https://www.susanmentrak.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-02-15 https://www.susanmentrak.com/blog/patience monthly 0.5 2026-02-15 https://www.susanmentrak.com/blog/chronic-comedic-constipation-ccc monthly 0.5 2026-02-15 https://www.susanmentrak.com/blog/tag/%23humor monthly 0.5 https://www.susanmentrak.com/blog/tag/%23satire monthly 0.5 https://www.susanmentrak.com/about daily 0.75 2026-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/7a3f371a-3256-479c-85f1-2e533fae04c0/MentrakFeb23Branding-11.jpg https://www.susanmentrak.com/home daily 1.0 2026-02-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/455b3c94-a4fc-4fe0-bec5-8da2d3f78079/FRESH2.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/71bf4031-687f-4f24-9a6c-6be1a936f4a8/Mentrak_FeminityWearsMe_2024copy.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/c198258b-28b0-44c4-b55f-5c1b09106f60/Mentrak_StephanieAlaska_2024copy.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/e049a660-0c4e-44bb-96da-0dfcf2ba319c/Redeemed.ONUsolo2024.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/85469a5f-413e-483e-abaa-6e026931f441/Mentrak_FittingIn_2025.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/7c0310a1-41ad-414e-a955-71593aed4984/SelfPortraitwebsmaller.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/324aa260-82bb-443f-9e8c-cb9ba46985e9/mentraksignature.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/7a3f371a-3256-479c-85f1-2e533fae04c0/MentrakFeb23Branding-11.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/af1bc871-699e-4c29-b50c-8217495f881e/3139AD08-AC6A-4716-8451-A7D8DCEF4287.JPG https://www.susanmentrak.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-02-16 https://www.susanmentrak.com/faq-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-15 https://www.susanmentrak.com/portfolio daily 0.75 2026-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/455b3c94-a4fc-4fe0-bec5-8da2d3f78079/FRESH2.jpg Portfolio Self Portrait, 2023, 23 in. x 13 in. x 11 in. This embodies the theme of resilience amid life's challenges. I depict feeling overwhelmed, akin to a swirling flock of birds, mirroring the world's distractions and information overload. Emerging from the middle are leaves and juicy peaches symbolizing my tentative desire to burst out in taking risks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/3fba8fa7-ceaf-4c1e-91b8-4b70ee9ce312/DearGu%CC%88ste2+copy.jpg Portfolio Dear Guste, 2022, 15 in. x 11 in. x 11 in. I wanted a permanent record of a letter from my grandmother’s brother written in 1933 during Hitler's rise to power. It’s a mix of informal chitchat along with the serious reality that comrades are being shot in the street. She is reminded to "keep her chin up even if it is hard sometimes.” NFS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/695d4675-103c-4f6a-87bd-08d416086431/MentrakSeedMerchant.jpg Portfolio Seed Merchant, 2022, 17 in. x 15 in. X 15 in. My exploration of family history honors my 8x great-grandmother, a 18th century seed merchant, Hannah DuBre. Despite being a widow, Hannah left an enduring mark on the Philadelphia seed industry creating a large space for her business which I metaphorically mirrored by creating volume in the vessel and inscribing her newspaper advertisement. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/be39f2ce-72f9-4739-8c9e-543872b8efdb/Mentrak_TheQuietDragon_2023.jpg Portfolio The Quiet Dragon, 2023, 24 in. x 10 in. x 10 in. This piece symbolizes my daughter's dual identity in White and Asian cultures. She paints herself white and yellow, embodying the stereotypes that society often imposes, whether she agrees with them or not. These biases, like a layer of paint, obscure her true self, influencing how others perceive her. The peaches signify China's enduring influence on her life, for better or worse. Canton Museum of Art’s permanent collection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/69ed437b-2587-4820-aaae-a1bcb14179ce/IMG_2062.jpeg Portfolio Filter, 2025, 19 in. x 17 in. x 3 in. I’m intrigued by the idea of layers, covering, revealing, masking, and how we view and are viewed through a filter. This is an exploration of how to represent visual snow (static), an invisible filter we see and are seen through. SOLD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/3e749a57-0b2e-4ad3-b9bb-ca18a3457031/Mentrak_RoteKa%CC%88mpfer_2023.jpg Portfolio Rote Kämpfer (The Red Fighter), 2023, 18 in. x 12 in. x 15 in. Rote Kämpfer reimagines German Tiger II tanks as playful, insect-like creatures, defying their wartime gravity. These whimsical tanks interact with Ludwig's incredulous gaze, symbolizing his disdain for the Nazis. The tanks cross his exaggerated pompadour, creating a cartoonish landscape, with a red triangle denoting his political prisoner status. This echoes program themes of resilience and innocence amid historical adversity. NFS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/bc142d4e-a7b4-4fcf-837b-3c5fa13a41c2/Mentrak_TheDeathofGeneralWolfeLiddedCasserole_2023.jpg Portfolio Death of General Wolfe Lidded Casserole, 2023, 16.5 in. x 11 in. x 5.5 in. Artist Benjamin West painted romanticized truth. Being continually told that I was related to him shaped my perception and inspired me to be an artist. I recreated his painting as a casserole, the symbol of family gatherings, embodying storytelling traditions where family histories are repetitively told. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/259e39c5-a45e-4aca-a96d-21fcb528d650/PeachOrchard.jpg Portfolio The Peach Orchard at Gettysburg (lidded jar), 2023, 21 in. x 14 in. x 14 in. I've inscribed a letter describing Gettysburg's horrors, contrasted with pastel colors and ripe peaches, showcasing life's continuity amid turmoil. It mirrors my program's theme of resilience, underlining that time still continues on, peaches will still ripen while hell is being experienced all around. Families find a way to persevere. SOLD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/0a3b4d92-7be9-4d17-bb2a-cecd026dc9c6/IDoItcopy.jpg Portfolio I Do It, 2023 Sketch of my daughter from memory of when she was 4. SOLD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/71bf4031-687f-4f24-9a6c-6be1a936f4a8/Mentrak_FeminityWearsMe_2024copy.jpg Portfolio Femininity Wears Me, 2024, 16 in. x 19 in. x 10 in. Sometimes I feel like femininity wears me instead of me wearing it. Although I fully embrace and love being a woman I’m not always comfortable with the stereotypes and preconceived notions of what that is supposed to look like. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/c198258b-28b0-44c4-b55f-5c1b09106f60/Mentrak_StephanieAlaska_2024copy.jpg Portfolio Stephanie Alaska, the Reluctant Goddess, 2024, 19 in. x 13 in. x 6 in. Modern Mighty Aphrodite is put on a pedestal she doesn’t want to be on. She is a goddess but she never asked to be one. She is a woman, hear her roar. She is not any of these things. She is all of these things. She is Dichotomy Incarnate. She carries conflicting truths in each hand and sometimes on her shoulders. Title inspired by the Velvet Underground song “Stephanie Says”. SOLD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/e049a660-0c4e-44bb-96da-0dfcf2ba319c/Redeemed.ONUsolo2024.jpg Portfolio Decorative ceramic vase shaped like a face with floral and leaf designs in pastel colors, featuring pink, yellow, and purple flowers and green leaves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/9e55aeaa-d460-49bf-8d60-e4801f601499/Mentrak_Elosy_2024copy.jpg Portfolio Girl with Puppet, 2024, 13.5 in. x 6 in. x 6 in. A girl and her monster puppet. Through her puppet she can venture out and take risks by speaking through her puppet thus not having to fully take responsibility if she, via the puppet monster, crosses a social taboo. SOLD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/697a638140eab154bd9d30fb/85469a5f-413e-483e-abaa-6e026931f441/Mentrak_FittingIn_2025.jpg Portfolio Fitting In, 2025, 22 in. x 21 in. x 3 in. I’m hoping to capture that awkward moment of desperately wanting to be like the cool kids and taking that risk in being vulnerable while watching someone who embodies everything we wish to become dance effortlessly. She timidly mimics their hands in the air but hers are not as confident. She tries to mirror the confidence she sees in others. What a brave girl even if she doesn’t think so.