Resume
SUSAN LYNN DENNISTON
Studio: 3421 West 32th, Erie, PA 16506
Telephone: 814.881.3088 Cell
Website: www.StoneNote.com
PERSONAL Born: 1954, Belleville, Illinois
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Printmaking, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 1994
B.S. Art Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 1976
(Teacher Certification K-12)
ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist, the process of creating art is a process of examining my life and the place in this universe. I feel like an archeologist examining objects, cultures and ideas only from a different perspective asking the age old question looking for answers. We view images in rock art, see pieces of ancient fragments, and even changes in social conventions over centuries and get inklings of something primal, ancient yet inherently familiar. To me, it is a consciousness of spirit, a connection to the unseen, which bridges us to a world of wholeness, balance and harmony that we so desperately are missing.
In our current world of chaos and change, it’s obvious we are missing connections possibly losing parts of our soul. We are living stressful lives that are fractured with no direction or purpose. Creating art helps anchors me into balance. It helps to make sense of our fast paced fragmented lives. Creating art helps to slow down the turmoil. Combining images, symbols, textures, color and layers of our past brings about a way of presenting those ancient feelings in today’s world. I hope to create art as relevant for today as it was thousands of years ago. Balancing, questioning, and portraying the unseen reformulated in a new visual language for a new time … Now! It is my personal archeology.
AWARDS
Honorable Mention, “Printmakers ’96”, The Pittsburgh Print Group, Pittsburgh, PA, Nov 1996
Gallery Award, Printmaking, “Panorama”, Erie, PA, Jun 1996
Juror’s Choice, “Heartlands Art Festival”, Lenexa, KS, Jun 1994
First Place, “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”, Oakland Community College, Womencenter, Farmington Hills, MI, May 1994
Honorable Mention, “25th Anniversary Juried Exhibition”, HUB Gallery, Penn State University, Art Alliance of Central PA, University Park, PA, Sep 1993
Honorable Mention, “Open Media National Competition”, Artel Studio, Kearney, NE, Jun 1993
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Handcast Paper & Contempoary Prints, Pecos Medical Ctr, Pecos, NM Oct 2006
Handcast Paper Exhibition, Park Avenue Salon, Fountain Hills, AZ 2001
Artists That Have Met the Challenge, Miriam Perlman Gallery, Chicago, IL, Feb 1998
STRATA, Contemporary Prints of Ancient Fragments, Cultural Clichés, and Stone Notes, Erie Art Museum, Frame Shop Gallery, Erie, PA, Aug 1997
EXHIBITIONS
Alumni of Edinboro Art Show, Campbell Pottery Gallery, Cambridge Springs, PA, Sep 2019
Earth, Air, Fire & Water Exhibition, St. Johns College, Santa Fe, NM 2008
Forum For Art & Science Exhibition, Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM 2008
Celebrate Pecos!, Pecos Medical Center, Pecos NM Sep 2006, 2007
NPAA Artist Association, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY Jul 2004
Graphic Comment, Lankershim Arts Center Gallery, LA Printmaking Society, North Hollywood, CA, Jan 2001
Printmakers ’96, University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, The Pittsburgh Print Group, Pittsburgh, PA, Nov 1996
Small Print & Drawing Exhibition, West Chaco Gallery, Aztec, NM, Sep 1996
Lots of Little Art, Artlink, Fort Wayne, IN, May 1996
Small Works Exhibit, Eclectic Gallery, Tucson, AZ, Jan 1996
Tenth Mini Print International Exhibition, Traveling Exhibition, Studio School and Art Gallery, Bingham, NY, Nov 1995 to Dec 1996
Bag, Sac, Pouch, Purse, Gallery of Artifacts and Treasures, Daytona Beach, FL, Nov 1994
Eighth Mini Print International Exhibition, Traveling Exhibition, Studio School and Art Gallery, Bingham, NY, Nov 1993 to Dec 1994
Heartlands Art Festival, Outdoor Gallery, Lenexa, KS, Jun 1994
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Oakland Community College, Womencenter, Farmington Hills, MI, May 1994
Figurative Exhibition, Artel, Detroit, MI, May 1994
