Susan Carlson's Quilt Market Exhibit
Posted by Deirdre Quirk on Dec 16th 2016
Were you able to attend Quilt Market? If you were, I hope you also had the chance to view Susan Carlson's stunning exhibit called Specimens, featuring wild (and some not-so-wild!) creatures gorgeously rendered in her signature fabric collage style. If you didn't get to see it in person, well, here's your chance to see it digitally!
The big stand-out from the exhibit was her 21-by-6-foot crocodile quilt. (Yes, 21 feet!)
Here's a close-up:
The whole exhibit was filled with stunners like that one. As Susan said in her notes about the show, "With these quilts I hope to help the viewer see all creatures—great and small—with fresh eyes. Unlike those of a scientist, my specimens are not “lifelike.” A pink rhino, a polka dotted dodo, a much-larger-than-life-size golden toad: the liberties I take, the choices I make are intended to provoke a response. Typically, I hope to invoke a sense of wonder."
Many of the creatures that Susan depicts in her exhibit are endangered, including the gombessa, the fruit bat, the marabou stork, and the dingo. Susan says of these creatures, "Because we think we know them, our familiarity may lead us to dismiss them too easily. It’s only when we look closer that we understand how unique each is and how irreplaceable."
There are also some not-so-endangered creatures included, like this cute trio of pets and the artist's son, Samuel.
You can read Susan's whole recap of the exhibit right here. In that post, she links to more posts on the making of for each quilt. Prepare to get lost in a rabbit hole of beautiful quilts! Plus, want to learn how to make your own quilts in this stunning style? Susan's book, Serendipity Quilts, is available as an ebook.
