Registration Open for 2024 Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Live Online Classes, Return of Fly on the Wall with Free Event, and 2024 In-Person Classes

Registration is open for the online learning opportunities I have scheduled for the rest of 2023 and all of 2024.

You can join me in your fabric collage journey in a couple different ways: either in a five-day, intensive Live Online Fabric Collage Class or in a four-week Fly on the Wall webinar.

If you are looking for quilt retreat-style experience, my Live Online Fabric Collage Class replicates as near as possible an in-person classroom. All-Levels classes are twelve students at a time. Those twelve are then broken into Zoom breakout rooms, rather like assigning students to a particular table in class. I provide lots of online resources to help students get started even before the class week begins. Membership in the Fabric Collage Master Class is a prerequisite ($169, a $30 discount), pre-class coaching is provided, as well as daily recorded video presentations on a fabric collage technique topic of the day—which are yours to keep as later reference. Every morning of class, after I’ve answered any questions the day’s recording may have generated, I spend my time giving direct feedback to each student. Each day is wrapped up with a group review of the day’s progress.

The Fly on the Wall Studio Watch series is a very different experience. Held weekly over four Thursdays, this live Zoom presentation with Q&A invites you into my studio and into my creative process as I create a particular fabric collage quilt.

Look over my shoulder, listen, and ask questions as I work. The live portion is supplemented with a slide show further describing my decision-making process, how I select, cut and glue fabrics, and how I use those fabrics to create form. The emphasis of each Fly on the Wall series is learning by watching and listening as I do what I love to do. Each session is recorded and available to access and watch at any later date.

Fly on the Wall returned on November 9, 2023, with a one evening wrap-up slide-show of my 8-foot tall lace polar bear, Winfrieda, below. Previously, I hosted various Winfrieda “Fly on the Wall” Zoom sessions. In these online meetings from my studio, attendees peeked over my shoulder as I worked on the collage.

The final session covered the third draft of Winfrieda and was a free event. If you missed it, it was recorded and is available to view through this post: Susan Carlson Fabric Collage In Progress: Winfrieda the Lace Polar Bear—Third Draft and Finished!

After that, I have two 4-week sessions scheduled with a different subject for each session. Both will be back to my “regular” palette of colorful fabrics, and I plan to use a variety of fabric designs—African, Aboriginal, Kaffe Fassett, batiks, and so on. So if you have a favorite fabric design style these sessions may help you understand how to use them for fabric collage.

More information and sign-up for these November—December 2023, and February 2024 Fly on the Wall series are below.

2024 Live Online Class Schedule and Registration

For a full description of what the live online classes are like, see this link:
March 2021—First Live Online Fabric Collage Class Results.

For further glimpses and results of my 5-day online classes, check out these NOT On the Road Teaching posts.

February 26-March 1, 2024

Live Online Class ALL LEVELS Animals Only
Maximum Class Size: 12
Price: $995
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER

This class is for all levels of students and will be limited to animals only.

June 3-7, 2024

Live Online Class INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED LEVELS Any Subject
Maximum Class Size: 8
Price: $1,495

To Register: This class is for experienced students only. You should have a grasp of the fundamentals of fabric collage before starting this class, preferably through taking a prior class with Susan, or having worked through the Master Class or other eWorkshop. Please submit your request to register to Tom ([email protected]) and he will send you the link to register or ask for further information. Thank you.

October 21-25, 2024

Live Online Class ALL LEVELS Animals Only
Maximum Class Size: 12
Price: $995
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER

This class is for all levels of students and is limited to animals only.

November 18-22, 2024

Live Online Class INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED LEVELS Any Subject
Maximum Class Size: 8
Price: $1,495

To Register: This class is for experienced students at the intermediate or advanced level. You should have a grasp of the fundamentals of fabric collage before starting this class, preferably through taking a prior class with Susan, or having worked through the Master Class or other eWorkshop. Please submit your request to register to Tom ([email protected]) and he will send you the link to register or ask for further information. Thank you.

2023-2024 Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch

All Fly on the Wall sessions will be recorded for viewing by registrants later whether you are able to attend or not. Want to get a taste for what Fly on the Wall is all about? The final installment of Winfrieda the lace polar bear was a FREE event. See link to final blog post and recording below.

Winfrieda Third Draft Wrap Up

This final evening’s presentation covered a few months as Winfrieda’s third draft progressed. I gave a short overview of the entire project prior to launching into her final touches (note the shape of her nose and adjustments to neck shadows, below) plus larger edits—including the nail-biting ripping off and re-positioning of one of her front paws.

November 9, 2023—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Price: FREE—Please don’t hesitate to register even if you can’t attend live as I will send you a link to view a recording of the presentation later.
Use this link to read blog post and access the recording of the 12th and final installment of Winfrieda’s Fly on the Wall: Studio Watch

This will be an all-slides presentation since Winfrieda is finished(!) and currently on exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum as part of their show, “Animalia: The Animal Kingdom in Quilts and Textiles“—now through December 2023.

Final count of straight pins being used at one point near the end: 2,367. Yup, Tom counted them.

While in progress, “Winfrieda” starred in two previous blog posts:

Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: “Winfrieda” the Lace Polar Bear—First Draft

In Progress: Winfrieda the Lace Polar Bear—Part 2

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African Fabric Leopard

November 16 & 30, December 7 & 14, 2023—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Each session will last roughly 1-1/2 hours.
Price: $78
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER

In the first 4-week session, I begin work on a leopard, based on a photo by my cousin’s wife, Tanja Bauer. I’ll be concentrating on African print fabrics. However, other fabrics have already spoken to me, so I’m pretty sure there will be a bit of variety included. This Fly on the Wall will be a little different from previous ones in that I’m waiting to start the collage itself until you’re there, looking over my shoulder—you’ll get to see it live from the very beginning. Since quilts take me (much) longer than a month to to work on, this leopard won’t be finished but I’ll be moving her as far along as I can, explaining my thoughts and process as I go.

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Quilter’s Trophy Fish

If you’re looking for a fresh and creative start to the new year, here’s a step-by-step way to play with the fabric collage technique. This Thursday Night series scheduled for February 2024, will be a break in routine to just play with fabric—and I’m inviting you to join me—with four weeks of color, fabric, and fish. Each week will be a live demo with Q&A as I take you from beginning to end of a fantastical fish collage.

February 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2024—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Each session will last roughly 1-1/2 hours.
Price: $78
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER

In between the Thursday sessions, you can apply the steps covered to your own fishy fabric creation. As a registrant you will receive a code for a free fish pattern from my online shop to follow along as you play with your own fabric stash—but you are welcome of course to use your own fish design.

Why choose fish for a fresh start? Well, way back when I first started down the fabric collage path, I made four fish. A year later I had made over a hundred! Needless to say, they were quite addictive. I called them my “quilter’s trophy fish” since it was using my fabric stash—and hunting down more additions—that I found so fun. I’m certain that the repeated exercises of play with subjects that are as variable as fish, and are as colorful and full of pattern as my fabrics, gave me valuable experience in how I’ve approached my later work in fabric collage.