Susan Daugherty

A career artist and art educator

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I am a career artist and art educator. I have taught, exhibited, and sold artwork in several cities, among them Windsor, Toronto, and Guelph. I completed a Master of Fine Art at University of Guelph, and Bachelor of Education at University of Windsor, as well as completing four international studies in London, England (Central School of Art and Design); Florence, Italy (with University of Toronto); Siena, Italy (with Sir Wilfred Laurier University); and Chicago, USA (with the Teacher Institute for Creative Advancement).

After receiving a BFA and BeD, I was employed as a Secondary School teacher in Essex County, Ontario in a special art program, teaching Printmaking, Design, and Photography for many years, prior to moving to Toronto. While in Toronto, I was employed at the Art Gallery of Ontario, as a Studio Visit Artist in the Education Department, and The Royal Ontario Museum, as a Art Facilitator for children. Later, I moved to Guelph, Ontario where I completed a Masters degree in Visual Art at the University of Guelph, majoring in Experimental Printmaking and minoring in Museum Studies/Art History.

My early art/studio practice began with oil painting, then shifted to focus on printmaking, particularly intaglio techniques and serigraph printing, although I enjoy both lithography and relief printing as well. In Toronto, I worked at Open Studio (a well-known collective of printmakers) for four years where I continued to develop my printmaking interests and abilities. When I moved to Ottawa, I worked at Ottawa School of Art in the Print Department on my own work and I taught Graphic Design, Sculpture, and Colour Studies for Algonquin College. I was employed as the Lead Teacher of Visual Art, Photography, and Graphic Design at Adult High School, OCDSB. There I developed the Graphic Design Program where I taught Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. My interest in photography led me to take several courses with SPAO, the school of photography in Ottawa, where I focused on developing my own images through manipulation in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Initially, I came to Ottawa to take a position as Intern in the Prints and Drawing Department at the National Gallery of Canada. I was subsequently employed for four years at the NGC in that department, as Curatorial Assistant, where I helped organize many exhibitions.

I have been a member of ARTEAST Ottawa for six years, and I am currently a Vice President.  I joined the organization when I retired, with the duel purpose of both volunteering and exhibiting. Previously, I volunteered and exhibited locally at LAFAB Arts Center, in Chelsea, Quebec in the Boutique, for a year. Prior to that, I volunteered at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), The General Hospital location, for over five years. There, I collected and sold used books as a fundraiser for The Friends, an auxiliary organization of the hospital. I was also on the Board of Directors for The Friends, for five years as a Director and later as Corporate Secretary, for three years. Currently, I am focusing on creating my art work in several media : oils and pastels for 2D work, and innovative jewelry design to get back to my roots as a designer in metals and fiber