Susan Rice

Printmaking allows me to channel the same creative energy that first drew me to architecture - an art of structure, rhythm, and balance. My professional background in Environmental Design and Architecture from the University of Kansas continues to influence my approach to composition and form. I’m drawn to the intersection of geometry and nature, exploring how line, texture, and color can create harmony between simplicity and complexity.

Over the years, I’ve honed skills in drawing, ink rendering, and spatial design, but printmaking continually challenges me to think differently. Each piece becomes an experiment - a dialogue between intention and surprise. Techniques such as monoprints and collagraphs, often produced on my Tackach etching press, give me freedom to layer, weave, and construct imagery that echoes my fascination with tapestry and architectural order.

My work reflects an ongoing curiosity: how can structure coexist with spontaneity, and how does nature inform design? These questions guide both my art and my life. I’m grateful to share my prints in juried shows locally and nationally and to be represented by the Idea Gallery in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. I live in Mequon with my husband, Steve, where creativity continues to weave through family, art, and everyday moments.

There is always the “ah ha” moment when the print is pulled!  After the ink is dry, the shapes make their presence known – a process reminding me of childhood experiences discovering shapes in the clouds. I then define the shapes and add more color by cutting stencils and using a hand brayer to spread the ink. Finally, I finish the details by rendering with Prismacolor pencils. Each collagraph seems to generate ideas for yet another design - truly an exciting and creative process.