Mandala CXI Steinway piano keys
JASPER: When did you first begin to pursue visual art? Where and when did you train,
or are you self-taught?
LENZ: I started in 2001 at the age of forty-two. I am self taught.
JASPER: Where did you grow up? If you are not from SC, what brought you here?
LENZ:I am from Columbus, Ohio and came to Columbia in 1987 in order for my husband, Steve Dingman, to work as at a coastal engineering company. He hated it and quit after three years, but we stayed.
JASPER: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why?
LENZ: I am primarily a fiber and installation artist but will dabble in most visual artists media.
JASPER: Where do you work now and where do you show your work?
LENZ: My studio is in my legally zoned live/work location, Mouse House. I am represented by the Grovewood Gallery on the grounds of the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville. I show my work in both solo and nationally juried exhibitions and high end fine craft shows including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Smithsonian Craft Shows.
JASPER: Who has been your greatest influence as an artist?
LENZ: Stephen Chesley
JASPER: What do you feel makes your art unique?
LENZ: Using a threaded needle, I work in partnership with my materials and use found objects to express my thoughts on remembrance and mortality. My work is unique in the many ways it pays homage to anonymous ancestors and to those whose voices might otherwise be stilled.
JASPER: Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why?
LENZ: Stephen Chesley lives a true “artist life” without compromise and through his example, I have learned and will continue to learn how better to be more myself than I initially knew was possible.
JASPER: What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?
LENZ; I am currently working on a pandemic-inspired series influenced by the traditions of Buddhist mandala making. Repetitive circles of found objects are stitched onto sections of neglected, old quilts. The series is as much about the hunt for unique, found objects as the actual creation of the artwork. Adventures include dismantling an old, broken Steinway piano for three, commissioned pieces for Carolina Steinway in Charlotte and sourcing Hawai’i stamped golf tees from a cyber friend in Texas. The series now numbers over one-hundred and will be on view at the upcoming Smithsonian Craft Show, April 20 – 24, 2022 but some will be available at the Cottontown Art Crawl.
The series can be found on-line at: https://foundobjectmandalasbysusanlenz.blogspot.com/
Mandal CXII Susan Lenz
Mandala XCVI - Susan Lenz
Mandala CX - Susan Lenz