Suzi Banks Baum makes community wherever she goes. FeMail artist, writer, actor, producer, teacher and mother, Suzi expresses from inside mothering, makes art that is collaborative and celebratory and hosts opportunities for others to do the same. Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others ran for its third year as the opening event for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. She offered new writing in the Motherhood Out Loud production by WAM Theatre this March, spoke about courage in front of Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom From Fear” painting in collaboration with Joanne Spies and led a Rites of Passage writing workshop for Pooja Rue at the Whitney Center for the Arts in Pittsfield.

Suzi teaches writing in her Powder Keg Sessions. She inspires authors and artists to engage authentically online in her Rampant Sisterhood workshops. Suzi makes hand bound books and mixed media collages in her studio in Great Barrington. Her home orchard provides fruit for jamming and her two teens provide plenty of excitement to write about. Her website, Laundry Line Divine hosts her own writing and a guest blog series on mothering and creativity.

From the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Suzi’s professional life in theatre began at Northern Michigan University, continued to Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and like all magnets to a pole, New York City. She sewed costumes for theatre and dance, including costumes for Martha Graham’s dance company. Suzi has a wide base of training in performing arts and fine arts. Suzi is a graduate of the School of the Womanly Arts Mastery program. Passionate about the handcraft arts, Suzi is a frequent student at IS-183 and had the honor of being part of Paulus Berensohn’s last workshop at Penland, Slow and Savor. Her work with Paulus continues to fuel all her community making and artwork.

Published in March 2013, An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice is her first book. Featured in the book is writing about FeMail, Suzi’s collaboration with Karen Arp-Sandel. A 7-year mail art exchange, FeMail creates art events with the Berkshire Art Kitchen, Alchemy Initiative, Kripalu, The Story of Mum and the Museum of Motherhood in New York City. The International Sketch Book Tour includes Suzi’s altered book titled, Listing to the Left.

Suzi Banks Baum loves hanging laundry. Her upcoming book, Laundry Line Divine: A Wild Soul Book for Mothers recounts the wild tale of her adventures raising her self while raising her children.

Stephanie Gunning The Writer's Book of Inspiration
Miranda Hersey Helin The Creative Mother’s Guide: Six Creative Practices for the Early Years

Edited and contributed to An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice

I lead writing workshops in the Berkshires called The Powder Keg Sessions. One meets weekly at the Ramsdell Library in Housatonic and the other meets monthly. Email me for details.

I also offer writing and art workshops around the themes of daily writing practices, mothering and creativity to conferences and other gatherings for the International Women’s Writing Guild and other venues. Check out IWWG Summer Conference here.https://iwwg.wildapricot.org/event-2462694