Suebug Studios

I am a Massachusetts native living in New Mexico with my husband, Paul. We have a small 2-acre "ranchette" close to the banks of the beautiful Rio Grande. I garden and raise chickens. A lot of my inspiration comes from the beauty of the natural environment: bugs, flowers, critters and birds. A lot of my work is based off of photographs I've taken.

I've been making "things" all my life and I've now decided to make more of an effort to sell what I make. Most people like looking at things in person so selling online is little more difficult. I'm not a professional photographer so I struggle with getting the photoa right.

I owe most of my creative spirit to my parents who were children of immigrants. If they needed something, they would make it themselves. They always encouraged me to do the same. "If you want something - make it!"

My dad, now retired, spent his career as a mechanical engineer but he is also a master craftsman, welder, builder and artist. A perfectionist. When he makes something it looks like it was created by a machine. My mom, a gentle soul, was a prolific writer and amateur genealogist who had a newspaper column. They had nicknames for all of their children. I was called "SueBug".

I started working with my dad at a very early age. I helped him remodel our houses, I'd hand the tiles to him while he tiled the new bathroom, or mix his plaster when he was finishing a wall. I did my best to help him strip wallpaper, even though, at the time I could reach up only about 24 inches. At least he got the bottom of the wall done.

From working with my dad, I became familiar with a lot of the construction materials and methods: wood, glue, tile... I got a hold of cement and started making small cement faces. I'd paint them with Testors paint. My dad didn't even get angry at me when I glued them to the wall in his office. (They may still be there as I think I used epoxy.)

Soon I was cutting up tin cans and making flowers; painting rocks and gluing them together.. then I discovered oil paint and water color and paper mache. I was lucky to live in the same town as watercolor artist Christopher Gorey, who was a friend of my brother's. Chris taught me a lot about watercolor painting techniques. I attended the Worcester Art Museum School (Worcester Massachusetts) for a summer where I was encourage, even more to add a wild freedom to my paintings.

You can learn more about me on my website SueBug Studios