NOT on the Road: Live Online Class—Part 1: The Mane Event

Roooaar! Neeeiiigh!

Until the four fabric artists featured in this post joined my February Live Online Class, I’d never thought how there are indeed at least two different species of animals that are known for their manes. Both horses and (male) lions (such as Judy Bilardello’s big cat above) have long flowing manes, so when I had two students creating horses and two creating lions it was obvious they had to be grouped together!

The (self-named) Mane Event group was Liz Imperato, Leslie Beck, Judy Bilardello, and Nancy Semich. In our Part 2 follow-up post we’ll visit with the other four students in this class who formed the Susan’s Angels group: Grace Crocker, Mary McKay, Brenda Carter, and Pam Shaw.

At the end of each student’s section of their classroom collage project (below), you’ll find a gallery of previous work they shared for our after-class “happy hour” one evening that week. It was enjoyable to get to know these ladies a little better as they talked about their quilts. Please click on those images to see the pieces larger and to scroll through each photo gallery.

My February 2024 Live Online Class: left to right; top row—Brenda Carter, me, Lesley Beck; middle row—Nancy Semich, Grace Crocker, Mary McKay; lower row—Judy Bilardello, Pam Shaw, Elizabeth Imperato; last but certainly not least—Tom Allen

If you like what you see, remember that there are two live online classes upcoming this fall:

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.

For more info about either class: USE THIS LINK

Elizabeth Imperato

I don’t like to compare one student’s work to another’s, but I think it’s interesting to see how different Elizabeth’s lion is from Judy Bilardello’s (farther below in post). These artists have their own style which gives each lion a unique personality.

Liz said that she has always been drawn to African animals. In the annotated photo above, I’m helping her tame the unruly shape of the mane. We’ve all had those days, am I right?

Liz Imperato Show and Share

Lesley Beck

Lesley works at an animal rescue organization. This horse is one of her favorites and this collage will memorialize “Jack.” Lesley is a returning student and her goal was “To finish something.” 😉 Jack may still be in-progress, but a few parts were finished, there were both color and fabric breakthroughs that will help Lesley reach her goal.

In this annotation I am helping Lesley to identify areas of color and value. Being able to break down an image this way is an important skill.

Jack’s forehead curls are just adorable. Lesley is really letting the fabric do the work for her here.

Leslie Beck Show and Share

Judy Bilardello

Judy’s lion has a soulful look to him. I think that relates to Judy’s compassion for big cats, which is also evident in the Show and Share quilt of Kalie the tiger (below) that she began in a previous online class. That particular quilt was sold as a fund raiser for a rescue organization she is involved with.

Judy’s goal was “to see details in the photo and learn how to interpret them in fabric—and to figure out all that hair.” Yes, flowing hair is a challenge, but in handling it the way I suggest—not hair by hair, but by looking for areas of color and contour—it can be tackled one area at a time.

It’s exciting to see when each new feature is added. Just having the inner part of the ears in place gives the lion so much more presence.

Judy Bilardello Show and Share

Nancy Semich

Nancy’s goal was “to collage ten carousel horses at once—though I’ll settle for three—and to figure out individual fabrics and patterns for each.” She started with “Free Spirit” and richly colored curved designs (above).

Nancy then moved on to “Gypsy” and and intricately drawn Mardi Gras (see the masks?) print.

Toward the end of the week, Nancy got a start on “Midnight” with an elegant pattern of subtly shifting colors. Nancy plans for these three carousel quilts to gallop up an open stairway in her home.