I took an Art History class from Su at the Art Institute. She is an amazing teacher, artist, and mentor. It is because of her that I am going back to school to get my Art History degree. Seattle will not be the same without her.

Su RAWKS--like something ... elemental. I met my girlfriend at one of Su's amazing, casual, downright ... sensual loft parties. A bit later, I booked a show at Corridor Gallery in the Tashiro Kaplan building. Su heard about my show, called up my girlfriend, and told her she wanted to have a post-opening party in her loft. Nothing too fancy or the least bit pretentious--just a sweet, hugely appreciated toast to an art show I worried about and sweated over for weeks. And it was a great party! Champagne, soft lighting, delicious food, good wine, cheap beer, fascinating conversation, warm cats on your lap--I'll remember it the rest of my life. Neither heaven nor hell, concepts I imagine Su finds silly, could ever hope to contain or attempt to encompass the soul of someone as cool as Su Job. Should she "dissipate", as quantum physics suggests, I feel lucky to live in a world that's filled with her. She's the kinna person that makes the universe grand.

I had Contemporary Art History with Su at Cornish. It was amazing. There is no one like Su.

I hope her final moments are less painful than the ones that follow will be for the Seattle Art Community.

my first job (pun intended? no, but...) in Seattle 1993oct-jan94 was in the Korean Deli at the bottom of the 619 western bldg. Su (i never knew her name) and other artists would come down to buy smokes, juice, whatever. She even invited me upstairs one time to see her studio; i don't recall the reason. maybe to look at scarves or something since i may have commented on something she was wearing. her place was full of art, fabric, free and wild cluttered, and i dug it. su, if you read this, look away, for "what's right in front of her is where she (is)." godspeed

I also had Art History with Su at Cornish and am so saddened by this news.

I did not get to know her well, or her me. I now only wish I had come to know the woman so beautifully written about here.

Sue, thankyou for sharing your death. Art IS everywhere, grace is too, you just have to look through your fear to see it. bon voyage, and may love ease the way. Joyce

I had the privilege of working for Su in small production of her purses, and knowing her as a friend. It is so easy, once you get to know someone, to forget how unique they are, how inspiring. How important.

Like Su, I think one must and can always find a reason for things, a positive side. So she should feel good to know that the way in which she is leaving us - with time for us all to absorb the weight and breadth of her presence and impact, and the impending lack of it - is serving to join people together.

Her supportiveness, work ethic and enthusiasm are epic - and contagious. I don't know of one greater, kinder crowd in Seattle than those she has attracted and influenced. She is lucky, and so are we.

Su, you are one fucking amazing woman. Thank you for teaching and helping to mold me into the artist I have become.

"On the smallest level, art can change spaces. On the grandest level... it can change lives."

All my best. Liza Danger

i grew up in a religious, narrow minded, intolerant family. i learned how to judge others who were not " like " me. hahahaha, and everyone should think / be just like me ?? Then I met su. She introduced me to something called art. Not the pretty pictures you hang in the living room, something amazing, something powerful, something alive. Then, via su, I met people called artists. wow. Hey all you artists, never, ever, stop doing what you do. I cannot imagine the world without you !!!! The person at the beginning of this paragraph is long gone, the improved person is here, under construction. thank you su. thank you. thank you. thank you.

Thank you Jen for your article.

I believe her too.

Love lasts forever and belies the passage of time. It is what we take with us wherever we go from here.

As I read the article I kept thinking how lucky I am to have such a dear and courageous friend. Su Job has inspired me to "pay it forward" by continuing to teach Design and help others. This will be my way to honor Su's legacy.

