Artist of the Month is a program at Brushwood Center featuring artists who align with Brushwood Center’s mission and explores themes of health, equity and justice, nature and the environment. Each month we feature an artist who will:
- Display their work at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
- Teach a Create and Sip Workshop in their area of expertise
- Demonstrate their work at an Open Art Workshop
Meet Susan Teller
Susan Teller graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a BFA in 1979. She worked at Spring Studio 1979-1982, United Letter, 1982-1984, and the Marshall Fields Advertising Department, 1984-198. She was Staff Artist/ Librarian at the Skokie Public Library, 1997-2022. She currently teaches workshops in paper making, watercolor painting, and book binding. She also teaches classes about women artists, process of making art, and storyboard drawing and development.
See Susan’s art on display at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods July 26 – August 28, 2025.
Susan’s Artist Statement
“With all the noise around us everyday it is difficult to find a place for peace and rejuvenation. I know I live in a bubble of certain beliefs and that my truth and what I see happening in the world may be different from what others see. Art making and connecting with nature makes me slow down and see things from a new perspective.
Through my creative practice I can observe beauty in the natural world and in a few scraps of cardboard and rusty pieces of metal that are representative of our time and environment. I meld both traditional and non-traditional materials in my artwork. My mixed media works are rooted in the gestures and textures of the physical world and guided by the growing conflict between man-made industrial objects, disposable materials and our stressed natural environment. Combining recycled objects and natural forms into a new kind of beauty allows me to create a kind of time capsule that is sensitive to the environmental challenges we face in today’s world.
I am inspired by what I have seen on vacations to our National Parks and the everyday world in my own backyard in Skokie, Illinois. I went to visit Glacier Park in Montana about 40 years ago and again just two years ago. During my recent trip I saw the park in a very different light. It was still majestic and beautiful but my awareness of threats like climate change, mining, and human encroachment made me think more about our impact on the natural environment. I am amazed at the power that the earth has and its ability to heal from all the damage that is inflicted upon it. Moving water, ancient rocks, beautiful forests and native plants makes me think about the history of these places and how much they have changed and that makes me feel real and here today.”
Image: Stone Island, by Susan Teller
Media: mixed, MDF board, gesso, book pages, modeling paste, watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, pigments, cheese cloth, rusty pieces, ink, and seeds
Artist of the Month Events
July 26 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm | Free
Open Art Workshop with Susan Teller
Open Art Workshop is open to anyone who wants to make something in any area of visual arts and crafts, from the experienced artist looking for a community of others to work with, to the complete novice who just wants to try something out in a low pressure environment, or the family looking for a fun kids’ activity to fill their afternoon – this workshop is for you!
Image:23/30 Reflections Series, by Susan Teller
Media: Cardboard, rusty objects, art paper, pencil.
August 13 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | $20
Create & Sip – Accordion Art Books
Create & Sip is a monthly workshop hosted at Brushwood Center where participants can explore fun projects using supplies and tools from the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange, BASE. It’s an opportunity to get creative, try something new, and enjoy the company of fellow art enthusiasts in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
Image: An accordion art book, by Susan Teller
Media: Mixed media
