Mandala CCXXXVII

(Above:  Mandala CCXXVII.  Custom framed:  13 3/4" x 13 3/4". Found objects hand-stitched to a section of an antique applique quilt. Objects include:  An orange strainer; six, blue plastic toy chairs; heart-shaped rabies pet tags; peach colored tops to insulin syringes; purple bottle caps; dice; blue and white plastic lids; neon green horseman figurines; assorted buttons and beads. Click on either image to enlarge.)

Often, my mandalas include a perimeter of buttons ... all the same buttons.  Occasionally, I sort through my stash for a variety of bright, colorful buttons to use on smaller pieces that are equally bright and colorful.  This is one of those!

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXVII at an angle.)

The thoughts running through my head when I designed this piece had everything to do with the mandala I'd just finished.  I've used the same antique applique quilt and the same moulding/frame.  Yet, the first piece covered up almost all of the appliqued flowers and didn't have a button edge at all.  I decided to use a totally different approach ... one that would allow the quilt to peek through the objects and one that would capitalize on the reflective quality of the moulding/frame's shiny, silver lip.  I think the results worked well!

Mandala CCXXXVI

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXVI.  Custom framed: 16" x 16".  Found objects hand stitched to a section of an antique applique quilt.  Objects include:  A bright yellow child's 78 Golden Record from 1950; vintage shears; drawer handles; copper colored can tabs; yellow casino chips; red and green plastic lids; green and blue rabies pet tags; pink fabric yoyos; blue wire spirals; heavy paper mustaches coated with acrylic gel; assorted buttons and beads.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I only had one yellow record.  It came along with several others, all red.  I might not have used it but the song was The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.  How could I resist?  Alone, the six-inch record was just "too much/bold" for a mandala center.  I tried several other objects in my stash but didn't like any of them.  Some were simply too small.  Those that seemed balanced with the record covered up both the title and the cute characters.  The shears worked.  The owl and pussy cat peek out from behind the shears!

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXXVI.)

As a child, I adored the poem.  The words are available HERE (The Poetry Foundation). Until a google search, I didn't remember most of the words.  I knew there was something about a pea-green boat that "sailed away for a year and a day" but the ending was always with me:  They danced by the light of the moon.  Even as a kid, I knew this was romantic!  The rest of the mandala came together easily.  The Screamin' Sicilian paper mustaches were coated with acrylic gel.  I'm in debt to everyone who send me things like them!  THANK YOU!

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXVI from an angle.)

Lots of new work finished!

(Above:  A composite photo of Lancet Window CCXXXIX on left and Lancet Window CCXL on right.  Each piece is layered shapes of polyester stretch velvet fused on recycled black industrial felt with free-motion machine stitching and melting techniques.  Each piece is custom framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4" and is priced at $395.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Several weeks ago, I constructed the foundations for lots of new work.  Lancet Windows CCXXXIX and CCXL were among them.  More recently, I stitched them and then worked under the exterior vented oven hood in my kitchen to solder holes in them.  Outside (because the fumes are more than the hood can handle!), I subjected them to the intense heat of my industrial heat gun ... melting away the synthetic felt between the various foundation shapes.  Only the 100% cotton thread connecting the shapes didn't melt.  They held the pieces together.  Finally, I mounted and framed them.

 

(Above:  In Box CDLIX, a medium sized work in this on-going series.  Custom framed:  22" x 18"; $350.  Same materials and process as the Lancet Windows.  The difference is only in the way the polyester velvet shapes are cut.)

I also managed to stitch, melt, mount, and frame two In Box series pieces.  I make these in three sizes:  small, medium, and large.  These two are "medium" but I can create them in any desired custom size.  Right now, I have two more "Windows" and one large "In Box" waiting to be stitched and finished.  I'm also working on a group created on white synthetic felt.  In the past, I've only hand-stitched the ones on white felt but I think I might machine stitch at least one using a bright colored, variegated cotton thread ... just to see how it might look!  There's never a dull moment here in retirement!

 

(Above:  In Box CDLX.  Custom framed:  22" x 18". $350.)