My first class I had at the Art Institute of Seattle was with Su Job. The happened to be her first class teaching at the Art Institute as well. However she did not stop teaching me once the class was over. Su was a mentore and a friend to me. She gave me my first gallery show in her studio at 619 Western. After I graduated she would attend the shows I had at the Bemis building. I now live in Vegas and reading the artical breaks my heart. But as Su says "I am lucky". But what I want Su to know is that We are the lucky ones to have her in our lives. I love you Su

John Seeley

Just adding my voice to the chorus. I met Su in grad school at UW many years ago. A force of nature, full of life, elemental and beautiful. When we were in grad school and I was up against "the guys" she helped me work up the courage to stand up to them, dared me to speak my mind. I did. I've carried that Su spark with me and have been glad every time we've randomly bumped into each other over the last many years. Su, if you're reading this, I send love along with a heap o' gratitude for your feisty spirit, your amazing smile, your exuberant aesthetic, and your flaming contagious passion.

another of Su's students who admired her, but did not know her particularly well. I feel awkward and selfish posting when there are people who know and loved her deeply. But along the idea of realizing how many people she has and has touched, i want to send her off on this next great thing with blessings and hope. I want to say thank you for being part of my world and sharing her dying so curagiously.

If you are a friend of Su's and you would like to keep informed about her condition you can join the facebook group Friends of Su Job. There you can post messages to her and upload and share any pictures you have of her.

Love ya Su...
Dan O'Connell
Houston, TX (formerly Seattle)

Wow. First, Jen, your story was powerful, compelling, insightful and received with much gratitude. Thank you for writing it.
Yesterday I went to the preview of her auction and was gratified to see such good work donated and especially to see the range of Su's tapestries. She was so inventive and the work carries such a powerful voice. The donated artworks speak volumes to the love shared by and for Su. Also, these touching responses I'm reading here.
I will miss Su's smiling face. Lynn Di Nino

I'm incredibly saddened by this news. Su was one of my first art instructors at AI. I remember students telling me not to take her class because she was such a tough instructor, so of course, I picked her class right away. She was one of the best art history teachers I had the pleasure to know.

Now, I just want to give her a big hug...

Just yesterday, a friend of mine told me about Su, I was shocked. I took an advertising class from her a couple years ago. Today, I read an article about her and a handful of her accomplishments as well as her ambitions despite her condition. Her strength and bravery is inspiring. Such a great article, thank you!

I moved next door to Su at Harbor Lofts in 2002, and then in 2004, we both moved to the Tashiro Kaplan building, where she lives one floor above me. I will always remember the memorable Sunday mornings at All City Coffee with thought-provoking ideas exchanged over coffee and muffins, her curious mind, and how she seemed to know a lot about absolutely everything. Last year when I opened my one-woman show, Su got a bunch of her friends together to attend, and afterwards gave me a great party at her loft. When one of the reviews came back not so great, Su called me up to talk to me about it, letting me know that she disagreed and why. That meant a great deal to me. Su is genuinely happy for other’s successes, which in this competitive world can be a rarity. Thank you Su for being that rare human being.

Amontaine

Su's benefit on Saturday was a resounding success. We raised far beyond our expectations - thank you to all the donating artists and everyone who came and bid on art to help out Su's last days.

On a personal note, I've never met someone more comfortable with their own impending demise - Su was an inspiration for me before her diagnosis and is even more so now.

IMPACT IS FLEETING, THE FIERCE AND BRAVE ARE AS WELL, BUT THEIR DEEDS RING OUT THRU ETERNITY AND ITS ECHO IS, SOULS LIKE SU JOB...
RIDE WELL INTO INFINITY.
BLESSINGS SISTER.

Thank you Su for making this audio nerd's mandatory art class interesting and enjoyable. I really liked your attitude and teaching style. Thanks for teaching even with this...

Wonderful article, Jen. It's so nice to see someone celebrated like this while they're still alive, and in funny and honest, not over the top cheesy, terms. How ironic that the Death with Dignity act passed the day after she was diagnosed- I had to watch my dad die painfully of cancer with no such right at his disposal, which was something my whole family found disgusting. It makes me happy that Su will have that control over her life in the end. I wish I had known her; she sounds like a great woman with a healthy way of looking at her life and death. Thanks.

