In her recent work Susan Boye depicts objects from the natural world that she collects on her many walks or finds in her own back yard. She looks closely at their structure, form and shape and tries to bring out the uniqueness she sees. She is attracted to the idea that these objects are in a state of decay and will cease to exist at some point. As all natural objects, they are here for a fleeting moment in time. She often imagines the objects in different scales than their natural state as she is intrigued by the micro-macro scale of nature. The veins of a leaf suggest a roadmap in a landscape, or the dried leaf form becomes a mountain range. With the twigs she often takes a playful approach and builds constructions that look strong but fragile at the same time as there is nothing but gravity holding them together. Susan has worked in many media, but her current work consists of watercolors, gouache, and pen on paper.
Susan Boye lives in Seattle Washington and is a Professor at Cornish College of the Arts where she has taught full time for many years along with pursuing her own artistic practice. She was born and raised outside Copenhagen Denmark and came to the US as an exchange student in college. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts degree and Masters of Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Printmaking from Washington State University. Her work has been shown locally at The Cornish Playhouse in Seattle, Stone Press Gallery, Fountainhead Gallery, Tacoma Art Museum and Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Washington State. Susan’s work has also appeared in traveling exhibitions in cities across the country, Canada, and Europe. In addition to individual collectors, her work is owned by several local government agencies. She has also worked as a professional printmaker and an illustrator, completing commissions for the Washington State Archaeological Society and Alinea, a Danish children’s book publisher.