Mandala CCXXXV

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXV.  Custom framed:  33 1/4" x 33 1/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Objects include:  A silver trivet onto which is stitched the face of a pocket watch and six Colorado craft beer caps; laminated Tampa nugget cigar bands; yellow and red meat packaging metal tags; green, blue, and purple toddle snack lids; honey tasters; antique toy baseball figures; toy fighter jets; red, children's records; ducks cut from shower curtain hangers; external toothed lock washers; long needle-like parts of prostate radioactive seed implant devices; orange, blue, and purple plastic cogs from a kid's building toy; Earth Day recycle buttons; assorted beer caps; green and red plastic lids; buttons and beads.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Some of my early Found Object Mandalas have failed to find homes.  It's sad.  Occasionally, one even gets damaged.  That's sadder.  Such was the reality of Mandala LXXIV.  Steve never liked it anyway.  He thought the doll heads were creepy.  Though I marked it as "In a private collection" on the Found Object Mandala blog, it was actually "taken out of commission" ... as in "taken apart". 

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXXV.)

This task entailed removing all the staples that attached the piece to its stretcher bar ... snipping all the heavy-duty thread running through the piece and the acid-free foam-centered board that was glued to the stretcher bar (these stitches distribute the weight of the work) ... and finally ... snipping hundreds of stitches that held all the objects in place.  I was ready to reused the quilt.  The sheer layer of tulle/netting that went over the quilt before the objects were sewn down was replaced.  Some of the objects were reused ... like the trivet and the laminated Tampa Nugget cigar bands, etc.  Other objects were added.  

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXXV.)

 The new piece really does look even better.  It's not creepy at all!  Instead of the Fall Guy action figures from the 1980s, it features much older baseball figures.  I truly hope that this mandala finds a permanent home!

Large In Box CDLVIII

(Above:  Me at my Babylock Tiara free-motion machine stitching Large In Box CDLVIII.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Everyday I stitch.  I love stitching both by hand and by machine.  Yesterday I shared two, hand-stitched In Box series pieces that were finished, melted, mounted, photographed, and framed. I mentioned that I always have more than one piece going.  One of the pieces "in progress" was Large In Box CDLVIII.  It progressed while all the other pieces sat idle, but it got totally done!

 

(Above:  Large In Box CDLVIII.  Layers of polyester stretch velvet fused together on a piece of black, recycled, synthetic industrial felt.  Free-motion machine stitched before being melted with two sizes of soldering irons and an industrial heat gun.  Custom framed with UV filtering/anti-reflective glass.  34" x 22". $575.)

After I finished stitching, it was stapled to a stretcher bar.  This prevents it from shrinking during the melting techniques.  Two sizes of soldering irons were used to melt holes through the layers of polyester stretch velvet.  I can now do this inside!  The new oven's hood vents to the outside but I still wear my carbon filtering respirator.  I'm too close to do otherwise but at least the kitchen doesn't get stinky. 

 

(Above:  Detail of In Box CDLVIII, including my signature block.)

Melting inside has two advantages.  First, I'm not outside under the hot, hot, hot sun.  Temperatures here are hovering around ninety degrees.  Second, there's no wind.  Believe it or not, ninety degrees is COOL for a soldering iron.  A breeze actually cools them.  There's no breeze in the kitchen!

 

(Above:  Steve framing the work.)

Although I've always been the one to design our framing and the one cutting the mats, it's Steve who builds the frames, cuts the UV filtering/anti-reflective glass, and closes each frame.  I'm lucky to have such a nice, big (literally sanctuary-sized) studio but I'm also lucky to be part of a great, artistic team effort!

New work!

(Above:  On left is hand-stitched In Box CDLVI and on right is hand-stitched In Box CDLVII.  Both are layers of polyester stretch velvet fused together onto a piece of recycled, synthetic felt, densely hand-stitched with 100% cotton embroidery floss before being subjected to intense heat from an industrial heat gun.  Mounted on acid-free mat board. Custom framed:  19" x 15". $375 each. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Several weeks ago, Steve and I delivered my Lace Forest Installation to Fiberart International in Pittsburgh.  I stitched a small In Box series piece on the trip there and another on the trip back.  I blogged them shortly after our return.  Then, I prepared another two small In Box series pieces.  Why?  Well ... we returned to Pittsburgh for the opening weekend activities.  That's another trip north followed by miles going back south.  As result, here are the two newly finished pieces

 

(Above:  Detail of In Box CDLVI at an angle.)

