Suze Woolf

Art as Witness: Suze Woolf’s Exploration of Climate and Landscape

For Suze Woolf, art has always been a part of life. Growing up in an intellectually rich environment—her father a professor of the history of science, her mother a student of both chemistry and American literature—she was surrounded by curiosity and inquiry. As a child, she loved drawing, and by age nine, she was sketching animals at the zoo. Her father framed some of those early works, a small but powerful validation that encouraged her to keep creating.

Though she pursued degrees in English and anthropology at McGill University, studio art was absent from her formal education. However, an unexpected opportunity arose when she met a Chinese printmaker, newly arrived in Canada, who took her under his wing. In exchange for assisting him, Woolf learned the foundations of printmaking—an experience that planted the seeds for her later transition into fine art.

After years in the technology sector, where she worked on early computer graphics and interactive design at Microsoft, Woolf left high-tech behind to devote herself entirely to fine art. For the past 20 years, she has explored a broad range of artistic disciplines, pushing the boundaries of form and material in service of a singular, urgent message: the impact of climate change on the natural world.

The Mediums of Change: An Artist in Constant Evolution

Woolf’s artistic practice refuses to be confined to a single discipline. Her work spans watercolor painting, printmaking, digital graphics, ceramics, woodworking, book arts, and beyond. She has painted over 60 portraits of burned trees, each one meticulously shaped to match the silhouette of the actual tree, and she is nearing completion of her 42nd handmade book on bark beetles, a body of work that has led her to collaborations with scientists, poets, papermakers, and composers.

These projects, while visually distinct, are part of the same broader theme: the accelerating destruction of forests due to climate change. Over decades of hiking and mountaineering, Woolf has seen firsthand the expansion of burned-over landscapes, the unchecked spread of bark beetles once controlled by colder winters, and the retreat of glaciers. She felt a responsibility to document these changes—not just as an observer, but as an artist engaging in dialogue with the landscape.

"I like to say that both my burned tree paintings and my bark beetle books are the same subject matter—human impact on climate—they just look completely different."

Creative Process: Iteration and Discovery

Woolf approaches her work with a methodical yet experimental mindset. She is deeply engaged with process—whether in developing a long series, collaborating with experts in other fields, or exploring new techniques to keep herself creatively engaged.

Her practice is rooted in both careful observation and bold experimentation. She finds inspiration in the textures and forms of burned landscapes, in the "structured randomness" of charred wood patterns shaped by fire’s physics. That experience, of hiking through a recently burned wilderness, profoundly changed her work.

"I suddenly thought, ‘This is paper I’m painting on—I don’t have frames and stretchers—I can make it any shape I want.’ From then on, I painted burned trees on paper torn to match the shape of the tree."

Collaboration plays a crucial role in her creative evolution. She has worked alongside foresters, climatologists, entomologists, engineers, poets, and photographers, each bringing new perspectives that push her work into new dimensions. For Woolf, iteration itself is a source of inspiration—a process of revisiting, refining, and reimagining that fuels creativity.

Art as a Catalyst for Thought and Action

Woolf’s work is designed to provoke reflection. She does not expect viewers to walk away with a single message, but rather with a question: “Why did the artist do that?”

That curiosity, she believes, is the first step toward deeper engagement.

During a recent museum exhibit featuring 12 women who paint forests, Woolf was struck by reports that visitors came back multiple times—some returning with friends and family to see the work again. For her, that kind of impact is as meaningful as having her work acquired by museums.

"Artwork alone won’t solve the problem, but I can provoke feeling, thought, and—possibly—action."

Looking ahead, Woolf hopes to continue expanding the reach of her climate-focused work—not just to be seen, but to contribute to critical conversations about environmental change.

Beyond the Studio: The Wilderness as Teacher

Woolf recharges by immersing herself in nature, but her relationship with the landscape is complex. As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, she finds both strength and sorrow in the wilderness. The forests that once served as passageways to the mountains—places she once rushed through in pursuit of peaks—have now become as meaningful as summits themselves.

She also leads a large plein air painting group, where she finds energy in community—sharing work, learning from others, and getting into the creative flow. These moments remind her why she paints: not just to document, but to connect.

Her advice to emerging artists?

"Be open to different disciplines, collaborate, and explore. Your best ideas may come from unexpected places."

For those looking to collaborate, Woolf is always interested in working with individuals who bring expertise in either scientific research or artistic technique—especially in field sciences.

Final Thoughts: What Matters is What You Can Do

Woolf often recalls an interview with Dr. Amy Snover, former head of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group. Snover spoke about the overwhelming nature of climate change and how, for years, she felt powerless to make a difference. But eventually, she reached a different conclusion:

"I used to feel that nothing I could do will matter—but now I think what matters is what I can do."

Woolf has embraced that philosophy in her own work. In a world where climate change can feel too vast to confront, she focuses on what she can do: paint, create, and encourage reflection.

Her work doesn’t claim to provide solutions, but it does something just as powerful—it invites us to see, to question, and to care.