Susan Griffin

Susan Griffin, a talented artist of many mediums and very skilled quilter, had the honor of having five of her quilts juried into international Quilt Festivals.   This was before her life was disrupted when a she was stricken with Lyme disease.  To meet the accomplished and positive person she is today, one would never know the journey that she battled. 

Susan suffered with aphasia and many physical limitations.  It was physically and mentally impossible for her to create art.  The art piece shown in the header and shown in full as you scroll down, describe the feelings she experienced while battling aphasia.  

Lyme disease left Susan no longer able to remember how to turn on her sewing machine.  One day she decided she could not live without her art or perhaps more accurately she did not want to live without making art.  She began by creating small quilts that would require her to complete the techniques that she no longer remembered how to do. 

Using over 75 quilting techniques, Susan created twenty-six small quilts in what became her “Lemon-Aide With a Twist of Lyme” collection.  At that time she had no intention of showing these pieces so she was free to just enjoy the process.  Working on the series proved to be beneficial in so many ways.  She needed to really concetrate to do this and while her brain was working hard with this task, the pain she was enduring was pushed to the background.  With her body relaxed the healing process began to work more efficiently.  She was exercising her hands and stimulating her brain while doing it. Encouraged, she went on to produce another series that expressed the emotions associated with this time in her life.  It gave her a way of expressing her struggles and victories without the fear of ridicule or burdening others who could not understand her situation.  In the process she learned first hand that art has the power to heal both physically and emotionally.  

Susan acknowledges that the pieces in this collection are not perfect.  How could they be when they were created at a time when getting out of bed was an accomplishment and her sole purpose in making them was to seek comfort in an art form she loved?

Encouraged by her quilting and art community, Susan shares her work to illustrate the healing power of creating art.  Audiences have been inspired and encouraged by her choice to leave the imperfections.  This allows viewers  to experience a whole series created for the sheer joy and benefit it provided to the artist.  The imperfections are a tangible record of Susan’s progress and the series documents her personal journey with all its lessons, frustrations, disappointments and imperfections. 

Susan’s Exhibit, “52 Yarns of Lyme – The Lyme Dis-Ease Series” highlights the benefits of working in a series.  Susan discovered these benefits as she completed the fifty-two fibre art pieces which we are very honoured to share with you at this Fibre Art Symposium.