CAJE ‘94: America’s Cultural Diversity, The Center of Contemporary Arts, University Park, MO, Mar 1994
Visual Voices/The Female, University of West Florida Art Gallery, Untitled II, Pensacola, FL, Feb 1994
Making Their Mark: Women in the Arts, Rear Window Gallery, Winchester, VA, Feb 1994
Showcase ‘93, Cascade Plaza, Beaverton Arts Commission, Beaverton, OR, Nov 1993
Hoyt National Art Show, The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA, Oct 1993
My Country Tis…, Invitational, Artel Studio, Kearney, Antiquarian Gallery, Omaha, NE, Sep & Oct 1993
Counterpoint ‘93 National Exhibition, Duncan-McAshan Visual Arts Center, Hill Country Arts Association, Ingram, TX, Aug 1993
…On A Flatrock, Invitational, Artist’s Cooperative Gallery, Artel Studio, North Platte, NE, Aug 1993
PUBLICATIONS & VIDEOS
Somerset Studio Publications, “Stone Age Books” artwork of the artist Susan Denniston, May/June 2004
Forum For Science & Art Video, Artist Views on Their Work, Los Alamos, NM Sep 2001
COLLECTIONS
Bigsby & Kruthers, Chicago, IL, Mar 1996
Saint Vincent Medical Center, Erie, PA, Feb 1996
Rush Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago, IL, Dec 1995
Ford Motor Corporation, Chicago, IL, Oct 1995
Edinboro University, Bruce Gallery, Edinboro, PA, Permanent Collection, 1995
… and various private collections
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Workshops in Handmade Paper May 2002 I instructed 5 individual workshops on handmade paper making including sheet forming and hand casting. Santa Fe, NM
Volunteer Literacy Tutor Jul 1997 – Jan 1998 I tutored students in English as a Second Language, illiterate adults from work programs with their companies and also students pursuing their GED. Adult Education Program, Erie School District, Erie, PA.
Workshop in Handmade Paper Jun 1997 I instructed a two day workshop on handmade paper making including sheet forming and hand casting. Textures Gallery, Erie, PA
Instructor for Control Systems Nov 1981 – May 1996 Through out my career with Johnson Controls, I trained customers on their temperature control systems operation and maintenance as well as basic computer skills. Johnson Controls, Inc., Erie, PA
Silkscreening Demonstrator Feb 1994 During graduate work, I demonstrated the screenprinting process to Middle and High School Students during High School Art Days. Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA
BIO
I was brought up in various parts of the United States and Europe due to my father’s career in the Air Force. My Student Teaching practicum was done in the Panama Canal Zone under the Foreign Studies Program at Pennsylvania State University. I graduated with my Bachelors in Science in 1976 and went on to work in the technical field of drafting, programming, and engineering temperature control/energy management systems all the while pursuing art in areas of ceramics, watercolor, and jewelry. During the years that followed, I programed, created, published, printed graphics and managed websites for fortune 100 companies, small businesses and individuals. Programming and in particular web design gave me a creative outlet and also paid the bills.
Then in 1989, I decided to return to graduate school full time and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking along with an award for Outstanding Graduate Student in the Fine Arts Area.
After that I still did programming and web design but also created art to include hand-pulled screenprints, monoprints, handcast paper works, handmade paper collages and stone books and journals for exhibitions and commissions. I also created and designed original artwork for clients in the areas of interior design, fashion accessories, wearable art, and greeting cards. I exhibited my screenprints nationally and internationally and have been honored by receiving several awards. I traveled quite a bit to research images from ancient cultures for incorporation into my artwork (Peru, Egypt, Europe and UK). I have given demonstrations and workshops on printmaking, handmade paper and journal making. I also performed consulting management for online businesses, artists and galleries.
Today, I am a “semi” retired Web Design Consultant gearing up to be more creative in the next few decades!