It took a trifecta of life-changing events for Suzanne Tick to harness the healing power of art. But after she did, her life would be transformed.
Suzanne was going through a divorce, dealing with the death of her father, and adjusting to her son going off to college. She was emotionally distraught on all levels. She knew she needed to refocus. For herself and her business.
So she turned to something that had given her comfort and joy during her time in college — weaving.
“I set my loom up, not for my company, but for myself,” Suzanne said. “I connected with my own internal creative side and what that meditation of weaving did for me opened me up in different ways I hadn’t considered.”
Suzanne is the founder of Suzanne Tick, Inc., a textile company focused on product design, development, and direction for commercial interiors. She has spent her life in textiles, but it wasn’t until she started weaving for pleasure that she found transformation.
“That’s the magic of life,” Suzanne said. “You don’t know what can happen until you let yourself relax. And the cool thing is, that enlightening is there for everyone, you just have to connect with yourself first. It can’t happen through others, but the minute you make the connection with your own heart, it just happens.”
This transformation through creative outlets is what Suzanne will discuss with the audience at TEDxNavesink Makers on April 9 at Monmouth University. Her talk, “Weaving Trash Into Treasure” will focus on the transformative power of her own artwork. She’ll tell her story through three major woven art projects that allowed her to find gratitude in understanding.
Suzanne grew up in Bloomington, Illinois and was encouraged by her family to embrace her artistic side. Her grandmother was an artist, her dad was a tinkerer and her mom designed sets for the local community theater. Who better to encourage creativity?
She attended the University of Iowa where she fell in love with weaving. After college, Suzanne left the corn fields for the concrete fields of New York City. She worked in the commercial textile industry for 20 years then started her own business.
“I wanted to do something that was a little more contemplative and personal,” she said.
After digging deep into herself and thinking about how to really serve her clients to the best of her ability, Suzanne whole-heartedly embraced collaboration through co-creation. She shifted the paradigm of her business, really focusing on how people can work together.
She has partnered with Tarkett, a world-wide leader in sustainable flooring, to rebrand a flooring line. She is the creative director of Teknion Textiles. Her business is also going through a rebrand itself.
“It’s all about tapping into your own creative juices,” Suzanne said. “Had I not had the opportunity to give myself that opening up, I couldn’t have understood the needs of my clients. You have to let go of all the things that you imagine you have control of and allow things to unfold.”
“It’s the cure,” she said. “Give yourself the ability to just be happy amongst yourself and your work. Put the air on yourself before you help others.”
Her advice for the TEDxNavesink audience? For 30 minutes each day, sit down and do something you love.
“The minute you unleash that creativity, your life starts happening again in a different way,” Suzanne said. “Everything is interconnected.”
TEDxNavesink is just three days away. Get your ticket now!