I sold Su Job's home here in West Seattle several years ago. It was magnificent, beautiful, perfect and one that I will never forget. I love Su, she is a gem and someone that will always be in my heart.
Gini Johnson
Prudential Northwest Realty

For the last ten years I taught a summer class (at the Seattle City Center Academy) about comedy and cartooning, and Su Job taught the class "Design it and wear it". We both kept noticing each other returning year after year. We eventually got to be pals and often ate lunch together, joking around and also talking about art. She's a great person and I'm quite lucky to have gotten to be her friend. When I talked to Su at the Thursday art walk, her calm and warmth was something to behold.

The Seattle Center Academy ended it's 17 year run just this year.

Pat Moriarity
cartoonist and illustrator

Su Job is an amazing person! Thank you for the Great article Jen!
-Andie

I am just guessing at what cancer she has but here is an article from the Washington Post yesterday.


Something In the Air
When a Smoker Gets Lung Cancer, Sympathy Is Stained With Blame

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008; HE01



It took me a while to figure out why my dad refused the free blanket in the cancer ward.

The lady from the Cancer Society came into his room wheeling a cart stacked with colorful blankets. Crocheted by volunteers, they offered homespun comfort to folks recovering from surgeries that had cut out tumors, lesions, slabs of skin, pieces of colon, entire breasts or, in my father's case, a lobe of his left lung.

"No, not for me," said my father, a rugged brick mason who kicked his 45-year, pack-a-day smoking habit two months before the surgery.

I took one of the blankets for him, but for days it lay untouched on the chair in his hospital room. "That's for the other people," he said, pointing to rooms where cancer battles were also being fought.

My answer about his blanket aversion came a couple of days later. The stitches were bothering him, he was sick of the hospital food, but most of all, the 63-year-old fly fisherman who bicycles to work was furious at being debilitated. He offered the entire ordeal's one bit of analysis in his thick Eastern European accent.

"All these years of smoking. I had all that pleasure," he said. "Now, I pay."

He had been beating himself up for having lung cancer. And the rest of us in the family, though we didn't want to admit it, weren't exactly showering him with forgiveness.

It's a common syndrome for this particular type of cancer, which is consistently marginalized, stigmatized, under-funded and under-studied, even though it kills more people in the United States every year than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney and melanoma cancers combined, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance, an advocacy group in Washington.

It is becoming clear to patient advocates that the mental health of lung cancer patients -- who rarely get the positive reinforcement, unfettered support and kindness of society -- is also worth defending.

"The blame is a double burden on people. It's bad enough to have lung cancer; now they are getting blamed for it. And now they're saying, 'If I had only not smoked, I would not be in this spot,' " said Jimmie Holland, a psychologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who is the founding president of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. Holland is often heralded as the mother of the movement to elevate the importance of psychological counseling for cancer patients, and she is particularly interested in the plight of lung cancer patients.

Of course, all lung cancer patients are not former smokers. And that is one of the campaign themes that advocacy groups are hitting hard.

"It's a huge issue. We so deeply stigmatize lung cancer as a society. We so closely bundle it with tobacco use," said Beth Ida Stern, executive director of LUNGevity, an advocacy group in Chicago. "We were taught for a very long time that if we do smoke, we bring it on ourselves. . . . The world looks at the patients and says, 'You did this to yourself.' So people feel so stigmatized, they may not seek support."

There are no pink ribbons for lung cancer on products at the mall and no special coffee blends that donate to the cause, and celebrities don't accept Oscars while supporting lung cancer research on their lapels.

Holland was most struck by that about 15 years ago, when a woman in her 50s with Stage IV lung cancer highlighted the inequities in a stark way. "Would you believe I'm sitting in this clinic and wishing I had breast cancer?" the woman asked Holland.

When you receive a diagnosis of colon cancer, breast cancer or brain cancer, nobody blames you. But society immediately makes that one-two connection between smoking and lung cancer that leaves little room for sympathy. And when the patient actually was or still is a smoker, there is an undeniable inner turmoil.

