Degrees:

M.A., Miami University, B.A., College of Mount St. Joseph

Biography:

Susan Ruttle Lawrence is the Director of the Art Education Program and an adjunct instructor in the Department of Art and Design. Her courses include Comprehensive Art Education II, Art Education Seminar and Practicum, Fiber and Fabric, Fabric Printing, Sustainable Mixed Media Sculpture, and Art World. She invites risk taking in the art making process, so that students find meaning and voice in their self-expression*.* Additional responsibilities include supervising pre-service art education students in their practicum and student teaching field placements. She received her M.A. in Art Education in 1989 from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and a B.A. in Art Education in 1980 from the College of Mount St. Joseph. She achieved her National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Art in 2003.

Before coming to the Mount in 2013, Susan had an exciting 32-year teaching career as a Visual Arts Specialist in the Oak Hills Local School District. During her tenure there, Mrs. Lawrence wrote and received many grants for special projects, art experiences, and supplemental supplies. In 2019, Susan was awarded the Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA) Ohio Art Educator of the Year award and was inducted into the OAEA Distinguished Fellows. In the previous year she received the 2018 OAEA Higher Education Division award. Mount St. Joseph University presented her with the Outstanding Adjunct award in 2016. The Oak Hills Local School District recognized her in 2008 with the Distinguished Staff Member Award. She was also honored by the National Art Education Association in 1999 with the Ohio Middle School Art Educator Award along with the Ohio Art Education Association in 1998. She was bestowed the Outstanding Art Teacher award from the Southwest Ohio Art Education Association in 1994. In 1987, The Mount Art Department presented her with the John Nartker Art Alumni Award.

Mrs. Lawrence is an active member of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), the Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA), and the Southwest Ohio Art Education Association (SWOAEA). She has presented several times at the NAEA annual convention and has given numerous presentations at the annual OAEA Professional Development conference. Currently, she serves as the OAEA State Awards Co-Chair and is on the SWOAEA Executive Board as the Youth Art Month Exhibit and Young Peoples Art Exhibition Co-Chairperson.

Susan Ruttle Lawrence creates and exhibits complex dyed fabric/fiber art works regionally. She enhances her fabric designs through manipulation, cutting, applique, quilting, and rapid machine stitching to create a dynamic interplay between the visual and tactile surface quality of her pieces.