Susan McClelland

'Change is the essence of life. It is most obvious in children but it is a necessity through all of life. Change will occur inevitably but it can go in a positive or a negative direction.' ¹

Everything is impermanent; change is inevitable and can result in a negative or positive outcome, either alters the topography of life. Personal evolution is a progression. It is how one's own life changes throughout their existence, a process that lasts a lifetime. Many ideas and concepts influence our decisions. We may passively encounter events that quietly have an impact and alter our self. Conversely, we encounter events that change us significantly. These experiences shape who we are and who we become.

Just as life is a transformation, the material I use goes through its own transformation. As I learn and understand different processes, I incorporate them into my work. My method involves learning to accept and work within the parameters of change. Decisions are made to repair, aggravate, camouflage, destroy the result, or continue with the novel idea. Common raw materials are transformed into an unrecognizable material, familiar yet unfamiliar.

With abstract images, my work applies the concept of impermanence and change to societal and personal alterations.

Miller, Jean Baker. How Change Happens: Controlling Images, Mutuality, and Power.Women & Therapy, v. 31 issue 2-4, 2008, p. 109-127.