Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Gombessa”

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Gombessa”

August 31, 2023

I chose “Gombessa” as one of my favorite quilts of Susan’s because of its story. Susan is always encouraging her students to create a “backstory” for the subject of their quilt. Sometimes, as with a portrait of a family member, that story is “built in.” Other times a story has to be made up. In this case, Susan’s inspiration came from a book that I recommended to her after reading it myself. The story of the re-discovery of the ancient coelacanth is a fascinating one. It certainly inspired Susan! Today’s post will give you the brief version of that story and tell how that story drove the decisions she made in the quilt’s creation.

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Peace, Love, Tie-Dye, Save the Whales””

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Peace, Love, Tie-Dye, Save the Whales””

August 26, 2023

The quilt featured today, “Peace, Love Tie-Dye, Save the Whales,” is a portrait of our son, Sam, at age thirteen. Susan has also completed two other portraits of —in very different styles—at age three and twenty-three. See him pretending to be a dinosaur in “Samuelsaurus Rex,” and as Susan imagined him as a crescent moon in “Earthshine.” As I said, these three portraits each represent a different style that Susan has achieved using fabric collage: “Samuelsaurus Rex” is done in dabs of color similar to expressionist paintings; “Peace, Love Tie-Dye, Save the Whales” imitates the pop-art style of Andy Warhol; and “Earthshine” is represents Susan’s attempt at magical realism, taking a fantastic premise but treating it in a realistic way. These varying styles underline the flexibility of the technique of fabric collage.

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Dixie Dingo Dreaming”

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Dixie Dingo Dreaming”

August 24, 2023

Today’s quilt, “Dixie Dingo Dreaming,” is a portrait of her beloved dog Pippin (yes, named after the Lord of the Rings character). Many of Susan’s quilts are intensely personal. In this case, the quilt now memorializes our dearly departed pup. As we say in the post below, “high” art tends to avoid the personal, the sentimental, as though those feelings cannot possibly have anything message of value to pass on. This isn’t true, of course. This quilt continues to speak to most who view it. The extended story connected to its construction, as you will read, only adds to the meaning viewers take from the quilt.

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Tickled Pink”

Tom’s Favorite Posts: Susan Carlson’s Fabric Collage Quilts—”Tickled Pink”

August 19, 2023

Today I’ve chosen “Tickled Pink” to share. Artists have seminal works, pieces that set an artist in a new or particularly fertile direction. “Tickled Pink” was one such quilt for Susan. The bold yet playful use of color that has become a trademark of hers is on full display. It also marks the first large animal quilt she did. Though not full size, like “Crocodylus Smylus”, Albie the Rhino launched a string of large animal quilts that have been gathered in her “Specimens” collection which has shown at both the International Quilt Festival-Houston and AQS Paducah. I also want to bring to your attention a recent field trip by two of Susan’s students to visit “Tickled Pink” when it was on display in Scotland.

The Fabric Collage Finish Line #91

The Fabric Collage Finish Line #91

August 5, 2023

We are going to celebrate the Dog Days of Summer with a few Finish Line fabric collage quilts—including the finished version of the in-progress happy canine by Kathy Harvey, in … Read More