Olympic Park in Munich

On our recent trip to Munich, Steve and I went to Olympic Park. It is beautiful. The weather was perfect ... but these hamster-like plastic balls for rolling on the water were only available for kids! I want to do this too!

Outdoor Art on the Isar River

This video was shot during our April trip to Munich. It includes my parents, my sister Wanda (who drove us all over Bavaria!) and her husband Reinhard, Steve and me. The outdoor installation of rock formations is somewhere on the banks of the Isar River south of Munich. We know nothing more about it. If anyone seeing this video has information, please contact me at mouse_house@prodigy.net! Thanks! Susan

The Zugspitz with Susan and Steve

Our recent trip to Munich included a fabulous day excursion to Germany's highest alpine peak, the Zugspitz. The day was GLORIOUS! Of course, the people selling cable car tickets thought I was totally nuts since I was wearing flip flops ... but it didn't stop me (and wasn't a problem at all ... it's not like I was going skiing after all!) From the summit, we rode the smaller cable car down onto the glacier where skiers were EVERYWHERE! This video captures this ride.

Some of the skiers were dressed in traditional dirndls. Others were sun tanning in provided chairs. There is also a train that departs from the bottom and climbs via cogs. This train also arrived in the same glacier station to which we were riding. Steve and I went down the mountain on the train.

In the video I mention that "Austria was closed". Well, the boarder between the two countries runs right through the top of the Zugspitz. The Austrian side of the summit hadn't been completely shoveled out from recent snowfall ... hence, it was "closed".

Thank you goes to my sister Wanda who drove us to the Zugspitz. Our group consisted of Wanda, her husband Reinhard, my parents, Steve and me. My mother went up and down on the train. Wanda and my Dad went up on the train and down on the cable car. Steve and I went up on the cable car and down on the train. Reinhard only went by cable car. It was a blast no matter how you rode!

Runaway Runway, 2012 ... Felicia on the catwalk!

Felicia Finney, my excellent young model (age 14 and 5' 9 1/2" tall) on the catwalk at Runaway Runway, 2012. This annual event is sponsored by the Columbia Design League and features garments made from 100% recycled material. Felicia's dress was created from black felt that had previously been used as packaging material when shipping a kayak or canoe from its manufacturer to a local outdoors shop. The two-piece garment is covered in buttons salvaged from the former South Carolina State Mental Hospital's vacant laundry/alterations building. The over-sized tote was made from used tyvek and bubble-wrap mailing envelops from Lenz Travel Services of Slippery Rock, PA. It is called a "Barkin' Bag", an obvious twist on the elite Hermes Birkin Bag. Why "Barkin' "? Watch the video for Lulu, my sister Sonya's tiny dog who emerges from the Barkin' Bag at the end of the runway. Lulu is dressed in a harness that matches Felicia's outfit. (By the way, my adorable husband Steve actually shot this video!)

Ohio State vs. the Gamecocks ... O-H-I-O cheer

It was supposed to be a Gamecock home game ... but Ohio Staters were everywhere. The only home arena advantage was that USC controlled the loud speakers and sounded there obnoxious rooster call almost every time the Buckeyes had the place in an uproar!

Thanksgiving Turduckin, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011. Sonya and Vipin hosted a most amazing Thanksgiving dinner and introduced us to a new tradition ... TURDUCKEN!

Mariachi Band at Vision Gallery

This video isn't the greatest. Why? Because my camera only takes movies that become "MOV" files on my computer. There's no possible way to switch the formatting on the camera to the needed "AVI" type file that works with Blogger. I have a free program to "convert" the file ... but ... well, I get what I paid for ... not a great result. I should have taken the video with Steve's camera (my old camera!). Yet, this video does offer a bit of the southwestern flavor and vocal excitement that entertained during the reception of Vision Gallery's Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) reception last Friday night. My show "Famous Last Words" was part of the festivities.

Tar Balls on South Carolina's Folly Beach

On Thursday, October 13, 2011 I went to what is left of Folly Beach to collect trash for my upcoming window installation, Two Hours at the Beach. It was a disturbing trip. First, Folly Beach's County Park is closed due to severe erosion caused by Hurricane Irene. The damage is shocking. There's nothing left of most of dunes at the end of the island. Second, there were all sorts of black "rocks" littering the sand and leeching coffee like stains back into the ocean. On closer inspection, they weren't really "rocks" but TAR BALLS. Some were the size of bowling balls. The small ones could be easily broken by hand. This video shows my husband Steve breaking one of the small ones I brought back.

