Suezan Chapman, this month's featured artist at the Artisans of Mancos, recounts the story of how she began working with slate, stones, tiles and mirrors like this.

One day she was riding her horse in Echo Basin, close to Mancos. She was working her way back to the trailhead when her horse, Smokey Joe, was stung by a hornet. As you can guess, she got bucked off and broke her leg. And, if that wasn't enough, she ended up losing her "regular" job.

At this turning point in her life, she decided to look on these life experiences with a positive perspective. Daily she would visualize how she wanted her life to be, and set forth her dominant intent to align with those desires. Through this journey, she decided, "I never wanted to have a regular job again, and allowed this to manifest into my reality."

During this transition, she designed a mirror for herself. When others saw the mirror, and complimented her on the design, it provided clarification that this form of creativity aligned with her aspirations. Southwest motif is the center of her inspiration and the energy she puts forth to design her products are a direct reflection.

She typically uses slate tile, because of the wide range of color and textures. She incorporates other materials into the design, making use of copper, stone arrow heads, feathers carved from buffalo-ribs, carved petroglyphs, fishing flies, glass tiles and fetishes. Suezan states, "I pride myself in creating unique signature artwork".

Her studio is located at her Lotta Water Ranch in the breath taking Mancos River Valley. You can view her designs on display at the Artisans of Mancos, where she is the feature Artist in the window display located on the corner of Bauer and Main.