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Born in New York City, Surel Mitchell was raised in Pennsylvania and in 1977 she moved to Idaho. Surel chooses to live and work in Boise and feels fortunate that she can create without the pressures of “the art world” and the high cost of city living. She has an appreciation of the isolation of southwest Idaho where she can make art uninfluenced by trends, hype or endemic imagery.

Surel has been a serious working artist for over 30 years and writes in her artist statement that “it never ceases to amaze me that I never tire of the process of creativity, which entraps and enthralls me.”

She approaches personal, political, social and conceptual themes with an introspective expression. Process, mood and energy are her most significant intangibles. “I respond to my concept, which then determines my media, and the media then determines the style. I use metaphor more often than not. The finished work may seem quite simple and uncomplicated but it began with very complicated thoughts. I feel the finished work should stand by itself so the viewer is not hit in the face but quietly understands that beyond first glance there is more than meets the eye.”

For 10 years Surel was a docent at the Boise Art Museum and a member of the Board of Directors for 8 years. From 1996 through 2003 she held a seat on the Boise City Arts Commission (now the Boise City Department of Art and History). In 1999 she was awarded a visual arts fellowship from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and in 2000 Surel was the recipient of the Governors Award for Excellence in the Arts. Her work is exhibited and collected both locally and nationally.

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