Suellen Parker received her MFA in Photography and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has had solo exhibitions at the Stefan Stux Gallery NY and Daniel Cooney Fine Art NY. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at the Aperture Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland, Jackson Fine Art and White Space Gallery, Atlanta. Suellen’s work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Discover Magazine, the American Photography juried annual and regeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow published by Aperture. Her work is included in the permanent collections of Sir Elton John, Musée de l’Elysée, and Tel Aviv Museum in Israel. Suellen is represented by the Stux Gallery, NY and Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta. She is a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. Each character is conceived through any combination of my experiences, such as my perception of a stranger’s presentation of themselves or a memory from my past that just will not go away. When a character starts to emerge from my imagination, I attempt to create him or her in plastiline clay. Once satisfied with the sculpture, I photograph it in the studio with a blank backdrop. Concurrently, I build up a library of images by photographing walls, floors and any other objects or environments relevant to the concept for the image or the personality of the character. I load all of these photographs into the computer and begin the digital phase of my process. First I bring my characters to life by digitally painting skin tones onto the grey sculpture and adding color to the clothing. Photos of eyes are integrated onto the face and the finishing touches are added. Next a preliminary arrangement of photos are collaged around the figure in order to create the environment. The rest of my process is a combination of working and reworking the image by arranging, shooting, reshooting, and digitally drawing objects that make up the environment until it is finished.