Susan started her career in 1971 after graduating from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. For the next 15 years she freelanced for advertising agencies in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and NYC, including Chiat/Day, DDB&O and Ogilvy-Mather to name a few.

In 1980, Susan began to paint in oils. She continued to freelance in advertising, but her interest in commercial art was waning. The urban environment in which she lived inspired her to create canvases filled with the cactus gardens and funky buildings of Spanish, Bungalow and Art Deco design that proliferate in Los Angeles. For the next ten years Ryan exhibited her "architectural" paintings throughout Southern California, completing numerous private commissions as well. During this time Susan started experimenting with faux finishes. While researching techniques from the 1800's she came across descriptions of papier mache in furniture making and methods for working with boiled pulp. By trial and error she developed her own recipe for a paper-pulp clay that was versatile and extremely durable.

In the deserts east of Los Angeles Ryan stumbled upon an historic site known as the Maze Rock--a large boulder with an elaborate labyrinth petroglyph carved on its face. She was quite moved by this ancient work of art , so jarringly out of place in the over-developed Southern California landscape. Inspired to do something with this image Susan returned to her studio and started making rocks, boulders, and full-sized chairs that looked like rocks, out of paper mache. She finished these creations with "stone" finishes and petroglyphic symbols.

At the time she was working with an artist by the name of Susan Seaberry. Seaberry made wonderful, whimsically painted and decorated upholstered chairs. Her agent, Nancy Taylor, suggested the Susans each design a line of miniatures based on their full-sized chairs. They did just that. In 1989 Seaberry-Taylor-Ryan debuted a line of miniature collectibles at the New York Gift Show with great success. For the next ten years Ryan's line of little chairs, whittled wooden animals and decorative items sold in museum gift stores, retail shops, galleries and catalogues throughout the United States.

In 1990 Susan left California and moved to Western New York where she continued to produce her decorative work for Seaberry-Taylor-Ryan. Her little house in rural New York came with acreage. Room for gardens and dogs! She planted a perennial garden and acquired an Australian Shepherd puppy. Happily transplanted to the East Coast, Ryan whittled profusely, gardened enthusiastically, marveled at the change of seasons, and enrolled the unruly pup in an obedience class. This class eventually led her to competition obedience and agility and even more dogs. In 1997 Susan began to teach dog training to others. Susan decided to take a much-needed break from art.

In 2001 Susan started making art again. Once again her environment influenced her work as she created bucolic paintings of gardens and nature and sculpture based on organic elements. She exhibits her paintings and sculpture in the Buffalo area, produces private commissions, tends her garden and continues to train her own and others' dogs.