Barrows Featured Artists of June, 2025: Susan Brady

A resident of Westwood for the past 13 years, Susan Brady is a self-described “dabbler,” into many different forms of art, but don’t let her modesty fool you. Her intricately carved rubber stamps, vibrant visual journals, and annual festive handmade holiday cards reflect a deep artistic sensitivity and decades of practice. Her signature style, which she refers to as “more illustrative than fine art,” combines intentional color theory with playful, personal imagery.
 
Susan traces her lifelong relationship with art back to a creative childhood.
 
“I was always the kid in class that liked to do art,” she remembered. “The other kids would ask me to draw a picture for them so they could then have it to keep.”
 
That spark of passion led Susan to major in fine art, with a focus on painting and printmaking, at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Later, she continued her studies in illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt). Still, like many art graduates, she didn’t pursue a professional path in the arts, as she didn’t believe she could make a living from art alone.
 
Instead, Susan’s career path followed a different trajectory. She currently works as an office administrator at a startup developing hardware for the quantum internet. Before that, she spent nearly 20 years in biotech communications.
 
“I wasn’t doing the design work, but I worked with designers to manage corporate graphics, websites, and even office installations,” Susan said. “So I still used some of my visual arts training in my day-to-day job.”
 
For Susan, the choice not to pursue art as a full-time career was deliberate.
 
“There was a time when I thought maybe I could do something more with my art while I was transitioning out of biotech,” Susan said. “But the more I looked into it, the more I realized, I just want to do it for myself. It’s more like a meditation or a creative practice, not something I want to have to monetize.”
 
That creative practice has become a daily ritual. Susan creates “color blobs” each day in her journals – intuitive swatches of paint that reflect her mood and the changing seasons.
 
“In winter, there are usually more dark and grayish colors. In spring, they get more green or pink,” she noted with pride.
 
“Updating my visual journal each day is the most consistent thing I do,” Susan said. “It’s a daily practice. People are often very interested in all the details when they see it.”
 
Susan also uses rubber stamps – many of which she hand-carves – to embellish her pages.
 
Her process for making the stamps is both precise and satisfying.
 
“I usually sketch out a design, trace it onto tracing paper, and then transfer that to the rubber by rubbing over the pencil (or penciled?) lines. I use special carving tools to carve out the design,” Susan explained.
 
The medium is similar to linoleum block printing but easier to carve and safer to handle. “You’re not as likely to have the knife go flying off the surface and into your hand,” she jokingly added.
 
Susan’s stamps have found their way into the hands of friends and even a few small commissions. However, one of her more public endeavors was a holiday market hosted by the Westwood Artists group, where she sold packs of notecards stamped with her unique designs.
 
As the years pass by, Susan’s artistic style continues to evolve, influenced by her education and her love of watercolor.
 
“My painting professor in college was really into color theory, so I feel like I know a lot about mixing colors,” Susan said.
 
Each year, Susan channels her creative energy into designing a holiday card.
 
“I used to make each card by hand,” she said. “But the list got too big. Now I create one original card and get the design reproduced at a print shop.”
 
Even so, the tradition is one she looks forward to.
 
“Usually, I spend Thanksgiving weekend working on it. I have the extra day off, and that’s when I can really focus and get into the holiday mood.”
 
Susan’s advice for aspiring artists or hobbyists trying to balance creativity with life’s responsibilities is straightforward: don’t let outside voices dictate your path.
 
“I listened to the people who said you can’t do anything with an art degree. I wouldn’t recommend believing that. I have friends who make it work. But for me, keeping art as something personal gave me more freedom to explore and change without pressure.”
 
Susan Brady may not call herself a professional artist, but her work speaks volumes about the value of personal expression. In a world where art is so often tied to productivity, she reminds us of its quieter power – to heal, to reflect, and to simply bring joy both to the artist and their audience alike.
 
Instagram: @greenskysusan
 
Thank you, Jim Ritchey, for nominating Susan to be our June Featured Artist! If you’d like to nominate an artist of any sort to be featured—music, acting, painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.—please email dbezdedeanu@bestversionmedia.com.