M. Susan Deaton

I've lived a life of responsibility as a big sister of five brothers, a wife, a mother of three daughters, a teacher and administrator for hundreds of children, and now a grandmother of six. Since retiring as an educator, my husband Keith and I are now responsible for two dogs and a backyard of mature trees (and if you know dogs and trees that's not an easy task). These days, I sit in my backyard or studio with a cup of coffee or glass of wine to think, write, and draw in my own time. If I'm not in my backyard or studio, I'm walking in the woods or traveling.

My responsibility to the world has shifted from active participation to more of an observer of life. As an educator and mother, I lived in the "mess" of things. I solved a hundred problems a day and woke up the next morning to do it all again, and again, and again. So, this more passive life is to say the least different.

Drawing and writing my thoughts and feelings as a full-time job and not as therapy to stay sane in a chaotic world gives me the opportunity to dig deeper into why I think and feel the way I do. The product of this new time are my drawings and writing, my perspective of the world.

In my life I've known more than my fair share of people who have called themselves realists. They've usually been people who see problems with no solution--"that's the way things are" kind of people. When they would tell me they were realist I would think, me too--but not like you. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of realists: the pessimistic realist and optimistic realist. The pessimist sees problems as fixed, nothing to be done; the optimist sees the same problem but sees how it can be fixed--sees that change can occur with a plan and work.

I am an optimistic realist. My art and writing tell stories of the problems we face as individuals and communities, but I see none of these things as hopeless. I believe in us and the future. My task as an artist, writer, and observer of life, is to create an image that communicates the problems I see--and seeing the problem is halfway to a solution. Some people ask if dreams are my inspiration for my drawings and I respond by telling them, no, when I draw, I'm wide awake.