My Story
About Suzanne Halliwell
In March 2026 I held my first solo exhibition, The Unseen Thread, at Saan 1 Gallery in Manchester's Northern Quarter, a body of work exploring the mythological feminine, ancestral connection, and the parts of ourselves we carry without always knowing why.
I did not wait to be discovered. I made it happen.
I am a Manchester-based artist working with watercolour, drawing, gold leaf, stitching, and natural materials. My pieces sit somewhere between image and object , made slowly, made with intention, made to be felt as much as seen.
I founded Quiet Thunder Co as the place where that practice meets the world — through original art, workshops and the belief that making something by hand can change how you feel in the world.
The Work
Everything I make is rooted in myth, memory, and the feminine. I am drawn to what cannot quite be said, the ancestral, the elemental, the deeply personal. The work sits at the intersection of beauty and pain, nature and metal, ancient and now. Contradictions held together, not resolved.
I work with raw deckled edges, handwritten marks, quiet gold. The materials are chosen because they carry weight ,because gold leaf has been pressed into devotional objects for thousands of years, because stitch is one of the oldest ways human hands have made meaning, because paper holds a mark the way memory holds a moment.
Each piece is a contemporary talisman. Something to carry, return to, feel.
The name Quiet Thunder comes from a line by Charles Bukowski and reflects a kind of strength that doesn’t need to shout - something subtle, steady, and deeply felt.
This idea runs through all of my work. I’m drawn to the unseen: memory, emotion, intuition, and the quiet forces that shape our inner lives.
My practice explores how creativity can hold meaning, mark transitions, and offer a sense of grounding during times of change.
Where it Comes From
I am the great-great-granddaughter of Edwin Ellis, a Victorian marine landscape artist who lived and worked between 1842 and 1895. He spent his life looking hard at what is fleeting - water, weather, light on the surface of things, and finding a way to make it stay.
That inheritance runs quietly through everything I make. The impulse to catch what cannot be held. To find permanence in what passes.
I did not know his work when I started making mine. But when I found it, I recognised something. My mother was also an artist, and a huge inspiration to me.
About Suzanne Halliwell
I am an artist and creative facilitator with over a decade of experience working across the UK and internationally. Alongside my studio practice, I lead creative workshops, retreats, and wellbeing sessions for individuals, groups, and organisations.
Quiet Thunder brings together my background in visual art, teaching, and facilitation into one integrated practice - where creativity is both expressive and restorative.
Recognition
Solo exhibition: The Unseen Thread, Saan Gallery, Manchester, 2026.Interiors author Ali Heath named Quiet Thunder as a favourite in her book Cocoon. Corporate workshop clients include Royal Bolton Hospital, Bolton Council, GMPTE, Irwin Mitchell, and Patrick Grant's Community Clothing. Over 100 five-star Google reviews.
An Invitation
Quiet Thunder is an invitation to slow down, listen, and reconnect - through creativity that doesn’t shout, but stays with you.