Susan Else quilts from TCQC 02-21-22

How many times have you heard me say I don't buy quilts that need to be boxed separately - that cannot be rolled?  Well, sometimes I do.  I have two pieces by Susan Else which reside in dedicated boxes when not on display.  Sometimes I can't resist something that "speaks" to me.    So, there are two Susan Else quilts in the Collection and they have their own  boxes.

"Coyote Fence" Susan Else 2001 26"W x 24"L

Cotton, velvet and unknown fabric. Machine quilted (base).

This is so much like the wood fences on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM - probably in many different places in the desert.  These are tubes of fabric stuffed and stitched to each other and the rock like base.  When I purchased it there was a lot of questioning about "is it a quilt?"  I have always thought it qualifies.  

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13
This came from a completed SAQA Trunk Show in the Lucite box - very cleverly held upright by tiny holes in the bottom through which stitches are taken into the lady's posterior.  I will keep her in the box, somehow it seems appropriate. 
There are four views here, one into each side of the box.  

How does she turn those tiny fingers and toes?
 

 "Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  

 
"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box. 

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  

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Revisitng a Susan Else piece 04-09-17

 

Here is a little jewel by Susan Else who just had an exhibit in the small gallery at Visions Art Museum.  I am proud to have two of her works in the Collection.  This one came from the SAQA Trunk Show when it no longer traveled.  First blogged on 12-08-13.
www.susanelse.com
 

How many times have you heard me say I don't buy quilts that need to be boxed separately - that cannot be rolled?  Well, sometimes I do.  I have another piece by Susan Else which resides in a dedicated box when not on the wall.  Sometimes I can't resist something that "speaks" to me. 

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13
This came from SAQA in the Lucite box - very cleverly held upright by tiny holes in the bottom through which stitches are taken into the lady's posterior.  I will keep her in the box, somehow it seems appropriate. 
There are four views here, one into each side of the box.  
 

 "Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

 
"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

Susan is very good at getting realistic body language into her work.   Love the hair and the fingers.

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Sushi for lunch in San Diego 03-28-17

I drove to San Diego again today to show my friend Carol the exhibits at Visions Art Museum.  They are so outstanding I wish everyone could visit.  Our friend Teresa was unable to join us because she has shingles on her back.  Ouch! 

 

The current exhibits, including the small gallery devoted to the work of Susan Else, will end on Sunday, April  2nd. In the large gallery there are works by Alice Beasley, Jennifer Day, Sherry Davis Kleinman, Lori Lupe Pelish, Susan Polansky, and Joan Sowada. I enjoyed this group of exhibits so much, I wish it could stay forever!  If you have a chance before the exhibit comes down, do go and be amazed.

 

After seeing the exhibits and the wonderful offerings in the gift shop Carol and I went to Ikiru for lunch.  So delicious, I think it is my most favorite sushi place. 

 

I had the Poky, very good, but the spicy tuna rolls on the bottom were REALLY spicy.  I had three glasses of water!

Carol had this sumptuous Bento Box lunch.  The tempura pieces were veggies and shrimp and she let me have the green bean one - it was tasty and a good calm down from the spicy shrimp.

 

We drove home in the afternoon in medium traffic and through an array of wildflowers.  Lots of wild mustard everywhere, some of it six feet tall.  The result of all the rain we have had. 

 

Great Day.  #   #   #   

Revisiting post from the past 01-09-17

Although I have added several new quilts to the Collection I have yet to photograph any of the quilts.  So, here is a repeat of an earlier post.


12-08-13   How many times have you heard me say I don't buy quilts that need to be boxed separately - that cannot be rolled?  Well, sometimes I do.  I have another piece by Susan Else which resides in a dedicated box when not on the wall.  Sometimes I can't resist something that "speaks" to me.

 

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  
This came from SAQA in the Lucite box - very cleverly held upright by tiny holes in the bottom through which stitches are taken into the lady's posterior.  I will keep her in the box, somehow it seems appropriate.
There are four views here, one into each side of the box. 

Susan is very good at getting realistic body language into her work.   Love the hair.
 

 

 

Re-visit a piece by Susan Else 04-24-16

I purchased this 3-D piece from the SASA trunk show, after the show had traveled all over the  country.   I admire Susan's work and having a small piece enclosed in its own Lucite box seemed a good way to enjoy this little lady.  I posted it previously on Dec. 08 2013.  You can view that first posting by looking for Susan Else in the sidebar of this blog. 

 

 

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Two new additions to TCQC 12-08-13

This is a Quilt - Part II
I purchased three of the samples from SAQA's 2011 trunk show and showed two at:
http://www.delquilts.blogspot.com/2013/12/this-is-quilt-12-01-13.html
Tonight I am showing the other two pieces.

 
Pamela Allen did not name this piece, but since I have a problem with untitled items in TCQC I have named it "Knotted".  I suppose it could be "depth" or "dimension" or "corded" or "recycled", but knotted came into my head first. 

"Knotted"  2011  Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada   Matted to 8"x8"  11-28-13

I think Pamela's work is amazing.  How does she just sit down with scissors, fabric, and thread and come up with such interesting images and techniques?  There are six or seven of her quilts in the Collection and I treasure every one of them.

