Upcoming Lectures and Workshops

September 10, 11, 12, 2009
3-day workshop:  "Beasts in the Jungle"
Somerville, Tennesee (near Memphis)
Contact: nyshao@comcast.net

February 27-28, 2010
Workshop and lecture
Colorado Quilt Council, location TBA

June 26 and 28, 2010
Workshops and lecture
East Bay Heritage Quilters Guild, Kensington, CA 






















Lecture
California artist Susan Else uses quilted fabric to create unusual sculpture. Ranging from wry comments on everyday life to  
wild imaginary scenes, her work adds a new dimension to the usual flat format of art quilts. Her engaging, vibrantly colored
work includes free-standing figures as well as three-dimensional dioramas. Built around armatures of foam, wire, and      
                                 fiberfill, the work incorporates both hand-treated and commercial cloth as well as paint and
                                 embellishment.
                               
                                 In this lecture, Else discusses the relationship of her work to the art-quilt movement and to
                                 contemporary folk art, as well as to other three-dimensional textiles. She explores how sewn
                                 cloth differs from traditional sculptural materials such as clay and metal, and she describes her
                                 own metamorphosis from quilt-maker to sculptor.

                                 Although she never expected to become an artist herself, Else grew up in a family of artists who
                                 shaped her personal vision. After "fooling around" with fabric and fiber for twenty years, she
                                 started making quilted sculpture in 1999. In addition to a number of one-woman shows, she has
                                 participated in many travelling exhibitions, including Quilt National. Her work is in public and private
                                 collections throughout the U.S.

                                 To schedule a lecture please contact Susan at:  susan@susanelse.com 
                                  Lecture fee:  $425

Classes with Susan Else
3D Adventures: Beasts in the Jungle

California artist Susan Else Susan creates wild jungle and garden scenes as part of her whimsical pieces. Follow her as she creates a three-dimensional universe in cloth.

Part demo and part hands-on workshop, this class explores techniques for making organic 3D forms in fabric, from vines and flowers to outrageous animals. To allow students to experience the process of making a complete three-dimensional landscape, we pin our individual class samples together to make a collective jungle scene, photograph the result, and then, at the end of the workshop, un-pin the diorama and take our samples home. We explore the use of color, value, and scale to enhance the depth of a piece, as well learning to create gesture, form, and movement in fabric.

This workshop can be offered in a one- to five-day format.
(One-day workshops emphasize either plant or animal techniques,
with a brief demo covering the other area.) Classes are geared to
intermediate skill levels.  Materials provided; students bring sewing
machine and basic notions.

Instructor fee: $450 per six-hour day.
Materials: $7 per student

To schedule a class please contact
susan@susanelse.com