Sawsan Alhaddad was born and raised in Southern Iraq, among palm groves and marshes. She immigrated to the United States 43 years ago and worked in the medical field for 34 years.

She took up watercolor as a way to relieve stress in 1992, taking classes and workshops at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Morgan Conservatory, the Orange Art center and others. She also travelled to other parts of the USA and abroad for workshops. After retiring from her career she took up art full time.  She now works mainly in oil and cold wax in an abstract style. She still dabbles in watercolor, oils and pastels for her own enjoyment, depicting figures, plein air landscapes and still life subjects.