May Newsleter Feature--the Art of sangha member: Kandis Susol

Kandis Susol: Artwork for Peace

This month we are featuring our sangha member Kandis Susol.  Here is a bit about Kandis and her work summarized from an exchange that we had about her background, her artistic desire, endeavors, and how these inform her way of life…the way of peace.

Kandis was 19 years old and had been working in a factory for 2 years, enjoying her work of soldering and wiring—until she found out what it was that she was contributing to—War Missiles. Her tremendous desire to work for peace conflicted so greatly with that livelihood that she quit the factory, but never forgot what she had been unknowingly contributing to.

She began learning about the Way of Tea after seeing a Japanese style tea ceremony.  She ended up moving to Orcas Island, where she lives now, with her husband on their fruit orchard.  Although she feels she is still a beginner in the art of Tea Ceremony, at her home on Orcas, she did create a tea room.  As she began really paying attention to the making of the tea--and bringing that mindfulness to it, she saw that this awareness, this flowing moment by moment, is the same on her cushion, in her art, and in her daily life. 

Kandis discovered, quite to her surprise, her unique and beautiful artform—wax and paper sculptures; many pages coming together as one—papers from the pulp of Mulberry trees, infused with an encaustic wax technique. These beautifully combined sculptures—dynamic and flowing, show how each piece is created with individual papers forming into an interconnectedness. Each pure, sculpted piece, with its featherlike softness and flowing movement and stillness, exudes peace—the peace that Kandis infused in each page. This infusion of peace is how she offers a counterbalance to the actions not so peaceful in this world.

 “We need to find peace within our hearts and radiate that out to the world.”

An upcoming show, revealing new pieces, is inspired by the climate consortium.  Kandis collaborated with Jon Riedel, who established a glacier monitoring program which is bringing to light the impact on melting glaciers and their impact on agriculture and environment.  

This work is on exhibit this month at the Winston Wachter Fine Art gallery from April 25^th to June 12^th. 

Please check out Kandis’ website for more about Kandis and her work extraordinaire: kandissusol.com.

Her work was also featured in a recent article in the Orcasonian (the local news of her Orcas Island community).