ArtAccess, Susanne Dannenberg

Susanne Dannenberg, aka Suda, was born in Germany to an architect father and artist mother. After coming to Canada in 1980, Susanne raised two children who are now both grown and involved with music. A few years ago she retired from a 25-year career in social work to follow her passion for the arts.

Susanne has always had an interest in photography and now incorporates her photographic images with encaustic and mixed media, including acrylics, inks, oils, milk paints, pastels, papers and beeswax.

Although she has attended a number of classes with various teachers, Susanne has no formal art training. However, she has learned from those who have gone before her as well as from her peers. Susanne has come to know that each person she encounters is her teacher, especially those with whom she makes art, and for that she is eternally grateful.

Lately, Susanne has become more engaged with larger scale abstract paintings. As a result of observing her creative process and that of others, Susanne believes that intuition is a key part to painting. In her view it is a natural ability that is available to everyone and a skill anyone can cultivate. At the same time, she realizes some common challenges that can block the free expression of truthful art from the heart.

In her new workshop, 'Intuitive Painting', she tries to address these blocks by offering various painting exercises that involve meditation, prose & poetry, music and art techniques that bypass the mind. She also teaches a self-critique process that is separate from the painting process.

She writes about her own painting process:

"My current work is a reminder to let go of outcomes. I had desired outcomes to start with, of course, but the outcome is no longer as important as my desire to enjoy the moment. I assist the work in creating itself, allowing things to happen instead of forcing them. I like to work quickly to bypass self-consciousness and thus avoid premature judgments and mediated choices that are too cautious. I allow the painting to lead me, even if I don't know where it is taking me. Actually, I love the surprise and excitement that comes from seeing the 'accidental' formations of paint running together, or textures that come up from layering, pasting, mark-making, plastering or sanding. I try to accept and respond to the transformative nature of the painting process and suspend expectations about the outcome. I never really know what a piece will look like, until it is finished. It is a free-flowing process that reminds me to relax and trust. It reminds me that we never need to worry. If I find that I don't like how something turns out, I can simply paint over it and begin again."

By being with what is in the moment, art has become for Susanne part of her spiritual path. Her art practice is now a vehicle that allows Susanne to transcend time where her creative source and the divine energy become one.
It is her intention to share this intuitive knowledge with others who also want to awaken themselves to the gifts within them and access their creative capacity.

According to her students, Susanne facilitates fun and safe workshops where people can rediscover their inner artist, remove barriers to their creative expression and reclaim their imagination by trusting their intuition.

Her workshops take place in an old farmhouse in Saanich, where she lives with her beloved partner, Steve, and their gentle pets, Tia & Mishka and wonderful student boarder, Alison. It is in her big and bright studio where you will be encouraged to cultivate 'Beginners' Mind', free of the habits of experts, and ready to accept, doubt and open up to all the possibilities.


--Please note: ArtAcess will be closed for the summer and classes will restart the week of September 6th, 2010--

'Silence', 2008, encaustic & mixed media on wood, 12x16"

'Luna', 2010, mixed media on paper & board, 13x22"

'Piano Player', 2009, mixed media on canvas, 36x24"

'Hurricane', 2009, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 36x24"



WORKSHOP TESTIMONIALS:

"Thank you for a great workshop....I had a great time....I could not believe how quickly the time went. Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge....I have booked for another workshop in October. I also would like to invite a friend of mine to it."
Deb

"Thank YOU for the amazing afternoon!!! I am so glad to have met you and I needed the encouragement to let the inner child out!"
Rose

"Thank you so much for an excellent workshop yesterday; it was very instructive, well organized, and inspirational! As a teacher I really enjoy good teaching and you are a very good teacher."
Astri

"I can't say I 'enjoyed' the class. It was way outside my comfort zone and I was totally overwhelmed by ideas and learning about stuff I'd never even heard of before. But that doesn't mean I regret taking the class - just the opposite! Too often we spend our lives in a comfortable 'rut' and don't even know what we're missing out on. From last night my mind opened a crack into something new and very interesting. It's good to be 'uncomfortable' sometimes ... that's when we grow! I really enjoyed watching and absorbing all the creative energy in the room! Thank you for encouraging me to be a part of it. I'm going to keep on experimenting with the mixed media & wax and little by little maybe I can open that crack a bit larger! Thank you again! You taught the class very well and I appreciate the time you took with me."
Linda

"Dear Susanne, Thank you for the truly inspiring day at your studio. Amber had a fantastic time, delving into her creativity, free from distractions. It was a chance to be with her inner artist. We both thought that your home atmosphere, your way with the class and your abundance of materials were excellent. I am setting up a home studio, with Amber to have use of it. You really are a treasure of a teacher and human being!!!
My gratitude-heart,
Pat"

"I took a mixed media painting workshop with Susanne in July of 2008. I hadn't done any visual art work for many years. Susanne provided a generous selection of art materials and engaged us in a fun adventure with collage, paint and wax. I enjoyed the process very much and I was surprised at everybody's unpredictably beautiful outcomes. Since then, I have gone back for another session and I highly recommend her workshops to others!"
Erdi

"Thanks again for your course, which I thoroughly enjoyed."
Ken

"Thank you very much for such a great day Saturday, and making me feel so welcome in your studio (and home). It truly was fun for me. I felt way out of my element, but thanks to you, that really didn't matter at all. I have been reading your handout and already used the Michaels coupon, and do feel inspired! Who knows where it will go, but I feel this is a medium where a beginner like me can start and I have already learned so much from your direction."
Heather

"Thanks Susanne for your course! I loved it! I am looking forward to learning more about this art form."
Bonnie

"Thank you Susanne. I enjoyed the class and meeting the other women. It was a positive environment and that is important to me."
Anita

"Hi Susanne, thank you so much for the fabulous day!!!! I really enjoyed it and loved learning new techniques. I would love to have you over here (Vancouver) for a workshop. Love to hear your thoughts and create possibilities with you. Thank you again.
Love, Light and Laughter,
Amy"

"Thanks, Susanne; yes I did enjoy the class and it was great meeting you and all those nice ladies.
Vielen Dank!
Lita"

"Thanks once again for a lovely workshop. I picked up many more valuable tips. I also ran over to Michaels to pick up a frame for my piece. It is now hanging on the wall and I'm thrilled to have it up and framed...p.s. thanks for the hand outs from the video. They are marvelous. I have a million ideas now and once again not enough time in my day....I truly would love to take more workshops."
Sandi

"Thanks for all your encouragement and support, it's been a wonderful experience to be in the ongoing sessions with you. I like your style of teaching, mentoring and instructing...You and your studio have become a safe haven for my dreams...."
Lori

"Susanne,I want to let you know how much I have appreciated your workshops and all they have done for me. You are a very talented lady in many ways, not just artistically.
Your guidance and patience have taught me wonderful techniques, initiating my previously stuck creativity to flow. It's like taking a feel good drug and that has been very healing on many levels. I literally leave class feeling a natural, balanced high that lasts all day.
One of the most fulfilling benefits has been the awakening of my senses, especially visually. I notice the subtleties of my surroundings in ways I never have before. I find myself in tune with all the colors and textures which are so much more vibrant, for instance the color variations of trees, grasses, sky, clouds, the richness of berries on trees and bushes, and much more. This brings me into a peaceful and at times blissful state of being present with my surroundings. No worries, no cares. What a blessing.
So, thank you Susanne for offering this haven of inspiration and healing.
In gratitude,
Beverley"