Susie studied Illustration / Graphic Design at Edinburgh College of Art where she met her husband David Sim, a fellow student in the department. After working in London for eleven years as a book illustrator, Susie returned to Edinburgh with David and their two children, Rachel and Matthew. In 1994 the family settled in Crail, a historic fishing village, situated in the East Neuk of Fife.
Susie specialises in illustrating books for young children. Her recent work includes a set of six books using a fabric/appliqué style of illustration. The titles for these beautifully crafted books include traditional nursery rhymes, lullabies and fairy tales. In the same style, Susie has just had two new board books for babies published which she wrote herself- Bouncing Babies and Five Little Teddy Bears (appliqué pictures using a similar fabric technique are on sale in the gallery). She is currently working on two novelty books for young children using her new paint /collage style.
Printmaking shows a different aspect of Susie's work, though similarly decorative and detailed in style and content to her books. The initial preparation work including cutting for the linocut prints is carried out in the studio in Crail. Depending on the size of the image, the final printing from the block is either done at Dundee Contemporary Arts in the Printmakers Workshop or smaller prints are made here in the gallery on the bookbinding press. The linocut prints are produced on handmade papers as a limited edition number using a reduction technique, cutting away the lino block as each colour is printed, resulting in a very small run of unique prints.
The artist's prints are often inspired by images of the fishing communities in the East Neuk of Fife, with picturesque scenes of domestic life around the ancient harbours. Fishing boats, lobster pots, washing lines and fish vans are set against the traditional 17th Century whitewashed cottages of the seaside villages with their crow-stepped gables and red pantile roofs.
