Sue Bryan Featured Artist at ORAG For October

            Ouachita River Art Gallery’s featured artist for October, Sue H. Bryan, is an artist with a wide range of interests.  Sue’s primary profession began in Nursing when she obtained a B.S. Degree in Nursing from Northwestern University where she also discovered her love for art.  She has followed her whimsical artistic muse that has led her to explore oil and watercolor painting, then polymer clay, glass flamework, glass mosaics and her current medium of fused glass jewelry.

After taking a fused glass workshop in Austin in 1994, Bryan began working with stained glass and mosaic.  She states “I loved the colors and transparency and found working with glass fascinating”. Sue continued her study with classes in glass lampworking at Penland School of Crafts, Enameling at Appalachia Crafts Center and workshops at the Las Vegas glass craft show.
For the last twelve years, she has been working primarily with fused glass and stained glass.  She selects different colors and shapes of glass that will be fused or melted by heating in a kiln to around 1700 degrees.  Each piece of glass is viewed as a small abstract artwork composed of color and light.  After fusing the glass she works the piece into artistic jewelry compositions, glass mosaics or hanging glass pieces.  All of Sue’s artistic pursuits have in common a love of transparent color and light.  She is fascinated by the way light illuminates and mixes the layers of color to reveal hidden jewels within.

Located in Downsville, Sue’s studio home is a creative endeavor in itself. Several years ago she converted an old sausage mill into apartments, retaining a portion of the building for a gallery, studio and teaching space.  What was once a busy industry is now an interesting maze of gardens, quiet patios and unique living spaces, as well as a center for artistic energy. Sue has offered the space for classes in painting and glass work, a gallery for artists to exhibit, and also taught mosaic and glass classes there for several years. In recent months Bryan has experienced a revival of her interest in painting. It will be interesting to see where her creative muse takes her in the future.

Sue’s work will be featured at Ouachita River Art Gallery, located at 308 Trenton Street in West Monroe, during the month of October. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. Admission is free. Call 322-2380 or visit the web site at www.orag.org for more information.

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