About my wild life & the art of paying Attention
"Beth is always watching and listening. From the field or face to face, she raises the bar of attentiveness, for each of us." (blog comment, 10/19 theater and film director Lynn Sharp Spears )
Since 2008, I have been focusing on illustrating desert denizens and researching what we can learn from them. I practice the art of paying attention. Call it mindfulness or just being a very nosy neighbor, watching the wildlife right outside my windows and doors educates and connects me to every little life. Whether you tag along with me or practice on your own, I know from experience that if you pay attention long enough, you can see the whole world in your immediate territory. And once you start looking, it is hard to stop. From my perspective, paying attention brings care, care brings love; and love engenders protection. The natural world is not a foreign land where we book a vacation or take a class, even though there is a plethora of information urging us to “get back to nature." We never left.
My wild nature
Ever drawn to wild places--grand and intimate--I have hung from a rope in the feathery greens of a mountain fern forest, piloted a small plane through the lava reds of sunset, climbed a mountain to bathe in a holy Hindu spring, and kayaked amidst seals and dolphins. Living in Hawaii, enjoying long sojourns in Indonesia, the West Indies, and Australia nurtured my relationship with the mysteries and nuances of tropical and oceanic realms. Prior to moving to the Southwest in 2008, I spent three years paddling with alligators on the designated wild and scenic Myakka River in Florida.
news, talks, events
2025--Listening to Raven talk for Life of the Mind @La Posada, 1/25
2024
Nominated Best Non-traditonal Environmental Educator, AAEE
9/30 Featured in Best Of 2024 Magazine, Jewish News, Phoenix
8/Sahuarita Photography Exhibit, 1st Place in Plants & Wildlife
7/ Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher Magazine featured
1/30-6/30 Uncommon Knowledge, essay and healing scarf, Flinn Foundation, Phoenix, AZ
1/24 Art of Paying Attention talk, Forum Club, Green Valley, AZ
2023
11/6- 1/6/24Sense of Place juried exhibit
9/21-- 12/31 UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE @Roche Ventana
3/1-4/15 AFTER THE FIRE solo exhibit
@Agua Caliente Park Gallery, Tucson, AZ
HOURS Wed-Sun 10 AM - 2PM
1/1-2/26 Listening to Raven exhibit, talk Tuesday, Jan 17 @ 2pm
@Beth Shalom Temple Center, Green Valley, AZ
2022
Agua Caliente feature article and photos by Beth Surdut
in The Desert Leaf magazine
Ravens of Truth and Memory drawing receives Director's Choice Award in Amor Exhibit (international juried group show)
Fierce and Fragile solo exhibit drawings on paper
@Tucson Botanical Gardens Friends House Gallery
Art of Paying Attention drawings on bark-edged lindenwood
@Tucson Botanical Gardens Back Porch Gallery (outdoors)
Waterfall Mosaic, glass and stone, private commission, Tucson, AZ
2019
Permanent installation-- Mountain Lion drawing, Arizona Trail @Aspen Corners, Flagstaff, AZ
The Shirt Designer, tropical noir mystery--Tucson Festival of Books Master's Competition fiction finalist
9/13-14 Arizona Association Environmental Education Conference: Paying Attention workshop
D2D, my Desert to Desert Environmental Education Exchange school program @Prescott College, Prescott, AZ
9/17-10/ 22 Art of Paying Attention wildlife drawings/stories exhibit
9/17 The Modern Tallit program presentation
@Beth Shalom Temple Center, Green Valley, AZ
2015 The Art of Paying Attention illustrated radio series Arizona Public Media/NPR
2014 Listening to Raven interview on AZ Illustrated with Tony Paniagua aired March
Surdut Raven radio interview on Arizona Spotlight with Mark McLemore aired March 8
The Modern Tallit-- presentation, Tucson Jewish Community Center, 1/11 and AZ ILLUSTRATED public televison program 1/8
2013 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award for Non-Fiction given to Listening to Raven stories and illustrations
Bienvenidos Magazine--Plein Air Fare article on elegant patio dining in Santa Fe, summer issue
2012 Focus on Nature -- International Scientific Illustration biennial, NY State Museum, Albany, 4/18-12/31
The Billboard Art Project -- Listening to Raven series flying across a non-commercial billboard in a digital loop, August, Albany NY
Ashes to Art Project-- The Survivor, 3D raven with charcoal from the CO fires, created and donated for auction benefiting Colorado firefighters, Fort Collins, CO
Encyclopedia of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico by Mark Cross (2012) includes Raven image and quote by Beth Surdut
Inn at Loretto, artist in residence, Santa Fe, NM
Jewish Arts Symposium presenter/panelist, Santa Fe, NM , Feb 25/26
Bienvenidos Magazine articles on iconoclastic Madrid, NM, Navigating the art districts, and toy stores of Santa Fe.
2011 Invitation to the Muse documentary film by Karen Cantor-- one of the featured artists and panel moderator Center for Contemporary Art, Dec 10, Santa Fe, NM
The Place Where I Live: Raven and the Las Conchas fires, Orion Magazine, Nov/Dec issue
The Brush Gallery, For the Birds group exhibition curated by David Allen Sibley, Lowell, MA
Gallery @ The Screen--solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico State Land Office, Commissioner's Gallery, solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
Wells Fargo Bank Gallery--solo exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Randall Davey Audubon Sanctuary gallery-- Listening To Raven~ Drawings,Myths & Realities- solo exhibition Santa Fe,NM
Audubon Wildlife Invitational--group show Santa Fe,NM
Eye of the heron
Black-crowned Night Heron, the landscape around the lake reflected in his eyes, has stores within stories. My photograph, awarded First Place in the Plants & Animals category, is on display at Sahuarita Town Hall, Arizona.
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