As I look forward to July’s Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch, during which I’ll be creating a collaged full moon portrait (more info follows below), it made sense for this Throwback Thursday to go back and revisit some of the celestial-inspired portraits created by my students.
Way back in December of 2019, we devoted a whole Fabric Collage Finish Line to these quilts—suns, moons, and even sun-moon combos. Deborah Black’s beautiful sun portrait above, demonstrates how with the change of the color palette, the face of a sun could not just fall into shadow, but could also be interpreted as the face of a full moon.
Click on any of the radiatingly unique and personable collage quilts in the Throwback Thursday Gallery below, to view them larger and to scroll through the images. Click on the following Throwback Thursday link to the Fabric Collage Finish Line: Solstice Edition, for their stories and more celestial inspiration.
And be sure to look up to the night sky to catch June’s Full Strawberry Moon (even though full strength was a couple nights ago on the 10th).
Sun portraits and moon portraits (such as those based on my patterns, see links) can be an intriguing way to explore the fabric collage technique and fabric collage portraiture in particular. Projects such as these, detailed in my book, Serendipity Quilts, give you a basic introduction to the structure of the face and its features without the pressure having to make it look like someone. You can relax and play with your fabric and still learn about portraiture.
I invite you to join me in my studio to watch and listen as I create a new full moon portrait starting on July 17. For four Thursdays, I’ll share my progress and then work on it live, describing my working process as I go, and answering your questions. See the registration details below. For more information, visit “Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Studio Watch—Bella Luna.”
Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
Join me this summer, via Zoom, for four Thursdays in July and August as I work on a new project in my studio—a beautiful full moon. Look over my shoulder as my Bella Luna progresses from drawing to fabric selection to cutting and gluing to background.
Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
July 17 & 24, August 7 & 14, 2025—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (no class on July 31)
Each session will last roughly 1-1/2 hours.
All sessions will be recorded for viewing later, if you cannot attend live.
Price: $78
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
The moon examples you see above, are edited and color-adjusted using the image of my existing sun portrait collage. These are ideas as to what a moon portrait could look like. A full moon example for this Fly On The Wall does not, well, exist yet—however on Thursday, July 17, 2025, it will get started.
Though this isn’t officially a “class,” feel free to join me in collaging your own celestial portrait—sun or moon—if you feel so inspired. A link for a free Sun Portrait pattern (collaged example above), which will also be used as the full moon portrait design, will be emailed upon registration for the series.
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER for Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
Fabric Collage Online Master Class—Updated
The Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual is a multi-media resource guide to the process of fabric collage. Using video, photos, text, and links to my blog posts for further relevant reading and information, I take you from beginning to end in creating your own fabric collage masterpiece, following my guidelines in a step-by-step format. Lifetime Access. Suitable for all levels, including beginners.
Read all about the process of creating the Master Class—explanation of its genesis—the whys and hows Tom and I made some of the decisions we did in this post: Online Master Class Now Available: Some Reflections.
Click here for more information about the Fabric Collage Master Class.
Price: $199
Lifetime Access
Suitable for all levels, including beginners
Interested in attending a 2025 Fabric Collage class with Susan? Both in-person and online classes are scheduled and open for registration. Click the link below for more information, including dates, fees, and descriptions.
2025 Live Online and In-Person Fabric Collage Classes
* * * * *
Further Susan Carlson Learning Resources include: Facial Features eWorkshop, website, Serendipity Quilts, patterns, blog (in general), YouTube videos, Sea Turtle eWorkshop, Fabric Collage Online Master Class, Patreon. , and our February Fantastical Fish and Summertime’s Fascinating Bugs and Butterfly Work-Alongs
NOW AVAILABLE!
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Fantastical Fish eWorkshop I
INCLUDES:
• All four recordings from the four-week class.
• Extended 10-minute edition of piecing time lapse (see below).
• Over six hours of video instruction.
• Annotated videos with “jump points” to help find the information you need.
• Materials list
• Links to helpful blog posts.
• Free fish pattern of your choice.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
Learn fabric collage through a start-to-finish project—from pattern and fabric selection through quilting and binding. Each step is clearly written, illustrated with photos, and further demonstrated with videos. Learn the technique with a Sea Turtle then launch into any fabric collage project you wish. Lifetime access and suitable for all levels, including beginners. Sea Turtle Pattern included
Read all about the Sea Turtle eWorkshop in this blog post: Fabric Collage Sea Turtle eWorkshop Launch.
Facial Features eWorkshop
Designed as a supplement to the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, or for those who have a good understanding of the basics of Fabric Collage. Lifetime Access. Intermediate or advanced levels suggested.
The Facial Features eWorkshop contains 8 videos and over 8 hours of in-depth instruction for creating each feature of a portrait in fabric. The videos are annotated with “Jump Points” allowing you to scan forward and backward to the information you need. Facial features PDF templates are included as reference and basic designs to work along with. Like the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, membership in this eWorkshop is for life.
Book: Serendipity Quilts—Cutting Loose Fabric Collage
Full color throughout. Five projects of increasing complexity, four patterns to enlarge are included.
These books will be signed by Susan and can be inscribed to a particular person.
Read more about Serendipity Quilts!