Beautiful Camano, nestled among the islands in Puget Sound, is an island of artists. Its rich history of art, legendary artists, and natural beauty makes it Washington’s premier destination for art lovers and collectors. Camano is home to family of artists since 1946; I’m honored to share some of the artists on “my island.” Let’s visit the two studios at the home of Susan Cohen Thompson, who molds art and nature, painting and ceramics, seamlessly.
Meet Susan Cohen Thompson
Susan Cohen Thompson is a Camano Island artist who has lived on Camano, right next to the State Park, for twenty-three years. But her roots are in New York City. Susan grew up in Queens until she was nine. She went into Manhattan often where she discovered the “wild,” that is nature in art museums. “I didn’t spend a lot of time in the woods as a child. My relationship with nature and art merged in the museums in New York City. That’s the way I saw the west, the plains and nature. I was always attracted to the wild, but looking at it through art was safe. I was a mostly walk-on-the-pavement girl,” she says. “Everything was under glass. Even in the Museum of Natural History. I was separated from nature by glass.”
Susan has always been attracted to art. From an early age she aspired to be an artist. “I’m grateful for that young experience of going to the museums,” she says. “That was all I wanted to do, to be an artist. That was the highest profession anyone could ever attain.” Even when Susan’s family moved to the suburbs, she kept going to Manhattan on the train.
Susan studied art in college. “I took a more rural college experience and studied ceramics and painting. “I had my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture.” She works really slow. And even did then. And so there was no way I was going to be a production potter, so I painted.” She moved to Boston where she continued to draw and paint showing in galleries and alternative spaces. She did window display and space planning to pay for her being an artist. She’s been self-employed since 1980 doing creative stuff. Susan and Clay married in 1993. His roots where in the Northwest and she agreed to uproot to his place. Susan and Clay moved to Camano in 2003. The Stanwood House was giving ceramics classes. She took classes with Yonna for five years, allowing Susan to do ceramics as soon as she moved here. She’s been part of the Studio Tour ever since they moved to Camano.
Nature and Art
Susan is most know as a nature-based artist. There is a spiritual aspect of to her work, she refers to it as planetary. When she was young, working in an art supply store, she’d use discarded materials to make fantasy things. “I’ve never been a realist,” she says. Through her moon paintings Susan wants to show the planetary aspect, to gain a broader view of nature. She painted in watercolor before their move to Camano, then shifted to oil paint because she didn’t want the glass between the art and the person. Susan tries to see from the perspective of nature, for example, from the vantage of the tree. Her art emphasizes being one with nature, breathing with the trees. “When we are breathing, we are actually breathing with the trees,” she says. Susan’s art shows that connection.
For Susan, it’s all about interconnectivity. “Everything is interconnected has been my motto in my work,” One theme that she’s been exploring recently in her art is
community. “The community aspect of my work really is developing now. Partly the attraction to the Meyer Art Center and supporting that is that a lot of times artists are kind of solitary. But everything is about its connection with everything else.” Susan’s artwork is becoming more about place and working together, reciprocity and gathering together.
Camano Island
On Camano, Susan is immersed in the wild. Their place is right between two state parks, surrounded by trees and water. From her windows she sees the water and
Whidbey and the Olympic mountains. Their move to Camano was a prenuptial agreement with Clay who is from Seattle. Clay said to Susan, “if we get married will you move to Puget Sound with me.” Susan was OK with that because the northwest “is so much closer to nature. It breathes differently than the east coast. It is more loosely woven.”
Being a part of the Camano Arts Association (CAA) has meant connection with community in a real beg way for Susan, both with other artists and the broader
community. Susan had been a part of studio tours in Massachusetts but their the visitors had just been friends of hers. “I knew everyone who came through the door,” she recalls. But on Camano Island, she and Clay were surprised that people visited that they didn’t know. “We were expanding our circle. Developing relationships with people. The Camano Arts Association has really made that all possible,” Susan says.
Stop by Studio #7, to see Susan’s seamless integration of nature and art, place and community.
And here is a window into Susan’s two studios at her place.