Ah summer! So many distractions, so many outdoor activities. So this is when I chose to start a new project of course! Last week I held the first of four sessions in my Fly on the Wall: Studio Watch—Bella Luna. I placed the first pieces of fabric from my fabric palette, live on Zoom, below. Starting a project needs a good degree of trust in the process since the “messy scary” stage can hit fairly quickly (see photos below), and continue for awhile (see photo above).
However, today’s Throwback Thursday post (linked below), “Sequence in Faces,” may help me through my current quandary. Sequence as I mean it—the order in which you create the features of a face—can be a handy tool for figuring out either “Where do I start?” or “How do I get out of this mess?”
“Start with the nose and work outward”—this is typically the place I suggest to start with fabric collage portraits—be it moons, suns, people, pets, or other beings. It isn’t an absolute rule, but there are advantages to starting with the nose. As I outline in this week’s Throwback Thursday, working in the proper sequence throughout the piece is helpful to keep in mind at any point in the fabric collage process.
In preparation for today’s Fly On the Wall presentation—where I’ll continue working on the Bella Luna portrait I’ve begun—I got myself in quite the colorful mess. It was a flurry of intuition and play with my fabrics, and it was fun. Interesting things can happen when you let yourself go with the flow. Then reassess, regroup, and use “sequence” to calm the creative mess in order to continue moving forward.
Sign up today to watch the second session of Fly On the Wall—Bella Luna, live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Tomorrow you will receive a link to catch up on the first presentation, and to watch or review today’s session. Subsequent presentations in August will also be recorded and links emailed to all attendees.
Missed the first session? Can’t attend today? Sign up and you’ll receive a link to the recorded presentations in tomorrow’s email to watch whenever you can.
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, or to review whenever you’d like.
Price: $78
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Summer Special 8 of 16: Sequence in Faces
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, you can watch my Bella Luna progress from drawing to fabric selection to cutting and gluing to background—beginning on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
Bel Sole (below), is one example of a celestial portrait—the yet-to-be-collaged Bella Luna will be a full moon using the same pattern—available free to registrants.
This next Fly on the Wall: Studio Watch Series begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, July 24. The following evenings will be, August 7 and 14. No class on July 31. All sessions will be recorded for viewing later if you cannot attend live, or to review whenever you’d like.
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
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 which will also be used as the full moon portrait design, will be emailed upon registration for the series.
Why Bella Luna?
I’ve already begun a sun portrait—an exuberant Bel Sole—as an example for a class I’ll be teaching in Italy this fall. I started thinking that a glowing moon—a Bella Luna—would be a nice addition to balance the celestial presence. And as a summer collage journey I can bring you along with me, it felt that a full moon portrait would be good subject matter. If you’re interested in where the lunar inspiration will take me, please sign up, tune in, sit back and relax, as you join me as a “fly on the wall” in my studio.
The Origin of Fly On The Wall: Studio Watch—and How It Works
Occasionally after I’ve done a live demo in a class, one of my fabric collage students will say “Wow, I wish I could be a fly on the wall in your studio and just watch you work!”
Since October 2022, we’ve made that opportunity possible. One evening a week in four-week series held at various times, I invite you into my studio—to be the proverbial fly on the wall—as I work on a fabric collage.
Below, are three previous Fly on the Wall: Studio Watch subjects and the progress that registrants were able to see up-close and personal.
All sessions are held via Zoom and each starts with a short slide show in order to catch you up .
Each Zoom meeting will kick off with a short slide show presentation to bring you up-to-date on the progress I’ve made in the previous week.
Then with a camera peering over my shoulder—hence the “fly on the wall” theme—I work for 30-40 minutes or so, live. While I work, I talk about my thought process, the decisions I’m making, give pointers on cutting and gluing, and perhaps go off on fabric collage or subject-related tangents—all unscripted and often prompted by the live Q&A.
After the work period, I invite more questions from viewers before discussing goals for the week to come.
A recording of each week’s session is made available the next day to all registrants. This means that when you register for the Fly on the Wall, if you miss a meeting you can catch up before the next week. The recording is yours to view whenever you’d like, “forever.”
Having the Fly On The Wall as a teaching tool, has enabled me to share some of my many ideas with you in real time as I work through them, such as my new:
Fly on the Wall: Susan Carlson Studio Watch—Bella Luna
July 17 & 24, August 7 & 14, 2025—7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER
All sessions will be recorded for viewing later if you cannot attend live, or to review whenever you’d like.