DETAIL "Knotted" 2011 Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada Matted to 8"x8" 11-28-13

 

DETAIL "Knotted"  2011 Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada Matted to 8"x8" 
11-28-13

How many times have you heard me say I don't buy quilts that need to be boxed separately - that cannot be rolled?  Well, sometimes I do.  I have another piece by Susan Else which resides in a dedicated box when not on the wall.  Sometimes I can't resist something that "speaks" to me. 

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13
This came from SAQA in the Lucite box - very cleverly held upright by tiny holes in the bottom through which stitches are taken into the lady's posterior.  I will keep her in the box, somehow it seems appropriate.
There are four views here, one into each side of the box. 
 

 "Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

 
"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

"Cold Day"  2011 Susan Else - Santa Cruz, CA  Displayed in an 8"sq. Lucite box.  11-28-13

Susan is very good at getting realistic body language into her work.   Love the hair.

Susan Else "quilt" in TCQC 09-19-10

This is the second appearance of this Susan Else quilt which I first posted 03-28-10. I have recently hung it again and am so enchanted with it I thought I would share more pictures showing details of Susan's fascinating construction techniques.

"Coyote Fence" Susan Else 2001 25.5" X 22"

Although Susan made this nine years ago, I only purchased it last spring when she had an exhibit at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, CA. I am so fortunate that nobody wanted it as much as I did. Some will debate if this is actually a quilt. I think it is, it has all the required aspects of a quilt - at least three layers, made of fabric, sewn together with stitching. True, it doesn't have a binding and one would not want to sleep under it, but it looks terrific on the wall.

Like many suburban areas in the Southwest, we have coyotes in our neighborhood. Several years ago my neighbor and I went together to have a wrought iron 'coyote' fence put up along the back of our properties. We would have settled for chain link, but the planning commission wouldn't allow it. If we lived in Arizona or New Mexico we might have a fence that is built of native timber (juniper, aspen, etc.) fitted closely together and would look similar to this.

Susan has used multicolored rat-tail to 'stitch' the cross bars on.

Her technique of layering fabrics to create texture has always interested me.

These colors and fabric textures create the supporting 'native rock' wall for the fence.

On the back she has used plastic tubing to support the top of the fence stakes and provide a way to hang the piece.

The supporting wall is stretched over rigid foam (I think) with the fence stakes stitched to the fabric.

Here is the plastic tubing with short pieces of dark grey fabric wrapped and stitched around it to provide a way to stitch the fence stakes at the top. I have tied a length of fishing leader around the tubing to hang the piece on the wall.

Susan has developed many innovative ways to construct her wonderful 3-D people and structures and she teaches classes to share her knowledge with others. Someday I hope to take a class with her, I understand she is a great teacher.


I have explained many times the problems involved with added items to the TCQC that cannot be rolled and must be boxed to protect fragile elements. And then I buy something that is not necessarily fragile, but obviously cannot be rolled. However, I have a large flat archival box that is, fortunately, just large enough to hold this quilt along with several others that require special storage.

A new quilt in the TCQC - Susan Else 03-28-10

I know, I keep saying I'm not going to keep buying quilts, but I deceive myself and you! While I was at Empty Spools there was an exhibit of Susan Else's work at Back Porch Fabric shop in Pacific Grove. I first saw her pieces at the Pajaro Valley Quilt Shows, I don't know how many years ago - 15, maybe. They are fascinating and I covet many of them. However, they are three dimensional and would require storage in a crate or carton and I just don't have the room. So, I was really excited when I saw this great 'quilt' hanging at BPorch. I thought it would fit in the large acid-free box that I have for several quilts that cannot be rolled for storage. And it does. But, is it REALLY a quilt? It has some characteristics that would qualify it, but what about those that don't fit that category - stiffness, holes between the poles, just the fact that it cannot be folded or rolled. I don't know the answer and don't really care. I love this work of art and it is now a part of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.

"Coyote Fence" Susan Else 2001 26"W x 24"L

Cotton, velvet and unknown fabric. Machine quilted (base).

A few years ago my neighbor and I had a tall wrought iron fence put up across the back of our yards and up one side of my slope and also the other side of his slope. For a few months we still found hair on the fence, but I have not seen a coyote, or its hair, in my backyard for several years. However, I will not let Corky stay outside in the fenced yard unless I am also out there. The coyotes can get over just about any fence, no matter how tall. There is a product now called "coyote rollers" that one places along the top rails of fences - the coyotes jump for the top of the fence to crawl their way over, but the rollers keep them from getting a grip and they fall backward to the ground. If I ever see another of the critters in my yard I may try some rollers.

But, back to Susan. She has created many unusual and fascinating pieces, including a fabric skeleton which was part of Quilt National 2009. I especially like her "Dreaming of Rivers" with wonderful reverse and regular applique all over the body of the 'dreamer'. But it is about 4 feet long X 3 feet deep X 2 feet high. Not something I could handle. Do go to her website to see some of her work - she has invented many original techniques to construct her 3-D pieces.

http://www.susanelse.com/