He Said, She Said

This artist book was created using two, mixed media works on 5" x 7" masonite panels featuring antique engravings with layers of paint and sheer paper. Holes were drilled for coptic binding.

Mining in Arkansas

Steve and I had a total blast at Coleman's Quartz Mine on Thursday, September 1, 2011. We found plenty of beautiful stones to line our pet cemetery, many clear crystal pieces, met lots of nice people, and tried our best not to die of heat stroke in the 96 degree temperatures!

Why I Love DC

This video was made in response to a question posed on Facebook by one of my former high school classmates, Doug Riggs. He asked, "Why would you like to like in DC?"

Ophelia ... Time lapse video by Heather Bauer

This time lapse video was taken by the talented photographer Heather Bauer between 7:30 - 8:15 on June 2, 2011 during "First Thursday on Main Street" in Columbia, South Carolina. It documents the performance art piece OPHELIA. This collaborative project was the vision of Susan Lenz who also modeled for the work. The graffitti-inspired "suicide note" on the back wall was created by Michael Krajewski. After the one-evening only "performance art", a large, framed photo was suspended above the bathtub ... replacing the mirror. This suspended photo was taken by Heather Bauer and Eric Parton during "dress rehearsal" on May 31th. It pictured Susan Lenz as Ophelia, the tragic Shakespearean character from Hamlet that was a popular subject for many Pre-Raphelite and Arts & Crafts painters.

To read more about Ophelia ... with additional "still" photos, please click HERE!

I Do / I Don't, Before the Installation

This video was taken on St. Patrick's Day 2011. It shows an opulent room in the old Mais Oui building, 927-929 Gervais Street which will be the site of Susan Lenz's installation "I Do / I Don't". The site specific work will focus on marital relationships and include a grouping of vintage and new wedding veils on which the artist has free motion machine embroidered collected statements. These veils and also stitched ribbons will be suspended from the ceiling. The public will have an opportunity to share there impressions and reflections on both marriage and divorce.

Parking Lot

Some people have been more than a little offended by my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. They're aghast that I apply fabric over a tombstone and make a crayon rubbing because this action requires me to TOUCH the marker.

Well....my husband LOVES this art series. He loves the fact that we can travel just about anywhere in the world and make it a partial, legal tax deduction. He loves cemeteries too....the peacefulness, the beautiful landscaping, the sculptural angels, the touching words that speak from the distant past, the thought provoking personal truths that epitaphs provide, the lingering realities of a limited life span.....and he LOVES scouting out new locations for rubbings.

On a recent trip to watch our elder son, Mathias Lenz Dingman, dance with Birmingham Royal Ballet....he found this location outside Manchester....with the church parking lot that is simultaneously part of a century old cemetery. Well....I might TOUCH the graves....but I've never PARKED ON THEM! I can't wait to visit here too. I'm sure there won't be any outraged people if I'm caught in the act of making a simple grave rubbing on fabric!

The Last Bouquet, Window Installation

The Last Bouquet is a window installation at the Tapp's building in Columbia. Located at the corner of Main Street and Blanding Street, the old department store will hopefully become a permanent arts building. In the meantime, Brenda Schwarz Miller (who took most of the moving images for this video) is spear-heading monthly art openings and coordinating the window installations. Her daughter Syna graciously helped with the artificial flowers.

The artwork includes a piece from my "Angels in Mourning" series called "A Bud on Earth", two large curtain panels covered in crayon grave rubbings, chiffon banners with free motion machine embroidered epitaphs, and eight garbage bags of artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters. The window is on display 24/7 from January 1 - February 28, 2011!

Seattle's International Fountain

Bald is Beautiful

Napa Wine Train

We thought it might be a "tacky"....but we wanted to do it anyway. IT WAS GREAT!
Here's the website!

Blues Chapel at the Greater Denton Arts Center in Texas, Part One

Blues Chapel was at the Greater Denton Arts Council's Gough Gallery from November 22, 1009 until January 6, 2010. This video and the one posted directly beneath it were taken right before we packaged everything up to return to Columbia. These two videos aren't anything "special"... just two video clip straight out of the camera. Yet, the memory is special. The show was GREAT! Blues Chapel will next be seen at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, SC from February 4 - 16, 2010!

Blues Chapel at the Greater Denton Arts Center in Texas