Artist Statement
My work aims to witness to the astonishing natural world. Beyond that, my work explores the idea of meeting points between worlds– past and present, inner and outer, near and far, spirit and matter. I am fascinated by the way in which different worlds co-exist and interweave in nature, by points where time or space shift and reality transforms, points where the numinous appears suddenly in the midst of the everyday. I enjoy exploring this idea of one reality opening into another in various ways: sometimes by combining disparate views or joining real objects with illusionistic two-dimensional images; or sometimes by depicting surreal moments with animals or natural objects used as symbols, forming messages in a language of nature we need to learn.
Biography
Susan Aurand was raised in the Midwest. After receiving her M.A. in Art at the Ohio State University, she joined the faculty at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she taught 2-D and 3-D art and humanities until 2018. At Evergreen, she team-taught with scientists and humanities scholars and these experiences continue to inform her studio practice.
Susan in her studio, Fall 2020