Have I ever told you my hobo nickel story?

Happy Sunday! It has become a little bit cold in Minnesota, Brrrr! Not really though because to live in this town you must be tough tough tough tough tough tough tough! Just like Mick Jagger said in the song Shattered about living in New York City. We hope you are all warm and cozy in your house.
So, today we want to let you know: we have added Sisters to our Cinnamon Shop. Just in case you or anyone you know would like to buy up the last few copies of this most recent volume and/or what’s left of the previous volumes. They would make very special presents for the winter holidays, because they are each so beautiful and rare. We still have a few of each of the previous sets after fulfilling subscribers orders, and are selling sets à la carte through the shop until they are gone.

For our artist introduction this week, we want to introduce you to Susan Marie White who contributed beautiful photographs to Volume 5.

But first, Chris wants to tell you a funny little story he was reminded of when he stumbled upon a certain coin on the floor in the bedroom the other day.

We love you!

xoHannah (and Chris)

This week’s artist introduction is the wonderful
Susan Marie White!

I first found Susan’s work via a project instigated by another DDRC contributor from the Duende volume, Ashima Yadava. Ashima’s project is called HUQ I Seek No Favor: Artists Respond to the Abortion Ban, and it is just that—artists responding.
Susan was a contributor and I liked her work, so I tracked her down on social media to see more of what she makes. I’m glad I did! Getting to know her a little better in the last few months has been great. We are so very grateful that she jumped in for the Sisters volume. Several of you already know that the work she sent us is beautiful, and you can read on here to get to know her better yourselves!

Susan Marie White is an artist based in Pleasantville, NY. Her practice is rooted in photography and writing, including a particular fascination with organic materials (namely hair, gathered from her children after haircuts in her driveway). Her work investigates personal narratives surrounding family, identity, memory, and loss. After she earned a degree in mathematics and pursued a career in technology, she shifted her focus to more creative pursuits. She graduated from the Creative Practices program at the International Center of Photography (NYC, 2021) as a Director’s Fellow. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including the Centrum Wielokulturowe in Warsaw, Poland. Recent group exhibitions include Whisper! at Verum Ultimum Art Gallery in Portland, Oregon and PAUSE at the Art League Rhode Island Gallery.

When considering the theme SISTERS, Susan was particularly moved by the idea of Sisterhood and its role not only in her art practice but across her life. The work presented here considers the bond formed in a sisterhood, the tension that comes from a shared space - whether that is a togetherness or a pulling apart; how we think about that sisterhood over time and the impact it has on memory. Hair appears, again, in this work through interventions with hair clippings as well as that of horses, reflecting on the relationship between herself and these therapeutic equines. Across all of these images is the source of the bonding, of belonging to one another.

We asked Susan our usual short round of questions, and here’s what she had to say:

1. At what age did you decide, “I want to make art!” and what person, work or experience initially inspired you to pursue this course?

I was around 32, raising my young kids and had the life sucked out of me from corporate work when I decided to take a few months off to regroup. I had started photographing as an effort to heal my mind from the stress and burn-out I was feeling. Slowly, over the next several years, my husband repeatedly came to me and said, "I think you are meant to be an artist." It was a huge mind-shift for me, to fully realize that I was, in fact, an artist. He was my number one supporter before I even knew this was something I not only wanted to do, but needed to do.

2. What is/are your current favorite medium(s) to work in, and what are you working on currently?

My work is rooted in photography, and I certainly love playing with alternative methods such as lumen printing. I'm particularly interested in process as the work, with the output serving as a by-product. For example, with lumen printing, there is an element of ephemerality. The print doesn't necessarily have to be fixed which means the image produced will eventually fade away. We tend to think of photography as a means for freezing a moment in time but there are ways to counter that assumption.

I'm also not strictly tied to photography. My practice includes writing, book arts, collage, playing with fibers and fabrics...anything that helps open my mind to new possibilities. I'm currently developing a project that relates to my experience with chronic illness over the last few decades. Right now I'm exploring ideas around remedy & relief within this context.

3. What are 3 albums or songs you would need to have with you on your desert island (to play on your coconut-powered portable record player)? 

*note: they are not your ONLY 3, that would be too hard to decide! 

This is so hard to decide! I tried to crowdsource with my kids but they were no help. This list probably reflects mostly what I've been listening to lately:

Noah Kahan - Forever album

Lawrence - Hotel TV album

Florence & the Machine - Lungs album

And bonus track (because my husband reminded me I always listen to this):

John Butler - Ocean (any live version that's at least 20 minutes long)

4) As you have been thinking about submitting work for this theme, what has “Sisters" come to mean for you?

The biggest idea that leapt out at me was SISTERHOOD. I've been so lucky to develop a community of women artists that I've had the privilege to study alongside of, to talk deeply about ideas with, to share in our wins and sit together in our challenges. This led me to consider my work in a new light I hadn't thought of before.

So much of my work is deeply personal which reflects a lived experience. By most accounts, I am a mother raising a group of boys that I hope will be feminists, whilst dodging nerf bullets on any given day. Looking at my life, looking at my work, I can't help but see how heavily influenced it all is by the sisterhoods I inhabit.

5) Who is a current working artist who you would like to share with us because you think we would dig them? This can be a visual, musical, or literary artist and does not have to be someone you know. :-) 

There are so many artists I'm continuously inspired by and I wish I could name them all! Jean Marie Casbarian is definitely one of my all-time favorites. I stumbled into a class of hers back in the early days of the pandemic and now she can't get rid of me as a student. She is one of the most generous teachers and continuously has helped me develop my art practice. Her own work is expansive and isn't limited to a single discipline. She leads by process in her making and her knowledge runs deep. My words will never do her justice. 

Jean Marie Casbarian

THANK YOU Susan Marie White for your beautiful contributions to “Sisters”. We are eternally grateful to you :)

xoH&C

Hey Duendes…what are you listening to right now?

TELL US WHAT YOU ARE LISTENING TO and/or READING RIGHT NOW,
you can reply to this email and we’ll add it to the playlist and our unmanageable books-to-read list!

The DDRC playlist of songs that our contributing artists would take to a desert island with them and whatever songs we Duendes happen to be listening to. It’s weird and eclectic…like us!
follow it if you like—it will continue to grow!

Ye Olde DDRC cinnamon shop!

(look at our dazzling array of Dada Duende Volumes!)

That’s all for now, friends! Have a great week!