About Suzi K. Edwards
If you want the full story, you should take a look at my memoir. For a quick summary of how my life unfolded and how it influenced my art and philosophy, read on…
I was born in New York City in the 1940s, the oldest child and only daughter in a family of five.
My grandfather, a chemist and bootlegger, used the proceeds made during prohibition to open a rum distillery in Puerto Rico, which he sold to American distillers. He saw Shangri-La on the tiny sleepy island of St. Thomas and built the Virgin Isle Hotel in 1950. Each and every one of us moved there – lock, stock, aunts, uncles, parents, cousins, grandparents and poodles.
Despite having so much family around, there weren’t many children to play with. In first grade my whole school only had thirteen students! Loneliness became an unwelcome companion but it sparked my creativity and unlocked a passion for art.
I enjoyed making inventive (albeit poorly sewn) outfits for my dolls, and delighted in painting watercolors of the island’s flora and fauna. My early experiments with dolls clothes led to a degree from the London College of Fashion in the 1960’s, and a career in New York designing clothes on Seventh Avenue.
Curiosity as well as creativity followed me into adulthood. I lived in the woods in a teepee, studied world religions and explored metaphysics. I earned a yoga teaching certificate in 1973, and became enthralled with the Bhagavad Gita, which led me to spend years living in Krishna ashrams. There I met Roy Edwards, a fellow artist and Mark Rothko’s former assistant. Roy was just as free-spirited as me. We got married, had two wonderful sons, and lived in Virginia, New Jersey, London and ultimately Winter Park, Florida. There the marriage foundered, and I raised the boys on my own. Sadly, Roy passed away in 1997.
Around that time I studied ceramics and mosaics, and began to receive public art commissions for parks and theaters. Designing for a particular location gave me a rush. I liked seeing how art could enhance an environment by creating interest, encouraging conversation, and eliciting a brief pause from reality. Never an elitist, I loved that I could share my art with everybody.
In 2009, I moved to West Palm Beach and built a summerhouse in Rhinebeck, New York. I currently do public art installations, write, draw on my IPad and teach mosaics at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. I enjoy a healthy lifestyle, which includes a simple daily yoga and meditation practice.
I spent decades living in ashrams and countless hours in service to others. My creativity bloomed as giant mosaics across buildings, theaters, and parks all over Florida. Motherhood taught me unconditional love. Mediation and yoga remained constants in the frenzy of living, granting me a compass made of two parts:
Trust in my quiet mind, and love for my crazy heart.