Artist models work from experience

By Nicole Arias
Staff Writer

Food research scientist Susan Axel Bedsaul uses personal experiences, such as overcoming breast cancer, to create artwork.

After Bedsaul was diagnosed with breast cancer in September of 1997 and underwent surgery and radiation treatments, she conquered the disease and made a decision to enjoy herself more.

She said that one of the ways she makes the most of life is through the creation of art.

"This is a way of expressing another side of me that I can go wild on," she said.

Bedsaul, a contemporary batik artist, will open her show at 9 a.m Saturday at the Helene Werle Gallery in St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Her work will be displayed until April 27.

All artwork displayed is for sale, and 25 percent of the proceeds go to the hospital's cardiac department.

Bedsaul said being an artist is natural for her because she grew up with art. She signs all of her batiks her father’s name, "Axel," as a tribute to him. His artistic talent was in making woodcarvings and furniture, which influenced her.

Bedsaul's batiks, which are an ancient craft from Indonesia that uses wax and dye to create an image, differ from the traditional because some include words from various languages. She incorporates words when she feels a piece just needs something more.

"The batiks are vibrant and expressive in the way that the colors are used to create different moods," said Karrie Frohbieter, a graduate student who works with Bedsaul. "She also puts a lot of culture in it by including words of different languages."

Frohbieter said what amazes her is the detail and effort Bedsaul puts into making her batiks.

Bedsaul, who began teaching herself batik in 1990, has developed a method that can be a lengthy process.

It involves applying the wax and dye, then rinsing, drying and removing the wax. The process is time consuming — it takes four to eight hours alone to rinse and let the fabric dry.

It can take a few weeks to complete one batik because she works on the batiks during her spare time on the evenings and weekends.

Often she loses track of time while working on her artwork. Bedsaul said it is not uncommon for her to finish working on a piece as late as two or three in the morning.

She gets her ideas for the artwork from all different sources. For example, once while Bedsaul was trying to draw a tomato, she found she could not continue.

"I could not imagine how you would draw a tomato," Bedsaul said.

When she told Frohbieter that she didn't know how to differentiate a tomato from an apple, Frohbeiter said, "A tomato, oh that's easy."

Then she drew a squashed circled with a star on top, and that is the image Bedsaul used for her piece.

"Yeah, it's ironic," Bedsaul said. "I can tell you what's in a tomato and even how to grow it, but drawing one just floored me."

· The Helene Werle Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m every day. It is located beside the gift shop in the lobby of St. Elizabeth's Hospital. A reception will be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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