ABOUT THE ARTIST

Susan Trimble is an emerging ceramic artist living and working on Turrbal and Yuggera Country in Brisbane, Queensland.

Born in South Africa, Susan immigrated to Australia as a teenager. Although she dreamed of becoming a professional artist, she completed a Diploma of Graphic Design and spent 30 years enjoying the creative freedoms and opportunities that career offered.

Susan always imagined painting would be the path to becoming an artist and practiced in her spare time. In 2002, she undertook a three-month residency at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy. Later, she entered the Archibald Prize in 2019 and was selected for the Salon des Refusés of the Brisbane Portrait Prize that same year.

Everything changed after a chance encounter with clay in 2020. Following a masterclass in large-scale ceramics and mosaic installation, Susan was offered the opportunity to learn from the renowned ceramic and mosaic artist Jane du Rand. Over three years, she learned skills in ceramic and mosaicing techniques, kiln and studio management and gained experience on a major public art commission while assisting in workshops. This period nurtured her love of – and cemented her commitment to – the ceramic medium.

Today, Susan works from her home studio in Brisbane, blending her design background, love of painting and nature with expressive mark-making to create works that are an inquiry into joy and connection. Her practice reflects a dedication to craftsmanship and a belief in the transformative power of art.

Susan’s solo exhibition Birds of a Feather was held in 2024. She was a finalist in the biennial North Queensland Ceramic Award that same year and is a regular exhibitor at Artisans in the Gardens in Sydney. Earlier this year, Susan was a finalist in Studio on Brunswick’s Independent Visual Art Prize and won the Accelerator Award which includes mentoring and will culminate in a pop-up solo show in 2027.

Susan is currently working on a range of new totems for this year’s Artisans in the Gardens in Sydney’s Botanic Garden in October 2026.