SUSAN MARKOWITZ MEREDITH
Website: www.susanmarkowitzmeredith.com
Email: info@susanmarkowitzmeredith.com
Instagram: @susanmmsculpture
STATEMENT
Like so many artists across cultures and throughout the ages, I am inspired by the natural world and our kinship with it. I stand in awe of the wondrous array of life forms and their ingenious adaptations as well as Earth’s complex cycles and interweaving systems. This fascination with the workings of nature extends from the subatomic world to the farthest reaches of space. And we humans are inextricably linked to it all.
Curious by nature, I continually seek insight into this vast interconnectedness. Making art allows me to grapple with these questions in a tangible way. My sculptures are largely in wood, a natural material with its own life story. I enjoy engaging with wood, respecting the give-and-take required to bring my own vision to fruition.
In terms of process, each of my works begins when a visual idea intersects with a concept I am exploring. Often I create a model, or maquette, to test my idea’s strength and aesthetic potential. If I’m satisfied I will proceed with the full-size sculpture. At that point I decide on the wood, along with materials such as metals and plastics, to most effectively express my vision. However, there are times when I find a wood block or slab that serves as a starting place from which to develop my idea.
I would describe my working style as a continuous problem-solving endeavor with each stage a movement toward resolution. Along the way, I try to remain open to unexpected insights that may alter my course. For me, completing a sculpture involves months of concerted effort. This is not a deterrent; rather, I enjoy the discipline of holding onto the big picture for as long as it takes to finish a piece.
When successfully completed, the work stands as an integrated whole. The vision that guided the process is infused in the sculpture’s physical materials, revealing a creative courtship and, hopefully, a marriage of spirit and matter.
BIOGRAPHY
I have been developing my skills as a sculptor since 2011 when I began taking courses at The Art Students League of New York. I quickly found my niche in stone and wood-carving. My principal instructor/mentor was sculptor and mixed media artist Leonid Lerman. To enhance my technical knowledge and woodworking skills I have also taken classes and am now a member of Makeville Studio, Brooklyn, NY. But while wood remains my primary medium, I continue to explore a range of other materials such as metals and plastics.
Highlights of the last decade include multiple group exhibitions in the NYC region, many of which have been connected with the New York Society of Women Artists. In 2025, I was invited to be a member of the National Association of Women Artists, participating in multiple exhibitions. In addition, as a winner of the 2022 Works-In-Public competition at the Art Students League, I created a model that I helped fabricate into an 11-foot painted steel and plexiglass work entitled LIFE DANCE. This sculpture was installed in Riverside Park South in July 2023, where it resided until September 2024, when it was transported to its permanent location in the Florida Keys. I also received the 2017 Trudy & Henry Gillette Sculpture scholarship.
All these combined experiences have cemented my commitment to sculpting and helped refine my own particular artistic approach.
MY BACKSTORY
The current chapter in my creative life is built upon a foundation of art and arts education along with decades of work experience in educational television, print, and the classroom. In short, the sculptures I produce today are the culmination of a lifetime’s spiritual journey and the avenues of thought and feeling that have propelled me along the way.
My degrees include an M.A. in Aesthetics Education from the University of Northern Colorado’s School of Educational Change & Development, and a B.S. in Art from Skidmore College’s University Without Walls. Prior to this, the holistic educational experience that greatly influenced my life’s trajectory was studying and becoming a teacher of the Science of Creative Intelligence and Transcendental Meditation. During these academic years my art practice focused largely on two-dimensional work. My diptych painting Static/Active was included in the 1975 “Third Colorado Annual” at the Denver Art Museum and, in 1977, I had a solo exhibit of my paintings and drawings at M.I.U, Fairfield, Iowa.
BOOKS: From 2002-2016, I wrote over 70 books—both fiction and non-fiction—for elementary school-aged readers. Educational publishers included Benchmark, Chelsea Clubhouse, Scholastic, Trillium, and Rourke, among others.
TV: I spent 25 years in the television field engaged in all aspects of production and program development. My specialty was children's educational television. I worked on programs for Children’s Television Workshop, Home Box Office, and Consumer Reports TV, among others. I also developed several television projects through my company, Stone Circle Productions, Inc. As a producer, I received numerous awards, including an Ace Award (National Academy of Cable Programming), a National Primetime Emmy Nominee (NATAS), and a Gold Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), among others. I also served 10 years as a judge for the International Emmy Awards, Children’s Programming Category.
CLASSROOM: My ancillary work with children in school-based programs deepened my overall knowledge and enhanced my ability to produce TV and write books. My direct work in visual arts content with young people began in 1972 and continued until 2004. Of special note are my teaching experiences in enrichment programs within the NYC schools, including: (1) art history/visual literacy instructor (volunteer) for Art Works, a partnership of Learning Leaders and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; (2) co-teacher of “The Art of Film and Television" project at the Professional Performing Arts School; and (3) instructor for the "Writing Into Animation” program via The Knowledge Project.