Susan Oakes Life is like a book pressed up against the nose. It is not easily recognized or understood at close range, but when viewed from a distance, it becomes focused and clear. One of the advantages of having this distance or perspective, (read age, experience) is the understanding that our experience not only reveals where we have been but also where we are going. I am primarily a visual person, and am always stewing a cauldron of images and ideas which have yet to take form. Sometimes these images, like demons, will bubble around in the stew for a while, only to tantalizingly submerge themselves and resurface again when something jogs the memory. Sometimes these ideas take on flesh and a consciousness of their own and resurface one day, demanding release from me. Looking back, I have always been artistic, but I had to travel a long and challenging road to come to the present. I have explored many paths to develop my talents and increase my marketability. I hold a B.A. in Psychology and a degree in Graphic Design from Briarcliffe College have enjoyed a career in retail management. I have combined this pursuit with a marriage of 34 years to Ken, who has supported me through all my meanderings, doubts and triumphs, and my two bright and wonderful kids, Jeff and Cindy, who unfortunately have a geek for a mother. For this new passion, I often suffer persecution and ridicule. I’d like to thank my family for tolerating my artistic quirks, as this has enabled me to work on my own terms. I set out as an independent, forming a business and then incorporating it, working on a freelance basis. When offered the opportunity to teach design, I welcomed it for the stimulation and association with other instructors and students, as this is a field which requires constant retooling and reinventing of the self.
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