from Bishop Flaget School — Chillicothe, Ohio

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Biography

Susan (Suzi, Smitty) Kathryn Smith Cunningham - Born 1954 Oak Ridge, Tennessee
After twelve years of Catholic school, the only thing I enjoyed in school were the people. I always enjoyed doodling and looking at art (especially the stained glass windows at St. Peters) and took my first art lesson from Skip Hathaway my senior year in high school. I decided to combine my love for people with art by teaching something fun in school....art. I graduated from Ohio University in 1976 with a BSED in Art Education. I received my masters in Education from Ohio University in 1992 with my concentration on integrating art into the curriculum. I taught art for 30 years - 23 years at Logan Elm School District and 7 at Chillicothe for a combined total of 8 years teaching Kindergarten through 6th, 11 years at Middle School and 11 years in High School. I retired to devote the rest of my life to becoming an artist and helping others through art. Being an art educator, I am a jack of all arts and master of none. My favorite media are paper making and painting. I also write and perform art songs that teach about artists. My style varies, but if I had to classify I would choose expressionistic. My work is influenced by Henri Rousseau, Georgia O'keeffe, Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Claude Monet. I married John Cunningham in 1977 and we have 2 wonderful adult children, Jodi (married to Neil Caruso) and Brady. I chose to donate my time to teach art at Flaget because this is where I feel God wants me to be and the kids at Flaget need art. This will be my 2nd year full time at Flaget.

Personal Art Gallery