September 2021 Live Online Fabric Collage Class—Part Two: Furbies

Last week I began this series of three posts covering my September 2021 Live Online Class. The three posts are based on the three Zoom breakout rooms I assigned my students to. Last week we started with the Leaping Lemurs. This week I feature the next group of four students, collectively known as the “Furbies.” Members Carol Allen-Mollgaard, Cathy Holmes, Jean McCreary (her gorillas are pictured above), and Sharon Waggy, chose some of the most varied subjects of any of the three groups: bisons, gorillas, a fawn, and a cat.

If it isn’t clear how a Live Online Class works, please visit the link to my March 2021 Fabric Collage Live Online Class. That post explains the process in detail. You may also like to check out April’s class post and May’s (three part) Online Class posts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

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Furbies

“Furbies” is a funny name that just makes you smile (and possibly reminisce about that toy craze from the late 1990’s) but it’s also descriptive of the one thing that joins the various subjects chosen by these ladies: their subjects are furry. While fur varies by length and texture and color, having these four together did two things: it allowed them to see how their classmates dealt with the fur on their subjects, and they could potentially benefit from hearing the feedback I gave to others in the breakout room.

Carol Allen-Mollgaard—Carol’s name is one I recognized from online Zoom presentations that Tom and I began last year—week to week and month to month—so she was well versed in the language of fabric collage. It was such a pleasure to finally put a face to her name and to work with her over the five-day class.

Carol chose a subject close to her home in Montana: a bison mother and baby. She nicknamed the calf Norman, after Carol’s (outdoorsman) uncle. Sometimes my check-ins could begin with something like “So, how’s Norman doing today?” And a reply might be, “Norman isn’t being very cooperative today.”

Carol made excellent progress on Norman and I was so happy to see the important color change she made, from browns to pinks, somewhere around day two (above). The reds and pinks seemed to give him a spark of life and energy—what a sweetie he’s turned in to. Mama bison will be her own challenge, but she’s already got a nose—and that’s a great place to start. I think Carol will be an expert on fur (she’s using the prints in her fabrics very effectively) by the time she’s finished with these two! I look forward to seeing their progress.

From Carol:

I recommend taking Susan Carlson’s online class. Working from home, I was able to attend to family matters, audition fabric from my own cache and work as early or late as I desired. On another side, it was much more economical for me. Paying for lodging, meals, buying additional fabric, travel costs and the class fee (did I mention buying more fabric?) all adds up. When I come to another bump in my collage journey, and I know I will, I have the option of submitting my collage to our Patreon live meetings for further feedback or booking a private session with Susan. I sincerely look forward to studying further with her.

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Cathy Holmes—Cathy had foot surgery just days prior to starting the class so she had to put extra thought into the arrangement of her workspace. She did all her work while settled in a recliner, her leg up and her work board propped to the side. I forgot to ask for a photo of her and the setup as she was working, but her temporary handicap certainly didn’t slow her down in the collage process. And that eye—gorgeous.

Cathy’s collage recreates the softness and likeness of the real animal, but check out the variety of colors that are truly present—yellows, oranges, greens, purples, and the gorgeous reds that are becoming the base of their speckled back. In the Throwback Thursday of a couple days ago, I referenced a blog post that I had Carol check out during class. She then treated the spots of the fawn like I treated the spots on a butterfly (see post)—you cut and glue them first, then slip the base color under the spots with a variety of fabric shapes—and it’s working beautifully for Cathy, creating a soft gradation of values from the darkest under the neck into the medium values of his shoulders.

Cathy shared that her favorite moment was seeing her fawn come to life with the head completion and thinking,”hey I can do this.” I agree.

From Cathy:

I felt the online presentation worked liked a well oiled machine. It seemed the timeline (initial teaching, working on one’s own and meeting with Susan in the breakout rooms 2-3 times day) was just about right. I appreciated that Susan would show back up for panic moments to get one over the hump. Sending a progress photo to Tom prior to Susan’s arrival was also a great idea, [as opposed to spending] a lot of time trying to position cameras so the teacher could see your work. Susan’s markups were very helpful, especially because we could keep a record of them with screenshots.

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Jean McCreary—Jean is a returning Live Online Class student. You may remember her macaw from our April 2021 Live Online Class. Jean took what she learned in that class and came back with a much more challenging piece. She works quite quickly, however, and more than just the first draft of both mama and baby apes are now done. Bravo!

Jean is one of those students where it’s hard to know what more to say in a class consult than, “Wow, this looks great.” Luckily, Jean is gaining a lot of collage experience and can pinpoint areas where she knows she needs specific feedback. Focusing then on those areas is the best way I can help her on the collage journey with each of her colorful and beautiful images.

From Jean:

I did Susan’s April 2021 class with another photo (a picture of a bird I “didn’t care about” so I wouldn’t freeze up)… Instead, I ended up caring a LOT about that project and being pleased with the result. That was a dry-run for this class’s project of a more complex subject—one I didn’t feel I had the skills to complete. I wanted to move beyond realism and do it in purples and I worried about whether I could do it. I feel the project was (will be, when done) a success, though every class just seems to show me how much more I have to learn about this method of quilting.

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Sharon Waggy—I first met Sharon years ago in a 2015 Maine retreat where she began her first colorful cat collage of Cosy—seen in this Finish Line post. Sharon returned in 2016 to create a blue-footed booby , and then in 2017 for an Arizona class to begin a portrait of her dad. It’s been a few years and I was happy to be working with Sharon again on her most recent feline arrival, Claire.

However, poor Sharon threw her back out between day one and day two of class—moving around fabric tubs in her garage! Those of us with possibly too much fabric understand—maybe wrangling our stashes should be considered an extreme sport. Between the pain and the sleepiness brought on by the muscle relaxant, Sharon said she would be happy just “auditing” the class. So she sat back in her own recliner (occasionally with Claire in her lap) and followed along as I gave feedback—sometimes even moving with me from one breakout room to the next.

At least in the first day of class, Sharon got a start on Claire’s portrait—and has made those critical first steps on her way toward another colorful collage. One way or another, Claire will get the the treatment she deserves. Based on Sharon’s past results, I have faith that she’ll do Claire justice. Once she’s ready, I’ll be able to help Sharon make up for missed class time with some online coaching.

From Sharon:

I’m so fortunate that I’ve been able to attend in person with Susan, but this was a great substitute. I enjoyed having access to all my fabrics and supplies, instead of having to pick and choose what to send on the plane and what to leave behind. I thoroughly enjoyed my online class this week. The opportunity to be in a small group setting within the larger class, seeing everyone else’s progress, being gifted with the online annotated help and guidance from Susan which we could screen-shot of. Excellent teaching method for this collage quilting class. I enjoyed the camaraderie with my fellow quilters and we plan on keeping in touch.

I thought I’d finish out this week’s post with some throwback photos below, of the portrait of Sharon’s other cat, Cosy.