Suzie Garner is a Professor of Art and Design here at Colorado Mesa University. She arrived here in 1994 and developed the baccalaureate program in graphic design. The Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce recognized her teaching accomplishments in 2000 with the Educator of the Year Award. Recently, she has taken students on trips abroad to the France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
As a practicing studio artist, she is an avid sketchbook artist and graphic designer. She was awarded a sabbatical in 2006 and studied in Italy, developing a sketchbook course for the university. In 2017, she completed an Artist Residency in Yellowstone National Park at the Yellowstone Art and Photography Center in the Old Faithful Historical Area.
In order to share her love of the parks and art, she has taught watercolor workshops in Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, the Colorado National Monument, Rocky Mountain National Park and in Yellowstone National Park.
Garner's personal artwork has been exhibited throughout Colorado where she lives and nationally in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming. Her sketchbook work has been published in a variety of publications and when she is not teaching, she pursues her passion for the outdoors and continues to spend summers sketching and hiking in Yellowstone National Park.