Sudie Rakusin's Blog

More Additions to My Family Tree Visiting Artist of the Month – Martha...

Visiting Artist of the Month – Marianita Stevans

What is your favorite medium?

I work mainly in oils. I also use gold leaf, plexi, and fabric.

Where do your ideas come from?

My ideas are born in my journal work. It is there that I react to the world around me and the people in it. I am most interested in how we interact and relate to each other. My paintings begin with words that are gold leafed on linen and it is during that process that the imagery evolves.

When is your favorite time to work?

I like to start in the early hours of the day now that my studio is outside of my house. If it were in my house, I would be working late at night in the comfort of my pajamas!

Where is your favorite place to work?

My studio.

When did you know you were (or would be) an artist?

I have always known I am an artist. I actually began life in the musical arts. I studied the piano for ten years through childhood at the Peabody Prep in Baltimore and thought that music was going to be my career path. Circumstances of life changed things and I landed in the visual arts. They are really the same in that they both require quiet observation, studied interpretation and creative transformation.

Was there any one person who was instrumental in your becoming an artist?

I set that path…wonderful people have guided me along, but I just was never going to be anything but an artist.

What is the biggest lesson you've had to learn the hard way?

Not to waste time.

What structures do you have in place to preserve your creative time and/or encourage yourself to stay engaged in your art?

I drop my daughter at school, go to the studio and work until it is time to pick her up. My productivity is directly linked to her schedule. When she is not in school, I am a full time, single mother.