My Story
THE MUG DIARIES STORY
Mug Diaries was created in the middle of the night out of a dead sleep. Ahh, Mugging. That’s what I’ll do. I am a painter and a writer. It just makes sense.
I am an author with a book not quite about dementia, a storyline podcast stuck in a global virus and three canvases begging to be finished paintings that would excite the likes of da Vinci and de Kooning. Not to mention the book movie that’s missing in action. Everything seemed to stop due to the pandemic, COVID and the return of my cancer. Obviously, mugging is the best direction at this time.
I got to thinking. Every morning, I make my coffee, pour it in my favorite mug and walk over to my computer. As I’m putting on my lipstick, a procedure I religiously do at my desk, I realized, that particular mug is with me all day. I refill it often but it’s always the same mug. I have the Warrior Woman on my desk now. I love having her near me. It is as if I have all warrior women everywhere at my desk cheering me on, wiping away my tears, laughing at my jokes and pushing me forward. I love their stories and their support.
Share your morning coffee with the Natalina mug. She has a great story to tell or the Kalisa mug. She's a Cannery Row character I befriended when I lived in Monterey. The Airheads, all six of them are great support characters for whatever day you are about to have. You can find out more about the Airheads in the book or podcast. Share your coffee, tea, soup, hot brandy drink with Birdie, Dizzy or Sam. Coffee with a friend and their story is the best!.
All the mugs were created from canvas paintings and digital paintings that are also available for purchase.
ABOUT SUZKA
Born in Chicago, I began as a designer, a cartoonist, active in theater, directing and producing, a performer of Mime and a student of ‘improv’ at the Chicago's Second City Company. On an assignment in California and a dare, I began to paint and had my first one woman show. Six months later, I fell in love with paint and never returned to Chicago. In California, best known as Gaslamp’s Comic-Con painter, a digital illustrator, muralist and as Monterey Jazz Festival’s stage set designer for 26 years. But in 2013, fate changed my course. I moved back to Chicago to care for my mother who had dementia. Away from my paint, I began to write and authored the book I needed to read but couldn’t find, 'Wonders in Dementialand', the other side of dementia no one is talking about.
The AFM selected Dementialand for me to pitch at their book-to-movie session. From the book, to a podcast, to a movie in the mix, everything Dementialand was exciting. Pitching at the AFM was Dementialand’s first introduction to the film industry. Wow. Great response and a full movie producer contract. The script’s first draft written, a trailer in the works. Then came the pandemic, Covid and the return of my cancer. Everything canceled. Devastated but not broken. American Film Market’s response to my movie-pitch made me realize the enormity of the subject and how important it is to tell this story. After all, the AFM’s opinion can’t be wrong.
I absolutely love it when the universe and all the Gods tell me… ”Hold on. Don’t jump off a bridge yet. We got a better idea for you.” Short Films. The pandemic changed the film industry. Long films were more difficult to produce and costly. The trend all over the world was moving toward Short Films, Streaming videos and serial storyline episodes. Ahh… I can do this. I started writing my first movie script titled Natalina Woods. Now appearing in mugs. Script written, film crew ready to go, funding in the works. Hope to start shooting in early 2023.