I remember the first time I saw Suzan Mischer. She was sitting alone at a table in the dining hall at Squam. Concerned that maybe she was feeling a bit lost or alone, I went over and asked how she was doing. Her pen paused over the open journal where she had been writing. She looked up with a radiant smile., “I am doing GREAT,” she said.
And it is that radiance, that ease, that deep comfort with doing things on her own that resonates most with me when I think of Suzan.
Since that first meeting we have become friends as she has returned to Squam a number of times and has spent a couple summers here in Providence taking classes at RISD.
What I didn’t know when we first met was that Suzan was one of the pioneers of the community shop where you could knit, buy yarn, make friends and enjoy great coffee.
In fact her L.A. shop KnitCafe was such a fresh thing in 2003 that the New York Times featured Suzan’s creation in an article titled, “Yes, a Warm Fuzzy Place in Hollywood.”
As you will hear in our chat above, Suzan is now about to move into a brand-new, super exciting phase of life. After graduating from high school, Suzan went straight into workforce and ended up bypassing college. She didn’t know if this would hold her back in some way, but turns out– no! She carved her own sweet path. Today, over the age of 60, Suzan is about to head to art school and complete a BFA at RISD (*fingers crossed* the cows come home and the creeks don’t rise yada yada) — which, I don’t know if this was always her dream, but it sure is mine! ha.
that speak to the thrill of walking a new trail as well as the sheer
(exuberant) exhaustion of what it takes to cross the finish line
For now, take a listen to her extraordinary journey at this Morning on the Dock.
bisous, Elizabeth
