This is Kris, with a non-techie blog post today. PBS started airing the Quilts episode of Craft in America. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, I highly recommend it. This episode focuses on just four artists, but they are representative of the diverse field that is our medium. I was struck by Susan Hudson‘s Navajo storytelling and Victoria Findlay Wolfe‘s use of color. Michael A. Cummings’ work, though, just spoke to my heart. Deb and I have been fans of Cummings’ mentor, Romare Bearden, for years so I loved seeing Bearden’s influence play out in Cumming’s work. And what can I say about Judith Content? She has been our mentor almost since the day we started Pixeladies. We’ve sat in her backyard, soaking up so much inspiration. Yes, the episode is marvelous, but that’s not why I’m writing today. This episode kept making me think about Susan Else!
Why Susan Else?
My short answer is why not? My long answer is that every time I watch or read something about “quilts,” I always think of how Susan Else explodes the concept of what a quilt is. Her work is as far away as you can get from what usually comes to mind when someone says “quilt”: a front, a back, something in between, stitched together somehow, and flat. Else describes her work as figurative sculpture, but she fashions all her pieces in a way that incorporates that simple quilt definition. What I love about Else’s work is that her pieces also make incredibly thoughtful and sometimes provocative statements. For example, the piece below is called “Memory of Water.” After almost six years of devastating drought in California, Else, who lives in Santa Cruz, captures how climate change has perhaps irrevocably changed our relationship to this precious resource. What I also love about this piece is that the back is really the front. For more views and other work, take a look at Else’s website . . . be prepared to be wowed.
My Susan Else Sculpture
I wish I could report that I actually own an original Else, but, alas, I don’t. The next best thing I did was to take one of her classes where she taught how to make either a small person or tree. I chose the tree. It is still one of my proudest moments. Why? Because, as you can see below, I actually finished this class project! I had never before nor have I since finished something from a class I took. Deb says it’s because I usually talk too much! Guilty as charged, but I do have to say that one reason I finished this particular piece was because I loved the way Susan Else taught, and I really loved the way the tree would look when finished.
P.S. The Skeletons
The top image for this post is Else’s “Family Life.” We’re particularly fond of it because, as you can see, it has lots of words. Susan commissioned us to print the words she needed onto fabric, so it has special meaning for us. Here’s a close-up.
