A New Year of Fabric Collage Ahead

Happy New Year!

Now’s the time many of us make our New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps like Tom and I, you are resolved to exercise more or eat a healthier diet. Maybe you want to spend more time with family or friends. Or maybe you need to get a good updated photo of you and your spouse together (instead of continually returning to one taken in 2019).

And maybe somewhere on your list of resolutions you are intending to learn or improve your fabric collage skills. If that’s the case, then let us introduce you to the ways we can help you. This post outlines the resources you can use to learn fabric collage on your own time, at your own pace.

Coming right up, starting next week, I hope you can join me for our new “Fly on the Wall: Studio Watch” series. For information and to register, revisit Thursday’s post here.

Also, if you desire more hands-on instruction, please note that my upcoming Live Online Classes will be opening for registration next week (see details below).

For those of you who are already fabric collage enthusiasts and use some or all of the resources mentioned here, thank you! Tom and I couldn’t continue to produce these materials without the continued support of you and others like you.

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New 5-Day Live Online Classes: Registration Starts Next Week!

I will open registration for my upcoming live online classes next week. 

Registration for Patreon members will begin Monday, January 2. (See below for more information about Patreon.)

Registration for those who have emailed Tom “expression of interest” will begin Wednesday, January 4.

Registration opens for the general public (through the blog post) on Saturday, January 7. 

There’s still time to subscribe to Patreon or to send in your expressions of interest for either class (see below for descriptions). Please email Tom ([email protected]) with “portraits only online class” or “animals only online class) in the subject line and he’ll add you to our “Expression of Interest” lists.

All online classes require ownership of my Online Fabric Collage Master Class as reference material prior to, during, and after class has ended. Students will receive a $30 discount code to purchase if they don’t already own the Master Class.

For the first time ever, I will be offering a portraits-only class. Portraits of people—usually people we know and/or love—are the most difficult of fabric collage pieces because we hope to make them look like the person, of course. In order to open up more class time to focus on specific portraiture issues, I’m limiting this particular class to 8 students.

I’m also classifying it as “intermediate level” as I feel that students need to have a certain amount of familiarity with fabric collage (as I teach it)—either through previous classes with me or independent work through my book, Serendipity Quilts, or my Online Fabric Collage Master Class.

Best thing would be to email Tom ([email protected]) with “portraits only online class” in the subject line, with any questions you may have.

• Portraits Only
March 27-31, 2023
$1490
Class size: 8 max—intermediate level

This class is for those who would like to create a fabric collage portrait of a person. The smaller class size will allow me to provide extra focus on and extra assistance for this often challenging subject matter. For more information see the description of my Live Online Fabric Collage Classes.

• Animals Only
May 29-June 2, 2023
$995
Class size: 12 max—all levels

This class deals with animal subjects—furred, feathered, or scaled—pets, exotic animals, birds, sea life, sea slugs, whatever type of critter appeals to you. For more information see the description of my Live Online Fabric Collage Classes.

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Patreon

The button below takes you to my Patreon page which gives more details on this monthly subscription of fabric collage instruction. There you can see a brief summary of all archived monthly videos which are available to view at the $5+ month level.

SUBSCRIBE TO PATREON

This past year Patreon introduced new ways for paying for your membership. In the past you could only pay monthly and you had to wait until the beginning of the month to charged and for your membership to start. Now you can start your membership on any day of the month and you can choose between paying monthly or paying once for the entire year.

So if this subscription service appeals to you, go ahead and sign up, and we’ll have you set to enjoy all the perks (we email reminder notices) by our next monthly Zoom Show and Share (available at the $5+ level) on Tuesday, January 10, 7pm Eastern Time. Hope to see you there!

Supporting Susan on Patreon at the $20.00 level gives me a little more access to her significantly large brain and her superb creative talent.  I enjoy the monthly Patreon Zoom because it enables me to see other creative people confront some of the same struggles I face. Susan sees each student as an individual and addresses each issue as if it is the first time she has ever seen it. I am always impressed with the work each student shares and at the end of the session, feel validated. —Mary McKay

What is Patreon?

Patreon is a service that allows you to make monthly (or yearly) donations to an artist of your choice—in this case, I’d be honored to be your choice. Donations to my Patreon account help support the weekly publication of our fabric collage blog posts. There are several levels of donation, from $1 to $20.

Currently a bit over 100 people are subscribers. But 5,000 people receive the blog in their in-box each week and more than that see it on Facebook. The 100+ subscribers help to subsidize the cost of the blog for everyone else. This is a model similar to National Public Radio. Not everyone can or should pay for it. But I ask that you consider a donation if you read the blog, find it useful, and are able to afford it.

