We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Durazo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, how do you think about risk?
My entire path at this point has been a risk, but just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s not possible. I took a risk stepping out into a world of unknowns as a single mom. I took a risk trading a 1-karat marquise diamond for a small set of tools to create a unique form of art that I didn’t know if I was going to be good at, or if people would even like it- and here I am today doing what I love, 24 years strong. It all started with not a risk, but a possibility… and that’s all I needed. You never know what’s possible, and you never will until you try…

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What do you see when you look at a tin can? Most people discard them, believing they have no more use than to be subjected to a short shelf life, and winding up in a recycle bin. I see a valuable piece of sheet metal; a blank canvas. For the last 24 years, I have collected all sorts of tin cans from small tuna cans to 55-gallon drums, and I turn them into remarkable, illuminating metal creations that emanate beautiful designs. My art is all about recycling and repurposing tin cans, giving them a second life; just as my life was completely repurposed from pursuing my passion for metal art. Art is an “expression of creative skill and imagination.” Some people are naturally artistic, but some may end up finding one’s creative abilities later on in life, revealing an artistry they may have never known they had a gift for. I’ve always had an appreciation for art and I loved to be creative, but coming from a small town it never really occurred to me that I could pursue art as a profession. I didn’t realize my gifts until later on in life, and when I made the choice to trust in them, it took me on a journey of self-discovery.
Born and raised in the small border town of Douglas, Arizona, the idea of ever-venturing far from home never seemed like a likely reality. I was married at an early age, blessed with two beautiful baby girls, and aside from working a few jobs here and there, I was pretty much a stay-at-home mom for eleven years. The thing about life is that it continuously surprises us, and it can change instantly, for better or for worse. Around the time our family made a small change and moved to Tucson, Arizona, we were surprised with my third baby girl. Not long afterward, my marriage of 17 years ended.
Everything is a learning process, and when life hits you hard you have to take things one step at a time. It takes courage to step out of an unhappy marriage, but since then we both have made peace with how things turned out. At the time though, I found myself as a single mother with my youngest daughter, looking for a way in life to provide for us. I had to pick up the pieces of my life, find a new sense of individuality, and continue to move forward.
One day in Tucson, I came across someone that used tin cans on a smaller scale to make remarkable artwork; I was enchanted. I thought that it was amazing that someone could make such an incredible piece of art from something as simple as a tin can. As my wheels started to turn, I envisioned so many different pieces I could create in my mind, and before I knew it, I humbly approached him with the question, “How do I learn this?”. He graciously gave me his card and said “I’ll meet you tomorrow, don’t lose it”, and just like my everyday battle with my car keys, I lost his card.
Saddened, but not defeated, within a few months I was working multiple jobs – anything to keep a roof over our heads. About a year after I had lost the metal artist’s contact, I was driving down a road in Tucson and was drawn to the colors of an art festival going on, so of course, I had to go check it out. Upon walking into this fiesta, as the universe would place before me, I opened the door and there he was – my lost artist. As I walked up to him, he simply reached out, handed me his card (again), and said to meet him downtown tomorrow. I’ve always believed that if you pay attention to the littlest blessings that happen in your life, it really shows the universe at work. I thought to myself “out of the whole city of Tucson, something brought me back to this artist.”
The next day I showed up to meet him, I thought he was going to ease me into learning. Instead, he sat me down at a little table, handed me a small torch, showed me how to light it, and from the moment I started burning through my first tin, it was magic. This art ignited something in me. As I was scrolling endless designs that poured out onto the sheet of metal, I was taken back to my grandmother’s house where I used to scroll designs with a pen on her beautiful napkins. The metal artist gaped in awe and the words out of his mouth were “Oh my God, I created a monster, you’re going to go places. Wow…”. I chuckled, and as I continued, I realized that this was magic happening from a gift that I had no idea I had.
I asked how much money he would accept for everything I needed to get started, and he requested a small fortune – $20,000. Not having that kind of money, but having the drive and the want to learn, I thought for a minute and said “I’ll be back”. I went home and pulled a 1-karat marquise diamond I’d hidden in the wall that a friend had given to me. I grabbed it and told myself “Today… you’re just a rock”. I went back to meet him, presented him with this marquise, and asked “Will this work?”. He looked at it for a moment, and said “I’ll take it”. That day, I came home with two small 4×11 inch cylinder tanks of oxygen and acetylene, a small bag with a striker, my gauges, and a wrench to assemble everything.
After that, I collected my very first few tin cans and began working.
I look back on this memory, and thought this decision was risky, it brought me 24 years of work up to this day.
My sister, who was living in Palm Springs, California at the time, had introduced me to a world-renowned street fair known as the “Palm Springs Villagefest” and suggested that I start setting up an art booth there. So over the next few months, I filled two small bins with my very first candleholders, then drove the 384 miles one way from Tucson to Palm Springs. When I showed up at the Villagefest for the first time, I came with two small tables, two bins of small candle holders, two small gas tanks, my little bag of tools, and I started to work.
Creativity takes courage. The Villagefest draws in thousands of people every week, and initially, many were skeptical about my art. Some even laughed or made fun of it as they saw nothing but an old tin can. My hope was to always change peoples’ perspectives about it. Art is not what you see, it’s what you make others see. I thought my art was beautiful. The idea of making something out of what people considered nothing just made it that more precious to me, and I believed in it so much.
From then on, every week for about a year, I drove the 768 miles round trip from Tucson to Palm Springs and back with my youngest daughter, just to be at the Villagefest. I always said I’d never move to California because they had too many earthquakes. I insisted upon it, but ultimately I moved to California with my baby girl to continue my art – HAHA.
It was hard being a single mom, while also starting out in a completely new environment as a self-employed artist in one of the most high-end, prestigious cities in California. Initially, finding tin cans to create art was difficult every week. My daughter often refers to the times she remembers when I bought packs of cans of tomato sauce, emptied them out and gave the tomato sauce away while keeping the cans. Even more so, I remember when there were quite a few times I salvaged from the dumpsters, cleaned, sanitized, and washed every can I found to use. At one point, when my daughter was about 10 years old, times were tough, money was tight, and it felt like I wasn’t giving her the best life I could. I told her I thought about quitting.
She immediately looked at me with tears flowing from her eyes and said, “No Mom, you can’t quit, your art is so beautiful and has touched so many peoples’ lives and I love and believe in your art”, and in that instance, for her to believe in me and my work so much, I never thought about quitting ever again.
In time, whether it was the way I came across as a person, or the way I conveyed my art to others, the community began to know me as a frequent artist at the Villagefest. People began to bring me cans of their own, thoroughly cleaned and washed. Two people who stand out – a man and his granddaughter that own a recycling business. Every year, they surprise me with truck loads of cans all exhaustively cleaned and washed. A kindness I can never repay. Over time, I have accumulated a storage full of cans that will more than likely last me for the rest of my life – all from people.
The support that I have had from the entire community and from people all over the world that have come to visit me at the Palm Springs Villagefest has been amazing. So many have recycled tin cans with me, cleaning, washing, and bringing them to me at the Villagefest. It is incredible what people have done because they love what I do and support me. They have kept me at the Villagefest for 24 years. It’s incredibly heartwarming, I can’t even explain.
My journey came full circle where, just like my art, my life was repurposed. My craft brought me light from the dark, where now I’m able to bring purpose and light into other peoples’ lives with my art and my story. We all have amazing gifts we’ve yet to discover about ourselves, but you must search for them. When you find them, believe in those gifts with all your heart because you never know where those gifts might take you. For me, success literally came in cans, not cannots – and so, I thought, “I can”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow! From being a local in the Palm Springs are for 24 years I’ve found some incredible hot spots to check out!

