Susan Munderich

Printmaker

“I am a self-taught printmaker living in the beautiful community of Pickering, Ontario. My work is inspired by first-hand nature experiences (most of which are enjoyed here in Pickering) that I document in my nature journals and with my camera. Each original linocut print celebrates biodiversity, adaptations, ecosystems and conservation while reflecting the stunning beauty of our local wild spaces. Every design presents a significant challenge in optimizing elements to achieve a dynamic composition, and in balancing negative and positive space. Once a design is complete and transferred to the block, thirty to fifty hours of carving are required before an edition can be printed. Using a bamboo baren, each piece of paper is hand-burnished to ensure a crisp and even transfer of ink, a time-consuming, but rewarding, process.

Through my art, I strive to raise awareness of the awe-inspiring nature events occurring perpetually in urban environments. It is my belief that art is a valuable educational tool that can be leveraged to inspire and mobilize others in preserving and protecting biodiversity. By revealing to my audience the complex, but often hidden, drama that unfolds daily in our very neighbourhoods, I hope to spark viewers’ curiosity and provoke further inquiry into our surroundings, thus galvanizing a connection, appreciation, and reverence for the environment.” – Susan Munderich

After several decades as an art educator supporting others in their creative endeavours, Susan Munderich began her artistic practice as a printmaker in 2021. Her first print, Pine Creek Spring, was created as a thank-you gift for city officials, conservation workers, and all those who contributed to the preservation of a local beaver family’s habitat. Since then, she has experimented with a variety of relief printmaking techniques including reduction, multi-block, and jigsaw. Alongside her limited editions, Susan also creates linocut illustrations for the nature books she writes, detailing the characteristics and behaviours of local creatures.

Fortunate to have artistic parents, Susan grew up surrounded by art materials and technical knowledge. Her sculptor mother and architect father valued creativity and, in addition to including Susan in their own activities, enrolled her in private art classes at Toronto’s Marty Gross Studio where she focused on pottery, ceramic sculpture, photography, and film animation. Summers were spent at Camp Tanamakoon in Algonquin Park, formerly owned by Susan’s grandparents, instilling in her a profound love for nature and connection to the environment.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Trent University and a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. Throughout her teaching career, she has been a staunch advocate for visual arts programming and has both created and facilitated a vast range of arts-based professional development opportunities for teachers, including two Visual Arts Additional Qualifications courses.

Susan recently began exhibiting her work and pursuing international opportunities. Glendale Fox won the honourable mention award at the Pine Ridge Arts Council’s annual juried show in 2023, and Jumping Mouse gained a place in the RED DOT Club at the Oshawa Art Association’s 56th annual juried show at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Her Pine Creek Plunge edition of twelve reduction prints recently travelled to Australia for the Global Print Exchange and show at Ingleside Studio, and her Silent Flight multi-block print was featured in a collaboration video with Flexcut Tools. Susan’s article, The Magic of a Multi-Block Print, detailing the process and challenges of this technique, appeared in the PRAC’s January 2024 issue of ArtScene. Her work has been included in OAA’s Art Matters publication, and WILD, a digital catalogue by Toronto’s John B. Aird Gallery. Susan has co-juried the Ajax Public Library’s SPARK! children’s art show and heARTbeat teen art show, and the Pickering Public Library’s Noisy Art children’s art show. Her artwork is in private collections in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia.