Treasuring the ephemeral
- Suzanne’s practice centres on preserving insects and small animal skeletons in sculpture
- Her materials include aerospace parts and ethnically sourced specimens
- She seeks to magnify and honour the beauty of nature through her pieces
Suzanne Schmid is a sculptor and jeweller who creates unusual modern-day reliquaries for nature. Her lifelong love of making began with welding tractor parts and water troughs on a farm in California, and later took shape through a BFA in sculpture and installation art from UC Santa Barbara. After years of building large-scale public pieces and working as a photojournalist, Suzanne returned to 3D art-making through jewellery before fully shifting into sculpture. Today, she brings together her love of industrial materials and the natural world in her pieces, which preserve nature’s remnants beneath unique hand blown glass domes. “In my practice, I invite people to see the ephemeral as something worthy of reverence, care and lasting preservation,” she says.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
I am always trying to push the limits of what can be done, both physically and technically. Nature is at the centre of everything I make. I want to honour it and magnify its beauty, especially the details people might otherwise overlook.
I am drawn to the mystery of how things are built and how they function. I have always loved the idea of reliquaries, objects made with care to honour what is sacred. For me, nature is sacred.
It always starts with the specimen. I clean and prepare it carefully, then build a structure from salvaged industrial parts to support it and highlight its form. If there is damage, I repair it with 23 carat gold. The final step is sealing it under hand blown glass.
Everything is ethically sourced, nothing is killed for my art. Some specimens are found outdoors, and many come from wildlife sanctuaries or responsible suppliers. I know this work can bring up emotion in people, so I am careful to honour each life and its origin.
