Susan Baus, Kiwi and Sunbeam, 2020

Unique, hand signed mixed media scanned object digital collage

Artist Name:

Susan Baus

Kiwi and Sunbeam, 2020 

Hand signed and dated on the front

Media:

Susan employs her own distinctive creative process:

This is a mixed media scanned object digital collages in which the artist scans various textures such as fur, textiles, and metal; transfers the scans with hundreds of layers into a canvas in Photoshop, which she flattens, trims, shapes, shades, adjusting the colors as necessary. The multilayered image is then flattened into a jpeg for a unique print on Fuji gloss archival paper. To create Kiwi I scanned rabbit fur for the cat, bubble wrap for her nose, earrings for her eyes, broom straws for her whiskers, books for the book shelf, pillows for the bed, a sleeping bag for the quilt, glass and a canister for the lantern, and finished pine wood for the walls.

Measurements:

Framed  

23 inches ( Horizontal) by 17.5 inches  

Artist's Statement:

Kiwi and the Sunbeam

Kiwi has been with us for about fifteen years. In this scene she’s ready to nap in our log home in Bethel, New York. The high point of her day is to find a sunbeam in which to bask. She is my son Robin’s cat and has been his rock over the years. He suffers from mental illness and the quarantine has been especially hard for him. He is cut off from much needed social support and finds that the virtual replacements do not provide him with what he needs. He is isolated and at times he feels suicidal. But he has told me that when he’s feeling on the edge he thinks about how his absence would affect Kiwi. What would she feel if he should suddenly disappear? He’s been her human from her kittenhood. I count on Kiwi to be at my son’s side during these long days of isolation.” 

Susan Baus

Susan is a self-taught artist, but the computer skills she uses for creation were learned on the job in the graphic arts industry. She taught Photoshop, Graphic Design Layout, Color Theory, and Lithographic Inks at New York City Technical College full and part time beginning in 1982 through 2003. In 2006 she founded and ran a digital divide computer skills project, Por Fin, in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Project Por Fin ran for 8 years and reached hundreds of people who otherwise would have had no access to computers. She is a member of Fountain House Gallery in the Bronx, catering to artists suffering from mental illness.

Shown here is a photo of Susan's son Robin and their cat Kiwi.