Artist Without A Residence
Trish Suder is packing up and looking toward the future. She knows wherever it leads, she'll continue to paint, and her dogs will be there with her.
It's hard enough as it is to make a living as an artist. But after 42 years in her Gaither Road house, Trish Suder, Sykesville's self-described resident artist, may soon become an artist without a residence.
Ms. Suder and her three English Labradors may face eviction within a few months. Due to a combination of bad luck, a bad economy, and what she believes was the work of a predatory lender, her house has been in foreclosure for more than a year, and time is running out. Facing medical problems that make it increasingly difficult to work, Ms. Suder, 65, can't afford payments on a mortgage that has ballooned to four times her income on a principal balance that has grown to 175% of the value of her house. She estimates she has three months before the house goes to auction.
1800 Prints for Sykesville
Despite the situation, Ms. Suder decided on an act of generosity, offering her large collection of prints to the town of Sykesville. On Monday, January 11, at its mayor and town council meeting, the town showed Ms. Suder its gratitude for donating 1,800 of her prints.
The prints depict the Sykesville train station in winter, a canoe scene, and deer in snow, and she is also giving copies of a poster of Union Major General John Sedgwick, which has sold at the Gettysburg National Battlefield Gift Shop.
In addition, she will donate hundreds of posters depicting the Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial and a scene from Arlington National Cemetery to Eastern National, a non-profit that operates gift shops and visitor services for the U.S. National Park Service.
“She has been a part of Sykesville for a very long time,” Town Manager Matt Candland told Sykesville Online. “We're very grateful for her generosity.” Mr. Candland said the town intends to sell the prints to raise funds for downtown. “There are some very lovely prints,” he said.
A Rural American Artist
Ms. Suder was listed as a “rural American artist” by Manhattan Arts Magazine of New York, and described as one of the up-coming artists of the 1990s.
Her brochure relates that “Drawing on memories of the disappearing rural America of her youth, Trish Suder photographs and later paints images of nostalgia, such as old barns, railroad stations, water mills and covered bridges.”
Her art, oils and watercolors made into prints, posters, and limited editions, have sold in gift shops in Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Iwo Jima Memorial. But her prints need an outlet she no longer has, since the closing of her last gallery in 2006, and they haven't sold in large enough numbers recently to bring in much money.
Town Spreading the Word
Mr. Candland has spoken with Ms. Suder about her situation. “We started spreading the word around” to try to help her find a solution. “I don't know another case like Ms. Suder's,” he said, adding that although the town gets foreclosure notices, the dispositions of those cases – and the circumstances homeowners face – do not routinely come to the attention of town leaders.
Rita Zimmerman, deputy director of the Carroll County Department of Citizen Services, said there are different resources for renters or homeowners who face eviction. Information and advice is available by visiting the office at 10 Distillery Drive, Westminster. Homeowners whose foreclosure proceedings have not progressed too far can get advice from the Bureau of Housing by calling 410-386-3600, and renters can apply for assistance through the Human Services Programs of Carroll County, a non-profit agency, by calling 410-857-2999. Ms. Zimmerman also referred inquiries to St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center in Baltimore, which also offers several housing assistance programs, and can be reached at 410-366-8550.
Ms. Zimmerman said recent data suggests a significant increase in Carroll County residents needing assistance. She said the county soup kitchen has seen an increase of 50% to 100% customers in the past year.
Looking at all Options
Ms. Suder said she has been investigating public housing options and has been told there is a 2- to 5-year wait, and she could not take all her dogs with her. Because of her limited income she is looking for live-in help arrangements such as a mother-in-law suite, possibly in exchange for caring for an elderly person. Two sons have offered her space on a couch or spare room. But as of now, she is a few months from homeless.
Until then, she is making ends meet. “I've been doing all kinds of jobs since I retired, including taking care of a 92-year-old man with Alzheimer's, sewing, etc., to supplement my income.”
And she is preparing for the day she will have to leave her home.
“It's hard for me to go through stuff that was my mother's and grandmother's and try to decide what to keep and what to give away. It's hard to pack 42 years into boxes.”
From Main Street to Eldersburg
Ms. Suder, an expert framer as well as an artist, ran a gallery, frame and art supply shop called Pat's Art Mart, on Main Street, across from St. Barnabas Episcopal Church's parish house, for a few years in the mid- to late-1960s.
“My children were in a nursery in the back room,” she said.
She moved the shop to Eldersburg and changed the name to Pat's Framing, which she ran until 1994, when she broke her back in a freak accident. Her son took over the business and ran it until 2006.
About that time, he got into the real estate business, and when his mother’s back problems worsened and she faced two surgeries that forced her to stop work, they borrowed the equity in her house to buy other houses to fix up and sell.
The mortgage officer was eager to process loans for the risky venture, she said. But the timing of the easy credit couldn't have been worse. When the housing market fell apart, her son couldn't sell the other houses, and she and her son couldn't make mortgage payments on those houses or her own. Today they are on the verge of losing the last property either owns.
Determination and Nightmares
Friends have offered to store her originals and artists' proofs and her large collection of family photos and important smaller things. But where she will go is uncertain.
“Even if I have to live out of my van, I'm not going to let my dogs go.”
And she vows to keep painting. “As long as I live and breathe, I'll paint. God's given me a gift and it's just who I am.”
Resilient and determined, she's not asking for sympathy and has come to the point where she's tired of talking about it all. Still, the thought of losing her home – and having to dispose of all of her belongings – scares her to death.
“I have nightmares every night.”
Update: Artist Trish Suder will have a live auction of her art, Saturday April 3 at 1:00 p.m. at the Freedom Optimist Community Center in Eldersburg. Oils, Watercolor, Photography and more. All work is custom framed.
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