Susan Carlson Online Fabric Collage Classes—What are They Like?

My Live Online Fabric Collage Classes have become popular with students for a number of reasons, the more practical points being no travel expenses and being home with access to one’s fabric stash, and even the simple pleasure of being home to enjoy and care for pets.

But what turns out to be one of the best things with working online, is something students didn’t realize at first—the annotation points that I can draw on their project photos as we have our check-ins—such as the visual notes drawn on Brenda Carter’s immensely lovable “Lucy’s” nose, above.

In a recent class, a suggestion from multi-class student, Grace Crocker, was to print out a screen shot of my annotations to then use as a check-list for working toward the next consult. That idea spread through the class and soon many annotated photos became reference sheets. One person was even compiling them as points to remember for her next project! (Great idea, Leigh ;-))

Each individual session with Susan is designed so that she can annotate directly on a photo of your work as she describes what she sees as next steps or helps trouble shoot whatever needs attention. I record each session and use it as a reference as I progress. There is so much valuable information! —Judy Bilardello

Our online class format was especially useful at the end of June 2023, when both Tom and I came down with Covid (I brought it back from traveling) in the middle of pre-class coaching for my Portraits Only Live Online Class. About three days of sleeping before class actually began helped a bunch. Happily, the class week itself progressed quite smoothly, especially since our students gave us their full blessings to schedule a 2-hour mid-day break for both Tom and I to catch restorative naps between morning and afternoon class sessions! So there’s another (unexpected) benefit of an online class—no need to cancel, even when you are testing positive for Covid.

What fun we had! Pre-coaching session, access to ALL my fabric at home, social time with my classmates, and stellar screen time with Susan. She was able to “draw” right on my collage to show me how to improve my piece and I was able to save a screenshot to refer to later. Tom provided stellar tech support and kept us all on track. I give this experience five stars! —Faith McLeod

We offer All Levels classes and Intermediate/Advanced classes. However, the format is mostly the same regardless for each class. There are variations in the maximum number of students per class and choice of subject matter, but overall what a Live Online Class looks like is quite comparable.

I was so impressed with the technology of my sending a picture and Susan gets it and can critique it so fast! Your online class is so much better than any other in person classes I have taken, considering the videos and all the samples she showed. I thought the meet and greet and getting a head start was fantastic. The breakout rooms were great, added sharing and learning. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience. —Judy Schryver

Having now taught nine Live Online classes (and counting), we continue to make improvements, mostly based on the end-of-class feedback we’ve received from participants. For example, once students were divided into breakout rooms of four in each, they would stay together for the class day until we regrouped at the end of each session to have a quick “walk-through,” sharing what each had accomplished. We still have that daily walk-through but students can now wander from one breakout room to another on their own throughout the day, visiting other students and being able to listen in on the instruction I am giving to everyone—as much as they want to hear.

Susan’s ability to give instant feedback and direction was unbelievable. She had no time to study our photos but saw every little change we had made and gave direction and annotations, as needed. It was invaluable to have my own work critiqued and to watch as she directed the others in our room [and in the other rooms too!]. —Grace Crocker

An early adaptation that has been especially useful is providing students with Daily Video Presentations. Rather than taking an hour or more to do a live demonstration of the daily “technique topic” or skill, I instead pre-recorded those presentations. Students now view the recordings prior to the start of each day of class. We have a short Q&A together, then move straight into one-on-one coaching for the rest of the day. It is a vastly better use of our limited class time. Those videos become part of each student’s collection to keep and review whenever they need to in the future.

I have really loved each of my online experiences with Susan. She is a great listener and teacher. The pre-class videos are excellent and the additional demos during class are fabulous. Annotations on my project that I can screenshot have been super helpful as has the sharing of others’ critiques. You get a chance to meet people in a casual setting and still have access to all your own supplies. I cannot wait for another opportunity to take another class. I feel I grow each time and get a great deal of value from my experiences. Thank you! —Nancy Hayes

The Live Online Fabric Collage Class Experience

Susan and Tom do a stellar job creating a very personal and highly rewarding learning experience that transcends the usual limits of on-line courses. They’ve worked hard to find their unique formula and keep improving it. It’s the very best of both worlds. You work with all your supplies at hand and in the comfort of your own workspace, even as you have the benefit of Susan’s world-class teaching, the constant camaraderie and support of your fellow students, and the assurance of Tom’s logistical support (and design insights). —LeahGrace Kayler

One Week Before Class

Pre-class coaching sessions (included with class fee) are scheduled for the week prior to ensure that each student is prepared with subject matter, drawn and enlarged design, initial fabric selection and other supplies. We also make sure everyone has practice with the online format, and is ready to begin the class on Day One.

The pre-class coaching with Susan was a real bonus. I felt ready to begin, and I did start working on my project immediately afterwards. You don’t get this with an in-person class. —Grace Crocker

Evening Before Class Starts

I host a meeting to introduce myself and the other students to each other, but in addition, it’s good practice for getting on and off Zoom in preparation for the rest of the week. We also talk about what our goals for the week are. Wine is optional.

Daily Class Schedule

• The Live Online class runs for a full five day week with 6 hours of class daily—10am-6pm Eastern time, with a 2-hour break 1-3pm.

• Prior to start of each class day: a pre-recorded presentation introduces the next step(s) in the process. Students will come to class having already watched the presentation.

Here’s a sample of the pre-recorded videos you’d be reviewing before class each day:

• Work day begins with a short Q&A with the full class where I further discusses that day’s topic and do a quick check-in for any other questions that may have popped up.

• Students are then sent into their Zoom breakout room of 4-5 students. With the remaining morning time, I meet with students individually.

• Students email photos of the progress on their project which is shared on the screen as I get to each break-out room. This way I can view and discuss each project, making annotations to the photos which students can then refer to when they return to work.

• Mid-day break (2 hour break in teaching). Students are returned to the full classroom and it’s their choice to hang out together, take a lunch break, continue to work, or do whatever they’d like!

• In the afternoon I continue to meet with individual students. By end of day, I usually suggest “homework” for the next day, and we all get together in the full classroom setting to share what was accomplished by each person.

End of Class Week
We extend the Friday evening a little bit on last day of class for all students to share and review their work with each other.

This was my first on-line class and after taking 3 of Susan’s in-person classes, I must say that I liked this format the best. I felt that I received more individual feedback and loved being able to take screenshots of the annotations that Susan made on my daily “in progress” photos. Added benefits of this on-line class were not accruing the expenses of air travel, 5 days of lodging etc. Viewing the videos that Susan and Tom created prior to class was very helpful. —Nancy Semich

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Hope you can join us for one of these Live Online Fabric Collage Classes!