Boise artist, Sue Latta has been making art for as long as she can remember.
“I think that I was born with it. I made things when I was a kid, but I wasn’t your stereotypical drawer or painter kid, so it never seemed like it was art,” she said.
That is, until she went to college.
“One of my professors said, ‘This is a photographer’s photograph’. That was kind of the moment when I realized I can be an artist and an artist is kind of the thing that I am.” Latta said.
After that, Sue began creating. And when that happens, the feeling is hard to describe.
“So it’s the moment when I’m not hot, I’m not cold, I’m not hungry, I’m not tired, I’m not sick. I’m not in pain. All that is taken away and I’m just in it,” Latta said.
But for her, that’s one of the best parts of making art.
“There’s, I think, a joy in it. It really is that thing that I can’t not do,” she said.
Latta uses a variety of materials to make her art including steel, wood, cast materials and plastics.
“My favorite thing to do is to combine all those things to make things that are interesting to me,” Latta said.
Latta hopes to use her passion for art to inspires others as well. She teaches art classes including welding and gets a thrill out of watching her students create.
“Really what I give people, what I hope to give people, is confidence and the belief that they can do this,” Latta said.
And that in turn will hopefully spread another lesson Latta wholeheartedly believes.
“Really, as a society, we need to reframe what we think of as being creative because everybody is creative, it’s the thing that makes us human,” she said.
Sue Latta works at The Sculpture Studio in Downtown Boise. For more information about her artwork and offerings, you can check out her website: https://suelatta.com/
