Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens

About Odette Susan Burford

by Tom Evans and Jennifer Moorhead

"Odette Sue Burford has been a positive influence on the art scene in the Daytona area since her arrival in the early 1970s.  Upon completing her studies at the University of Florida with an emphasis on pottery, she came to our area ready to make art and share her wealth of ideas with young people.  Sue spent her early teach years at Bonner Elementary and taught at Silver Sands Middle School from the first day it opened in 1984 until she stopped teaching in 2002.

Articulate, talented and with a heart that wished to benefit others, Sue has used her creativity to inspire many young people.  Her students have won numerous awards on the local, regional and even national level.

Each summer Sue would renew her enthusiasm by reading books about art and going on mission trips to third world countries.  The new ideas that came to light would lead to not only fresh ideas for her own art but also for her student artwork.  She knew that you could not introduce a new project to students without a sharp example that will get them all fired up so one day she walked into the classroom with her first "tower".  It had beautiful marbled papers glued on each of the levels and was crowned with a "Mohawk" of long spindly fibers from palm tree bloom.  Each fiber was capped with a bead and delicately placed on the top of the tower.  This lead to both her "Tower Series" that was her own personal expression and also to a long running class project that allowed creativity to be brought forth by her students.

Sue also loved making baskets.  Some of the first awards ever handed out at the "Art Teachers Show" back in the 1970s were given to Sue for her baskets.  The original baskets were small and had colorful scenes incorporated into the design.  Later pieces are museum quality, made of chenille, some of which stand nearly 4 feet tall.  They appear effortless to make because they are so beautifully crafted, but in actuality they required much thought, skill and timeless investment.

Any biographical reminiscence must include something about Sue's devout faith.  At the core of everything she did was her belief that she did God's work.  It is a tribute to her that she was able to create so many pieces that will be included in this exhibit and was also able to build houses for "Habitat for Humanity" in our area and in several third world countries, teach a course in Bible study at her church, raise a family single-handedly after being widowed and make time for every student in her class.  Sue would always find that extra piece of fancy paper or say just the right thing about a student's art work that would make that young person shine."