Besides supporting the blog, Patreon gives us income wiggle room to work on providing new fabric collage learning resources. For example, we created the Fabric Collage Master Class with support from our Patreon subscribers. As a thank-you, those subscribers received discounts for early purchase of the Master Class.

In exchange for your monthly donation, you receive incentives based on your level of support, such as advanced notice and sign-up for upcoming Live Online Classes, feedback via monthly Zoom Show and Share Meetings, and discounts on Fabric Collage Coaching.

I have been a monthly Patreon supporter of Susan’s since 2017. For the first two years, I was a $20 supporter, and for the past three years I have maintained a $5 contribution. At this point, it’s not about needing more instruction in fabric collage. It’s about being her “patron” and supporting her as an artist, so she can continue her work. In this small way, I feel I am helping others to gain the many benefits I have received from her over the years. Her work is amazing, and so is she! —Christine Stern

All Patrons at any level, receive advance notice of the virtual classes that I host (in-person classes are hosted by separate venues). If you want to take a class with me but find that spots are filled before you have a chance to sign up, this may be attractive to you.

At the $5+ level of giving, Patrons are invited to a monthly Zoom Show and Share Meeting where they can email images of their work along with a brief question which I will answer, or they can just sit back and take in the creativity being shared and discussed.

The monthly Zoom show and share meetings keep me thinking and learning. Regardless of how prolific you are (or not), the ideas she shares and the support Sue gives us, keeps us thinking, on our toes, and growing in our art. I recommend becoming a Patreon member—you’ll get more back then you give. —Anita Liberman-Lampear

At the $10+ level of giving, Patrons can attend the monthly Zoom Show and Share Meeting as panelists and receive feedback on their works in progress.

$20 level Patrons also can attend the Zoom Show and Share Meeting as panelists. In addition, they receive $20 per month discount for Fabric Collage Coaching sessions. Our way to turn around and support those who are especially serious about pursuing their art.

SUBSCRIBE TO PATREON

I love Susan’s method of collage quilting, and I support her partly because she makes so much available freely through her blog. I now own her online workshops, and “attended” many of the 2020 Thursday night sessions. I know there’s always more to learn. The monthly Zoom meetings are helpful for learning also, as she gives feedback and assistance to other collage quilters. For me, they also have an unexpected value – I feel part of a community of artists. And that’s a big positive – I live in Australia and cannot attend in person classes. Her Zoom meetings are also timed perfectly for me – what is Tuesday night in the USA is Wednesday morning for me. In supporting her, I’m supporting my fabric collage teacher. Thank you, Susan! —Cathy Smith

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Individual Collage Coaching

$129/session

45 minute live video conference

CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Fabric collage coaching can be useful at almost any stage in the process. Want or need individualized help? Just starting out and need me to help you refine your design or choose fabrics? Have a work in progress and are stuck? Nearly finished but are unsure if it’s really done? I can help.

You’ll send in photos of your fabrics, your design, or your in-progress collage and together we’ll discuss any issues or questions you may have. Using a variety of tools, including multiple cameras and on-screen notations to identify specific areas, I’ll be able to give any feedback, suggestions, or how-to demonstrations that are needed.

Best of all? Your entire session will be recorded for you to review whenever you want.

Monday-Wednesday are preferred days of the week for private video coaching, but exceptions can be accommodated.

To request an appointment, click here.

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eWorkshops

Each eWorkshop covers the entire process of fabric collage, from subject and fabric choice to quilting and finishing.

Fabric Collage Master Class
$199
For those who want learn the process of fabric collage and apply it to any subject of their choice. Uses Over 150 detailed photos and 26 instructional videos.

Sea Turtle eWorkshop
$149
For those who want a step-by-step project they can follow from start to finish. Over 25 in-depth videos totaling more than four and a half hours

Spiral eWorkshop
$25
For those who want to try fabric collage using a simple and low-risk project. Price is discounted from future purchase of Fabric Collage Master Class (the Spiral Exercise is included as an introduction to the fabric collage technique in the Master Class).

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Book: Serendipity Quilts

$29.95

Fabric collage clearly explained in a good “old-fashioned” paper book—now in its 6th printing! There are chapters of several projects of increasing difficulty to choose from—or create your own design to collage, using the fabric collage technique as described. Four patterns are included to copy and enlarge, as well as a step-by-step progression chapter of a mandala quilt, and a photo gallery of many of my quilts.

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Fabric Collage Toolkit

A collection of helpful tools and supplies to get started on your fabric collage journey. Each item is explained as to why it’s in my materials list and if I consider it “must have” or “something to consider down-the-road. I’ve even included a couple extra-curricular books, “Bird by Bird” and “Wild Mind”, both of which are great sources of inspiration and creativity.