy. I say that “I’m like an old cell phone battery. Takes longer to charge and I don’t hold the charge as long”. And to continue with that metaphor – just like if that was your phone, you’d be very intentional about how you would use it…
It has taken years to figure out how to use this body to the best of its ability. I left the technology sector after 9/11 and dedicated the next 9 years of my life to teaching in “failing” Title I schools in NYC and south Florida. That was a constant struggle but a worthy one. All my energy went to my students until I had to retire in 2012. Then I finally had time to nurture my creative process, learning how paper can bend and fold, the language of wire and stone and how to trick the eye with a flat piece of art.
I will always be disabled. That’s an “is thing”. Fatigue, fog and pain will always be around. It is my art and creative process that lets me rise above all this in order to add more kindness and beauty into our world.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a paper dragon! I have a huge collection of paper that I use on everything – from creating an “underpainting” of rust-colored papers for a painting of the abandoned Packard plant to covering 3D cardboard creatures with paper flowers and a paper pearl necklace. I carve raw Australian opals. Wire wrap labradorite and I make pendulums out of Arkansas quartz. I create folded paper gift books. I felt cat toys out of wool roving. I’m always learning how to do something new and combining things in new and interesting ways. Just scan through my Instagram account (Artist_FuzzBombCraft) and you’ll see. I have spent time getting good at a bunch of creative disciplines and now it feels like magic how things come together.
I am proud of the support I’ve given my art communities. In addition to teaching art classes since 2012, I was the President of the Traditional Art Guild of Hot Springs Arkansas (TAG) for 6 years. In that time, I was able to create and facilitate so many opportunities for local artists of all levels to grow, experiment, display and sell their work.
What I’m most proud of? “Enrichment Galleries.” I had a flash of inspiration. What if we bring our art to the folks who can’t get out and around? I wanted to “enrich” the lives of people living in long term care facilities with a rotating display of art from our TAG members.
I would provide a theme. We’d work on our art, giving feedback to each other along the way. All the art is then gathered up, lining a hallway at a nursing home with a menagerie of images, each with a statement from the artist to open a dialog with the viewer. It was so well received by staff and residents. And I know it made a difference. I heard stories of physical therapists using our art display to encourage and engage with their clients….
I want to be known for using art and beauty to create a kinder, more loving world. Art can do good things. That’s what I’m here for.
How do you think about happiness?
Witnessing kindness makes me happy. It gives me hope. Encourages me to spread that same intention.
We live in a complicated and isolating world. Kindness reminds us that we are all connected. I am reminded by other acts of kindness that the good I do in my circle of influence can ripple out and touch lives and people I will never meet. And I believe that art can make the world more kind. I have done 100s of memorial animal portraits, many of them at no cost to the family. I know the pain of loss and the power of having images of the beloved around. It makes a real difference. There were times that I felt a paw on my shoulder and a whispered request to help a family. I am grateful when I can be part of the grace that flows through kindness.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Artist_FuzzBombCraft
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuzzBombCraft
