Davis Family YMCA After Bort-Gray Starry Night Over Bethlehem, In the style of Vincent van Gogh Junkasaurus WRECKS
Suzanne is currently on staff at the Davis Family YMCA in Boardman, Ohio, where she inspires budding artists of all ages. Their collaborative images have won awards in venues throughout the county. Further information about art events at the YMCA can be found at the YMCA Art Blog
Davis Family YMCA, 2010
Thirty-five staff members worked to create this mosaic rendition of Suzanne's nativity painting, Starry Night Over Bethlehem (2009). It currently hangs at the Gallery At The Y (GATY) in the Boardman YMCA. 
Davis Family YMCA Camp Curiosity, 2009
Every year during YMCA Camp Curiosity, the children design and build a sculpture made from junk. J-WRECKS was created using old chicken wire, toilet paper rolls, packing peanuts, styrofoam boxes, PCV pipe, and plastic grocery bags. WRECKS stands for We Recycle... Everyone Can Kick-in Something. Seventy students participated in this collaboration.
Creating the shell of J-WRECKS
Completed J-WRECKS
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After Gauguin, Yellow Christ in the style of Paul Gauguin
Davis Family YMCA Staff, 2009 Thirty-three staff members participated in this group project, emulating Gauguin's Yellow Christ.
Suzanne initiated the project after staffers repeatedly popped into art classes lamenting their unrequited desire to paint. She sketched out the image and separated the canvases, then each participant was given free reign (and a limited palette). |
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Painting Georgia's Garden
Davis Family YMCA, 2008 Twelve members of the Youth Art class studied paintings by Georgia O'Keefe before exploring their own garden vision. The bottom row of Painting Georgia's Garden shows Georgia painting the children's own interpretation of her work, flanked by Suzanne's footprint art. The quilt is currently on display at the Davis Family YMCA. |
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Master Pieces
Davis Family YMCA, 2006 Home School art students ages 6 to 15 selected famous paintings to copy for the Master Pieces quilt. Not only did it win a blue ribbon at the Canfield Fair, but it also received accolades from Faith Ringgold, the foremost quilt painter in the world. Mimicking Ringgold's Dinner at Aunt Connie's House, Suzanne painted the bottom panel showing each student with his/her painting on the table.
The quilt was part of a traveling display for a year and is now exhibited at the Southern Park Mall.
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The Canfield Fair |
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The Faces of the Fair |
Global Art Project
The mission of the Global Art Project (GAP) is to joyously create a culture of peace through art. Biennially, participants create works of art expressing their vision of global peace and goodwill. The Arizona based Global Art Project then organizes an international exchange, resulting in thousands of people sending messages of peace around the world at one time --visions of unity simultaneously encircle the Earth. The art is sent as a gift of global friendship and exhibited in the receiving community.
Suzanne became involved with GAP in 2005 and now serves as an International Coordinator for the biennial exchange.
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Hundreds of YMCA members were photographed for this montage. The children (youth art students), face the rainbow in the horizon, longing for peace. The montage, along with art materials and medicines, were sent to a village in Senegal. They, in turn, sent the YMCA drawings and a dvd of their village.
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The Face of Peace Suzanne's brother, Richard Bort, was the impetus for this montage. He assembled the main image --male, female, white, black, Asian, Middle Eastern, old, young. The entire Bort family, as well as many of their acquaintances and friends are featured in the small images that comprise the large. The montage was the first ever GAP artwork sent to Iraq. |
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Youth art students collected small objects and made clay pieces expressing their views of world peace. The idea is that anyone who looks into the mirror sees the face of peace. |
Russian Peace Foundation
Through the Russian Peace Foundation and Youngstown State University (YSU) Campus Ministries, Suzanne had two occasions to volunteer at orphanages in St. Petersburg. Knowing that art is the universal language, she packed her bags with paint, canvas, clay, beads, and many other supplies. Wonderful works of art were created by the children of various detsky domas (children's homes). The Russian people are very art oriented and gladly hung the finished pieces in their government and educational facilities.
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Friendship Garden |
Hands Around the World |
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| Suzanne working with Russian children to create the Hands Around the World quilt | Hands Around the World quilt | Suzanne and Russian child creating the Hands Around the World mirror |
The Hands Around the World quilt project continued for several years, spreading from Russia to Canada and Mexico.
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| Hands Around the World, St. Catharine's YMCA, Canada | Hands Around the World, Akumal Primary School, Mexico |
Lawless Industries
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| Suzanne with Tinkerbell facsimile |
Test flight at Lawless farm in New Springfield, Ohio |
Maiden flight through Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom |
Ursuline Sisters Affiliation
 Starry Night Over Casa Madre Just for Kids, 2008 |
During a summer program for HIV/AIDS infected/affected teens, van Gogh was studied at length, not only for his artistic genius, but also for his life struggles. |
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In 2000, Suzanne embarked on a cross country journey with Ursuline Sister, Norma Raupple. The destination was Brownsville, Texas, where Sr. Norma had a mission, working with Mexican immigrants. The two women took several trips across the border to volunteer at a colonia (makeshift shanty town) on the outskirts of Matamoras, Mexico. This was Suzanne's first look at true poverty....and that poverty was within spitting distance of the United States. |
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