Holland likens the shame and judgment that shrouds lung cancer to the stigma that has dogged HIV/AIDS.

The statistics give credence to anyone wanting to wallow in blame. About 85 percent of lung cancer patients are current or former smokers, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance.

"The prominence of smoking in media reports on lung cancer may be contributing to the stigma that lung cancer patients say they feel, regardless of whether or not they have smoked," said Diane Blum, executive director of CancerCare, a New York advocacy group that released a study in October on media coverage of lung cancer. The report pointed out that although stories about breast cancer often feature inspiring accounts of survival, 44 percent of articles written about lung cancer over a one-year period mentioned smoking, and none of them was about a lung cancer survivor.

That is not encouraging. However, it makes sense statistically: Five years after people receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, only 16 percent of them are still alive.

Clinical studies have noted the self-flagellation of lung cancer patients. "A history of smoking correlated with increased levels of guilt and shame, regardless of tumor type. A personal identification of past behaviors as contributing to cancer correlated with higher levels of guilt, shame, anxiety, and depression," according to a study at the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.

But unless they are asked specifically about their feelings as part of a study, most lung cancer patients do not open up to their doctors.

"The majority of patients I see are former smokers. I can tell you from my perspective as a thoracic surgeon, there is an awful lot of guilt about being a smoker or a former smoker," said Blair Marshall, a thoracic surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital. "But I'm not sure it's really talked about. I think the guilt aspect of it is swept under the rug."

There is one place that the feelings are beginning to be expressed. Online forums such as the ones created by LUNGevity and the Lung Cancer Alliance allow lung cancer patients to talk honestly to one another about their disease, their smoking, their guilt and the way family members are treating them. They post photos, their frustrations, their fears and long timelines chronicling their screenings, PET scan results, the amount of Taxotere they're taking.

"I am coughing up little traces of blood. I smoke and inhale cigars. Really don't know if I can take the treatment all of you have endured. Got a million questions, I don't know where to begin."

"I had been a former smoker for 23 years, I thought I had wiped out my chances for lung cancer by quitting all those years ago. But one thing you'll discover here is that it can happen to anyone."

"You don't always want to talk with your husband or friends, family and co-workers, but coming here I feel I can really say what is on my mind without feeling that I am hurting or getting on their nerves by talking about it."

I'm pretty sure my dad won't go online and spill his thoughts, complete with emoticons and pictures of the grandkids he's "fightin' for." But, it turns out, the forums were a great place for me.

"I found out that I have lung cancer -- don't know which type until tomorrow. My only precious son . . . . will return Saturday . . . I am so afraid that he will hate me since he has been on me for years to quit smoking. You see, his dad died when he was 6 and he was the only one there when it happened. He doesn't want to lose me also."

That last posting hit me the hardest.

I have to confess that I reacted differently to the two phone calls I received in the past 12 months about my parents' health.

When I got the call that my mom had endometrial cancer, it was a body blow. My throat tightened, my stomach twisted and fear swept over my body.

But with my dad, I have to say it was different.

When the phone rang and the words "lung cancer" were spoken, my lips tightened and I slowly shook my head like a scolding mother.

Of course he has lung cancer, I thought. I had been waiting for this call my whole life. As a child raised on aggressive anti-smoking ads tucked between episodes of "Super Friends" in the 1970s, I drew the line from my dad's habit directly to his lung cancer. And blamed him completely.

"What happened in our society, we discovered that smoking caused lung cancer. We started an immense campaign," Holland said. "We decided, let's put all our eggs in the basket of prevention. And that was really sort of sad. It's taken some catch-up now to change attitudes."

That campaign is good, of course, for a younger generation. But what about the folks, like my father, who got hooked early on, when the dangers of cigarettes were relatively unknown and he, like millions of others, used the product exactly as it was intended?

