Susan Rodgers
Growing up on Long Island, nearby Fire Island, where we vacationed, became my solace, my “home.” It was my escape from the unsettling confusion of home life, where my family’s energy was channeled into the care of my terminally ill sister.
I found comfort in the canopied trees, the damp coolness of the shade where my imagination was never limited but instead flourished.My days were spent inperpetual motion, dreamingand creating with everythingin my magical surroundings.
A respite. My safe place. In a home that felt uncertain, the Sunken Forest on Fire Island was always there for me. Steady and dependable. Nurturing and joyful. My earliest influences as an artist grew out of a passion for nature and were further embedded in my core by my father, an expert craftsman. His tools intrigued, fascinated me, and called to me. He mesmerized me with his talent for hours (and still does today).
Fire Island and my connection to the Sunken Forest runs deep. They are part of every summer memory, and I cannot separate them from the rest of my childhood. When my essence was most malleable, this magical place embedded itself into the core of who I am as a person and an artist.
Incorporating my love of the outdoors into my work was only natural, if not inevitable.
