Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Rende.
Suzanne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I search my brain for earliest memories, I cannot remember a time in my life that I was not doodling, painting, sewing,…creating something. Since painting my first mural on my bedroom wall at 12 years old, I have been hooked on murals. I painted murals throughout high school and college, graduating from Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia, PA in 1993.
My full time mural arts career began in 1996 while living in Southern California, where I worked for several years mostly painting in residential homes. In 2000, I moved back to my home state of NJ where I continued to paint for a host of clients in the tri-state area. I worked for a diverse array of clients: from preschools to 20,000 square foot restaurants, in addition to private homes.
Most recently, I’ve painted three large public murals in Pennsylvania for Sprocket Muralworks in York, Harrisburg and Carlisle.
Shortly after relocating to York in 2017, my mural work led me back to producing my own paintings again and become a business owner. I opened an artist collective named Naked Chick Art inside York Central Market and kept that running for five years. This experience led to eventually opening my storefront, The Artful Nest, in Marietta,PA specializing in nature inspired art from around the world. I have just completed the project of more than tripling the size of my shop from just the tiny first floor into the second and third floors. This welcoming and supportive neighborhood helped make this move my most successful. I now call many of my customers friends and feel energized by being part of the growing Marietta business community. I feel so grateful for where I am today and excited about the future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say the main struggle was finding the right location. The art community in York, PA and the many business owners I have met along the way certainly helped me navigate to the right place.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I always strive to “paint happy”. My paintings are primarily a place where I create my own world. One where animals and bugs reside in the same emotional and spiritual space as people; an equal participant in the emotion and interaction of human connection. I like to create a whimsical dream world where animals find communion, and would prefer to eat cupcakes and croissants instead of one another. I don’t feel art has to be complicated to be relevant. My intention is to convey happiness, focusing on positivity, fun and whimsy. I want to encourage the viewer to imagine the story and relationships between the creatures.
What I am know for depends on who you ask….
People that have known me the longest would say art and murals. Others know me as the happy, handmade shop owner and are surprised when they find out I’m the artist behind the artwork on the walls of my shop, the creations in my shop windows and public murals.
How do you think about happiness?
Creating makes me happy! All the painting, sewing, designing and building storefront windows displays and whatever I need to do to execute the idea.
What really tickles me is selling another artist’s work in my shop and getting to tell them the news that it sold. I also love to see people enjoy art, displays and environments that I have created.
I suppose I enjoy this because creating smiles is the most rewarding thing I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.suzannerende.com
- Instagram: @the.artful.nest
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.artful.nest.pa
- Twitter: the.artful.nest