At Georgetown University Hospital, Marshall said she will often remind her older patients -- the ones who received boots, pants, a helmet and cigarettes as standard-issue equipment in the military -- that things were different when they became addicted to smoking.

"It was the way we stayed awake. They told us to smoke," my dad said one day this autumn, as we walked through the woods, challenging his 1 1/2 lungs.

While he was in the hospital and I was fighting with my anger and blame, I had to remind myself that if he had been in a car accident and fighting for his life, I wouldn't bring up his past speeding tickets. Or had he been in a bicycling accident, I wouldn't chide him for not wearing his helmet. All of us engage in some sort of reckless behavior, but unlike smokers we will probably not be so universally punished for our choices should things go awry.

One of the biggest gaps in the services related to lung cancer is counseling for family members dealing with their conflicting feelings about the disease, said Maureen Rigney, director of patient services at the Lung Cancer Alliance.

"We get calls and e-mails from loved ones very frustrated that their lung cancer patient hasn't stopped smoking or from those who find it kind of difficult to make sense of the diagnosis if their loved one quit smoking long ago," Rigney said.

Groups such as the Lung Cancer Alliance offer Internet forums and phone buddies; at Sloan-Kettering, Holland organizes support meetings for patients and their families.

It makes sense. And reading the forums helped me understand some of the resentment and anger I had felt toward my father.

The best advice came to me online from a 54-year-old former smoker who likes to knit and crochet and rides a motorcycle, according to her forum profile. She said her daughter always gave her guff about smoking, making her realize it would be tough for them to fight lung cancer together:

"I told her that she was allowed one 'I told you so,' and that was it."

That was all I needed to read.

I unfolded the blanket and put it over my dad as he slept in the hospital bed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con…

I have always looked up to Su, ever since I first met her at the 619 Building. Her comments on a work in progress of mine always had the highest regard for me. Su will live eternally within all of us that she touched. She has shown us all a path that we can pass on though the generations that follow us. I love you Su. You have taught me so much. Cheers, Jay Mason

What a loss this city will feel... Su Job is the kind of role model that is vital to this town's art scene and community. The world just does not inhabit enough people like her. She was my Design instructor in college, the curator of my first exhibition, and (most importantly) the first person that revealed to me how valuable it is to embrace the emerging artist. What an inspiration she is! This woman takes chances on people, supports them unconditionally, and has done so relentlessly over the years. Thank god for I-1000, so Su can choose to die the same way she has chosen to live... with dignity.

Su got me my first art job out of the Art Institute and ed me down a path of great work, good connections, and a lifelong learning that is still growing. Much LOVE and see you in the inner-spaces of the universe!! Su Job Rocks!!

I had Su as an instructor- I failed her class twice. One of my closest friends was going through cancer treatment at that point, and I was spending most of my non-school time just being with him, instead of painting endless color scales... At one point I tried to talk to her about it, and she told me it was all just excuses... maybe she thought I was making it up, LOL. So reading this was surreal, to say the least.

She has such a great smile.

Jen, you captured a bit of her deflected spirit here... thanks. Really, thanks. I'm glad you were able to connect with her. Although I'm across the pond now, she's never been far from me in my travels. For the last 17 years she's been my creative sounding board. It's not hard to convince myself that she'll continue to be along with me until I too dissipate.

Su Job died on Christmas day.

To Su Job and Jen Graves,
I've never met either of you, but I want to thank you both for sharing something real here. I appreciate very much the honor, passion, and creative sustenance represented in this writing about Su's life. I was touched by the laughter and warmth, and give my heart to the place of your next mysterious dissipation.

She was a woman alive with possibilities and so very many of them turned into realities-- We all have ideas but Su made the wildest of them happen. I was constantly astonished with the breadth of her ability to turn water and rocks into the most amazing wine and virtue-- and, sometimes, even money! When she had an idea there was no stopping her-- from miles away she came to her workplace via any possible transport (or none at all) and started cutting and sewing. For Su Job, all of life was a happening which she willed, built and enabled. Sharing her vitality and energy was an empowering privilege-- her smile, her dance, her flowing raiment from her own hands, the colors of her life lit us all up.

