Artist Profile: Suzi Lott

By Ellen Samsell Salas

As a nurse, artist Suzi Lott cared for ICU patients, looked after newborns in labor and delivery, and completed medical missions in Kenya and Peru. On her days off, she turned to glass as a hobby. After her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she became his caregiver. When he passed, working with glass allowed her to grieve while still moving forward.

“When creating glass,” she explained, “there’s time for reflection, but I’m moving.”

With the encouragement of the local artist community, Lott poured her energy into creating the art that captures the essence of birds’ feathers and expressions, the movement of air, the grace in the curve of a flower stem, and the calming yet vibrant palettes of her abstract pieces.

An avid outdoors enthusiast, Lott enjoys hiking and fly fishing with her husband and their two daughters. She gravitates to nature for artistic inspiration.

“We’ll be somewhere, on a hike or fishing, or I’ll see a beautiful view. Sometimes, I’ll see driftwood and envision a rainbow trout above it. Once I’m in the studio, I’ll sketch it out to see how it will fit with that piece of wood,” she said. “I love using driftwood, and I wanted to branch out and see what else can be done with stained glass. I love that.”

Lott says that designing her template is the crucial first step.

“You have to get the fundamental things right. Will the frame hold this? Is the flow right? What gage of lead will add depth to the panel or the piece? Will the solder lines create the flow?” she said.

Once her design is set, Lott begins the process of choosing, then cutting, grinding, fitting, and soldering the glass. She embraces these steps because they give her a physical connection to the glass.

“There are so many steps,” she said. “So much love goes into each piece. I like this part — the physical connection to the glass.”

When Lott has large sheets of glass, she considers not only color, but also streaks, textures, and hue variations in each piece, envisioning the effect certain areas of the glass might achieve. And she has built a “stash” of smaller pieces that will find homes in a variety of works.

With her Georgia Birds piece, she paid close attention to streaks and textures in the glass, looking for pieces that would create the effect of air.

“I wanted the air to flow, so that you could almost feel the breeze,” she said.

Lott anticipates her continued evolution as an artist and is excited about the prospect of growing.

“I would be sad if I thought I couldn’t do any better. It’s a constant learning curve,” she said. “As long as I’m moving forward, I know my art will be OK.”

For more information or to see additional works by Suzi Lott, visit SpectrumsBySuzi.com or spectrumsbysuzi on Facebook/Instagram. Her work is also on display at Menagerie on Main in Canton.