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Susanna Holt MRSS
Are you thinking about ‘ART’ – that confusing decision to enhance your space!
– When it comes to animals, well… like you, I’m sure we care about the survival of our endangered animals, and I don’t mean just the odd shaped little frog in the Amazon jungle, although this too is endangered. – How? – All our animal kingdom is one way or another under threat, whether from violence, or disease, loss of habitat, misuse and neglect, poaching and dubious trade practices, even my two doggies seen above died due to misguided medications. It’s enough to make you cry. We feel passionately about animals, and it’s not their fault. I ask myself if there is anything that I can do to stem the tide, or educate, or just help in some way through my creativity, and this is what gets me up in the morning. So please do take a look and see if there is any way that we might collaborate. After production, I offer all that I can afford towards conservation or research that will further protect the animals world.
– when it comes to Corporate sculpture, that pesky subject that poses such a conundrum. Are you wondering if visitors feel inspired with flashy splashy art, happy on a small scale but maybe not in a larger space all over a tidy wall. Or perhaps a dead animal preserved in formaldehyde, so celebrated in the museum, and whether this will remind people of our loss of wildlife, or will it gross them out! What about a traditional investment of a master such as Picasso, or will it look too traditional. Or an abstraction of one kind or another where the viewer asks ‘Yes, but what does it mean?’ Will this enhance the mood of our visitors before they enter the elevator or climb the stairs. Would we be considered ignorant of ‘art’ or fall prey to ‘decoration’. Or would it instead cause a chuckle under the breathe of those we hope to inspire! Also, is the budget really worth it. I mean, a bronze sculpture for instance in the middle of the room where we could put another bank of coffee machines making possible every variety of stimulant, put everyone instantly to work, even if they are jumping off the walls. Believe me, even as an artist we ask ourselves these same questions!
Am I being rebellious? Perhaps! But to me, beauty is noble, and nobility is about virtue. We can convey that through art.
Having been a rebel since the nursery days, (I’m sorry mum) I am notoriously independent, resolute, and hopelessly altruistic. If you are reading this I’m sure you understand! So although having been fortunate to be adopted by some prestigious galleries very early in my career… Frost & Reed Gallery, Bond St. London – The Tryon Gallery, London – James Hunt Barker, Balm Beach – and Petersen Galleries, Beverly Hills – I nevertheless opted to forge a solo course in life. It wasn’t always easy! Challenging, yes…
I always wanted to pull out all stops for my collectors, and I believe my client list speaks to having made the right choice. It’s hard for an artist to toot their own horn, but it has been quite a journey on three continents – 17 cruise ships of the Holland America Line (lifesize Animalia collections in bronze) – and Carnival Cruise Lines, (64 glass murals 10-25’ft in length, strategically lit from within) – Commissions from Heads of State in the Arab Emirates – film making in the wilderness of Alaska with seasoned National Geographic stalwarts, and strange side bars such as paying my dues to the Guards Polo club Windsor as a playing member by producing cartoons for the Polo magazine! My love of animals and depicting them in sculpture for you, my viewer, has always carried me along, and I can honestly say, I have only been gainfully employed once as a stable girl and trainer of Russian horses no less, in my teens. Otherwise I have survived by my creativity, competitive pricing, working directly, and by the love of animals all these years.
I’m proud to say I’m a new member of the Artists for Conservation (AFC) foundation, and an Honorary Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
The feature movie ‘3 BEARS’ following the creation of a large sculpture has not been released to the wider public yet, and it’s long overdue, but it has introduced me to the world of video and the fun of editing. Movie making has become an integral part of what I would love to share with you. Also now exploring new materials using stone particles to produce very small sculptures affordable to a wide audience, so that valuable support and knowledge can go towards badly needed conservation. My heart bleeds when contemplating the demise of our animal kingdom.
Although born and raised in England, I now work from my studio in the high desert mountains of Sedona, Arizona, surrounded by wilderness. What is left of my life will be dedicated to supporting those foundations who conserve and save our fur and feathered friends. I do hope you will join me in this endeavor!
Artist’s Statement – for what it’s worth!
When did we first smile at the face of a furry creature, or long to stroke the smiley face of a dolphin ? For most of us it was at age about 3 months, and it might well have been a four legged friend who adopted us during babyhood. For nearly all of us, that love, while buried beneath our frenetic daily lives, still lingers, sometimes strongly, in our continued fascination with all creatures great and small (spiders aside).
If playing with clay was to be one of my first preoccupations, animals were equally enthralling, so putting the two together was a given. Maybe that is why I make Animalia sculpture – Specializing in life-size animals.
I try not to copy nature, instead I find the hidden geometry in the action. I interpret this into phases that create movement, then emphasize those angles and muscles that generate lift.
This is what makes my work unique!
Years galore of anatomical study undoubtedly helped simplify and fine tune my craft, but it’s when I digress from a copy of the animal that magic happens, and the sculpture comes alive and actually appears to move. – Testimonials…
An expression of the beautiful movement of an animal spurs us into action. Few people dislike animals, and if they do they seldom find a place in our hearts. So why not an animal in motion to express what we all want to feel first thing in the morning, when we reach for that second cup of coffee. Or a reflection on love when we look on their stance as it gazes down to where we pass beneath their pedestal, one that reminds us of their value in our human lives. To say nothing of the risk we are running these days to the final demise of our animal kingdom, and the legacy for our children.
If you want to know more about me...