Susie Frazier Mueller is an award-winning, nationally recognized artist of significant talent and vision that springs from her spiritual viewpoint and deep communion with nature. She is also an effective and creative networker, organizer, leader and businesswoman. By combining these talents and skills, she realizes her mission – to help the world see the importance of art in our individual lives and how it vitalizes society as a whole. As a result, she does not have just one job; she has several.

   Susie describes her physical contributions to the community as art products. In these stunning environmental art pieces, she partners materials from nature with original written verse. Susie also provides art services – arts consulting and advocating aimed at building partnerships between businesses and artists – in order to create revenue and recognition for all parties involved.

   For example, in an article recently published in the Plain Dealer, Susie wrote, “There are a variety of arts districts in downtown Cleveland made up of creative businesses banding together to hold monthly art walks, annual events and lunchtime entertainment. These entrepreneurs are scrapping the old model of operating in isolation and they are collaborating in smart ways to improve their bottom lines. Whether you look at West 25th Street in Ohio City, parts of Tremont, the ARTcade on Euclid Avenue, the Theater District or the Quadrangle neighborhood, you'll see cultural colonies alive and kicking – some by accident and some by design. All of these studio, retail, graphic, culinary and performing-arts businesses are part of an ecosystem that creates a 'sense of place.' But they're more than just amenities to be thrown in the quality-of-life column. They're important industry clusters that organically offer visitors numerous reasons to come back to the core city – and persuade residents with countless more reasons to stay.”

   Born in Colorado but living in Cleveland since 1992, Susie launched her art career in 1997 when she founded a company called Set in Stone which developed a product line of home accessories made out of discarded slate roofing tile from Cleveland buildings. With the help of her sister/business partner Nancy, Susie's one-of-a-kind designs were sold in more than 60 craft galleries from New York to San Francisco. Within a year, Susie began her mission to raise awareness for northeast Ohio's arts industry by organizing events that highlighted regional artists.

   “One of my ongoing goals is to continually get the word out about what I do – whether it's creating art or creating partnerships in the arts. That's why I place a great deal of importance on the power of publicity to help do the job,” Susie says. “But, I never want to rest on the laurels of good publicity. What matters is that the work I do inspires people to act or react in a way that makes their lives better.”

   Susie's enthusiasm, experience and ambition ultimately led to her chairing the Sparx in the City initiative. Three years ago, Cleveland's ArtMetro Gallery owner Joan Perch asked Susie to co-create and produce this collaborative effort, which involves numerous local businesses, organizations and artists. To date the project has created hundreds of events in Cleveland and close to $100,000 worth of job opportunities for 540 regional artists. Last year's Gallery Hop, a segment of Sparx, generated $1.1 million in revenue while costing only $37,000 to produce.

A work by Susie Frazier Mueller called “Earth Studies.”

   Although business-minded and down-to-earth, Susie is also warm and vivacious with a friendly, inviting attitude. Her abiding spiritual influences manifest in her compelling artwork. “I seem to be channeling messages to myself when I'm creating the visual art and accompanying verse,” Susie explains. “In the process of collecting the raw materials for my art and assembling each piece, I discover the self-organizing patterns that become metaphors for many aspects of my life. Much of what I've created has been autobiographical – it reflects my search for answers, understanding and meaning in my life. Creating my artwork is a kind of therapy for me. It also reaffirms my desire to show people the natural world is a boundless resource anyone can tap for guidance, inspiration and comfort.”

   Susie keeps her materials in their natural state and does not add pigments or use color-enhancing techniques. She tries not to stand in the way of how the pieces “want” to fit together. “My art has been the ultimate lesson in letting go of control both literally in each piece and metaphorically in my life. When I stop interfering with the evolution of things, the universe always provides. And the answers are often more effective than anything I could have orchestrated myself.”

   Susie maintains a delicate balance between her several passions. Her role as an arts advocate satisfies her humanitarian and civic-leader side, while her art satisfies her creative and spiritual side. She is also blessed with a husband and children who bring her great joy. “It's not easy keeping the balance,” admits Susie. “Sometimes I feel like I have it; other times I really struggle with all the juggling. Since the birth of my son, I've had to make some hard choices about scaling down my obligations and deciding where to put my time and energy. I've been putting a lot of thought into what the phrase 'less is more' really means.”

   Susie Frazier Mueller is a fulfilled, devoted and happy person who uses her art to continually recreate herself. She has become an expert in the creation and implementation of programs that spur the economy and bring exposure and employment to local artists. She has also emerged as one of the prime architects at the forefront of the current resurgence of the art scene in Cleveland. More than having a job she loves, Susie has a life she loves.
For more information about Environmental Artist, Suzie Frazier Mueller, please visit her website: www.susiefrazierart.com.

Laura E. Varcho is a jazz musician and freelance writer. She can be reached at lauraevarcho@yahoo.com.