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Suzan Rasmussen 

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Sarah Stavros

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On Friday, June 11, the Fairview Museum will host a celebration reception for Sue Rasmussen and her art student, Sarah Stavros. The event will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on that date. Fairview Museum is located at 85 N. 100 East in Fairview.

Susan Renee Dykes Rasmussen was raised in Salt Lake City and graduated from Highland High School. She studied commercial art with Harold Petersen and painting from Jack Vigos. As a senior, she won first place at the Springville Student Art Show, which awarded her an art scholarship to study with Wesley Burnside at BYU.

At the University of Utah, George Dibble was her mentor. She then spent two years in Paris, France where she studied classical painting at the Academie Julien and later at the Sorbonne. Retired, after teaching high school, she devotes her time to painting.

A member of Artistes Sans-Frontieres (Artists Without Borders) the Taylor Foundation, and the Southern Utah Water Color Association, her paintings have been exhibited at the Portes Ouvertes and Salon d’ Automne of the 14th arrondissement, the Loft Gallery, and the Adzak International Art Space in Paris.

She paints in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. Suzan was married to Jerrold Rasmussen, owner of the 3R Land and Livestock Ranch in Oakcreek. They have one daughter, Edi who is a free-lance graphic artist and jewelry designer. After moving to the Fairview area, they settled on a ranch in Milburn.

Sue presently is a retired teacher from North Sanpete High School where she taught English, Drama, Theater and French. She directed all of the plays and greatly enjoyed working with students. She also volunteered at the Fairview Museum. One of her responsibilities was to teach and coordinate the Art Starts program (K-6 grades) from 2014 through 2018. Sarah Stavros was one of her students and has continued studying art with Sue.

Sue remarked, “From the time I was a little kid I always had a piece of chalk or a crayon in my hand. I loved colors! I loved to draw! I loved making messes with colors. I was constantly in trouble for coloring things I wasn’t supposed to color; the cat, the wallpaper in my bedroom, the sheets on my bed, books that weren’t coloring books, and my grandpa’s car. (I got a real spanking for that!)

I had my own techniques such as pouring paint from the can directly on to whatever object was in front of me; picking a plant or weed from the garden, then dipping it in the paint and flicking it all over; or plunging my hands in paint and smearing myself, the wall, or whatever was within reach. When I got caught, my punishment was to sit with my nose in a corner.

That always reminded me of the Uncle Remus story of Brer Rabbit who got thrown in the briar patch when he got caught in the vegetable garden. “Oh no! Please don’t throw me in that briar patch!”–and so they would throw him in the briar patch, and he would run away laughing and yelling, “I was born in that briar patch!” When I sat with my nose in the corner, I didn’t have to do any work, or take care of my baby sister, put my toys away or do chores. All I had to do was sit there and make up my own stories and songs. I was perfectly content; it was no punishment at all!

When I got to public school, the teachers noticed that I was always drawing on the work I turned in. Some of them covered a wall with butcher paper, so as soon as I finished my work, I could go draw murals on the butcher paper. I drew the outlines, then other kids got to help me color in the picture. My favorite time was Christmas when I drew the manger scene, and using The Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia (which we had in our home), I drew images of people dressed in their native costumes who were bringing gifts to Baby Jesus. I was able to draw and listen to the teacher’s lesson at the same time. I did this all through school. By the end of high school, I received a full paid scholarship to Brigham Young University (BYU). I really enjoyed working with the art teachers there.”

Sue’s student, Sarah Stavros, fell in love with art the minute that Sue Rasmussen invited her to her art starts class at the museum. Sarah would come to class be the first to start and the last to clean up. Sue would often invite Sarah over and have her do painting along with Sue. Sarah has enjoyed art and helping Sue get organized with art classes. Sarah is 11 years old and in the fifth grade at Fairview elementary. She has brought home some amazing art from school.

This exhibit will be an exceptional visual display in the Rotating Artist Gallery at the Fairview Museum. Patrons and the public are cordially invited to come to the museum on June 11 or after to view this display. The exhibit will run until Aug. 14.