I was her brother-in-law for those 10 years and am so proud to think that perhaps some of my few and paltry contributions to her life were so transmuted into the lasting beauty of her creations and spirit-- no small part of which is the inspiration which she brought to so many who knew her, loved her and learned from her. In the name of all that is good and enduring and worthwhile in life, and for my brother Steve who loved and believed in her and still does--
Goodbye Su.
--sam bledsoe

I've had the honor of knowing Su for over 20 years. I've seen her through so many chapters of her life. She was a constant for me, and the best sounding board a woman could hope for. She was bright, inspired, powerful, busy, and beautiful. She made holidays a celebration. She created dinners that I still dream of. I even had the privilege to accompany her to the Smithsonian Museum when her art was accepted into a show there. It was one of the proudest moments of my life to see her name in the Smithsonian directory.

Her time at the TK Building was arguably the very best chapter of her life. She at last had found her artistic home and was surrounded by people who loved her. It was so important to her to spend her last days there in her happy home, and I'm so glad that she took her last breath around friends who adored her. The auction they held for her last weekend was a true testament to Su's life. There were dozens of people circling around her throne. I know she had a profound affect on MY life, but to see all of her adoring friends surrounding her, I realized the profound impact she had on the world. This world is a better place for having had Su Job in it. And wherever she is now, red hair aflaming, I know her energy is spiraling and lighting up the sky. I'll miss you, my dearest Su. Respectfully submitted, Lizzie

Su was one of the first people I met when beginning to work at Pioneer Square. Little did I know, one of the first people I met was one of the most prominent icons of the area. Now that she is gone, she is sorely missed, but leaves a legacy that will be known for ages. I am blessed to have known her.

Now she can go to Paris and where ever else she wants. I'm so glad we made the trip from Knoxville to Seattle 3 weeks ago to spend some more quality time with her. She took us to have an all day spa treatment and we got to watch her deliver flowers to all her artist tenants. We got to meet all her friends, birds of a feather, like us when she lived in Knoxville 20+ years ago. She certainly made a difference during her short time on Earth.
May her memory be eternal.
We will always love you Su!
Neranza

Su was and is one of my biggest inspirations in life. Shes the reason I'm in the art world. She was my Design teacher, and mentor. She helped me believe in my talent, hooking me up with my first art jobs, and also hooking me up with my first art shows. I can go on for hours about the support I got from her as a mentor, but I would really just like to say Thanks Su. I will miss you.

-Jeremy Gregory

Su was one of my favorite people / teacher(s) / friend at the Art Institute (Seattle)! She truly knew how to pull the very best out of each student, as she inspired and motivated us ALL! Going to art school should have been one of the highlights of my life. However, when my marriage failed and the betrayals came to light I was absolutely devastated and alone.

I remember Su telling me - you don't need a man!! You have everything you need already. Rather than quit, I worked two jobs, raised my children alone and finished my degree. I was on the deans list most of the time, but I did not have faith in my own abilities. She had more faith in me than I had in myself!

She was the voice of reason and compassion and I loved her dearly. A short time after graduation, I was diagnosed with Adv. Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (Breast Cancer) and the rush began. That was August of 2005. I began looking to reconnect with friends from Seattle about 1 year ago.

Cancer Free - back in the land of the living - I had begun my search to find Su, Bill Cummings, Annette Bauman and a few other souls that touched me with their kindness during my time of need. I thought I had just hit the jackpot when I found her on facebook, only to discover I had missed her by just three weeks! :-(

She was amazing - talented - kind - as REAL and loving as they get.

Even in her death she has connected and touched me and many others. That's just the way she was in LIFE! Through Su, I met (albeit online) Elizabeth, who has also touched and inspired me. Thank you all for keeping her memory ALIVE.