Food & Music:

Sammy G’s Tuscan Grill – Delicious Californian-influenced Italian eats, and great live music including performances by the famous Evaro Bros.

Shang Hai Red’s – Incredible fresh seafood, and awesome live music outdoors.

Palm Canyon Roadhouse – A local rock bar with good eats and awesome live bands!

Las Casuelas Terraza – Great mexican food and live music outdoor music venue!

The Village Pub – Fun local sports bar and party spot with live music and djs!

Sandfish – Small, upscale venue featuring amazing sushi & Japanese seafood dishes! So good!

Things to do:

Tahquitz Canyon – Short, beautiful hike to an amazing 60-foot waterfall.

Palm Springs Tramway – The world’s largest rotating tram car that travels over two-and-a-half miles up to Mt. San Jacinto State Park.

Indian Canyons – Group of canyons with trails for hiking, horseback riding, and much more.

I love Palm Springs so much, and it has so much to see and so many things to enjoy! It’s hard to narrow it down! Guess you’ll just have to come visit to find out and experience how fun it is!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are no words to express my thanks to those who’ve believed in me from the beginning and have supported me throughout my journey to this day. First of all, I want to give a shoutout to Steve Montes, the artist who saw the artist within me and gave me the tools I needed to start my journey; thank you, truly. I would like to thank my sister Veronica Murray who encouraged me to come to Palm Springs in the first place, and for giving me a place to rest my head when I first arrived. To Ron Carrol of Lake Arrowhead Recycling and his granddaughter, I am unbelievably grateful, for they saved and washed thousands of tins for me that helped me continue my work for all these years. To ALL my family and friends I thank you all for your support and for always saving tins for me!!! To my youngest daughter, Ariss Durazo, who has been with me on this life-changing adventure since she was two years old. She has been the purest, kindest, most-supportive person in my life, always encouraging me to push forward. She always expresses how proud she is of me, and always gives me the strength to believe in myself and my work. I love her so much.
I want to thank the Palm Springs Villagefest for giving artists like myself an opportunity to showcase their creative and unique abilities. The Villagefest has been my sole livelihood for the last 24 years, and I’m so thankful.
Finally, I’d like to thank a talented energy practitioner, Doria Karina Greenland, who nominated me for this article. Thank you so much!

Website: https://www.suesilluminationcreations.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suestcmetalart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tincanmetalart/

Image Credits
A few of the image credits go to photographer Gregg Felsen. Thank you Gregg!

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.