I really enjoy stitching these piece while in the passenger seat.  There's really no serious planning involved.  I can grab any color of floss and just stitch, stitch, stitch ... still looking out of the window at the passing landscape.  In about two months, we will be going back to Pittsburgh to pick up The Lace Forest.  You can bet that I'll have another two of these ready to go ... but next time, I'll try a white felt background!

(Above:  Window CCXXIII.  Custom framed: 19 1/4: x 17 1/4".  Polyester stretch velvet fused to black, synthetic industrial felt with machine stitching and melting techniques. $275.)

Several people have asked whether I create one piece at a time.  I don't.  I'll have anywhere from two to ten in production on any given day.  Most days, there's at least one or two Found Object Mandalas in progress and at least two to four of these polyester stretch velvet pieces in the works.  Often, I've got an installation going too.  Before we left for Pittsburgh (the second time!), I didn't just create the foundations for the two, small, hand-stitched In Box series pieces shared in this post.  I constructed two Lancet Windows, two Large In Box pieces, two medium In Box pieces, and three Windows.  Right this moment, some of them are stitched and stapled to their stretcher bars waiting to be melted.  Others are constructed and waiting to be stitched. Window CCXXIII, however, was stitched, melted, mounted, photographed and framed.  In the coming days, more of these pieces will be finished.  Blog posts are coming!

Fiberart Intermational 2025

 

(Above:  Gallery view at Contemporary Craft of Fiberart International 2025.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

For years I've wanted to have an artwork accepted into Fiberart International in Pittsburgh, PA. It's a triennial.  So, if one is rejected, one must wait three years to try again. I've applied and waited several times but this time was different!  

(Above:  Me with The Lace Forest at Brew House Arts.)

The Lace Forest was ACCEPTED and Steve and I went to Pittsburgh for an incredible weekend of opening activities ... including a private artists reception on Thursday, a lovely public reception on Friday evening, and artist led tours on Saturday followed by a riverboat dinner cruise on Pittsburgh's three rivers!  Fiberart International was presented in two different gallery spaces.  Half the work was at Contemporary Craft; half at Brew House Arts.  There were shuttle buses going between the two locations.  

 

(Above:  The Lace Forest.)

Brew House Art's executive director Natalie Sweet actually hung all forty-six strands of The Lace Forest.  Some were doubled up, the bottom of one attached to the top of another. She used a genie lift to ready the overhead I-beams. They were perfectly placed at different levels, creating an amazing overhead environment.  Lots of people were fascinated.

In the photo above is my friend Nolan Wright's incredible, sculptural basket in the foreground, my friend Leisa Rich's tapestry in the center area, and The Lace Forest in the background. Steve and I met many of the artists and committee members.  Now ... just check out some of the other work on view in the two galleries!

(Above:  Grand prize winner Sally Baldwin's Disasters of War, stitched and deconstructed paper.)

 

(Above:  Carolyn Carson's After, Memorial Award for Outstanding Weaving.)

 

 

(Above:  Baylee Schmitt's Supper Soon, Past Directors' Award.  Crochet.)

 

 

(Above:  Trevin Davis' Mouse Trap, needle felted wool.)

 

(Above:  Brigitte Amarger's Homeo Naturae. Laser engraved and cut fabrics.)

 

Steve and I took advantage of unplanned hours by visiting the Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Art Museum.  Plus, on our way to Pittsburgh, we stopped and took a ninety-minute tour through the Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia where I snapped 201 photos of peeling paint, rusty patina, and spaces that screamed of historic isolation and emotional depression.  I'm including just a few pictures below!

 

Selfie at the Warhol Museum

 

One of the wings of the Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum.

 

Inside the Carnegie Art Museum

On the riverboat dinner cruise

 

Two, new hand-stitched In Box Series pieces and the last Reasons for Tears handkerchiefs

 

(Above:  In Box CDLIV and In Box CDLV ... framed!  Each one is 19 1/2" x 15 1/2".  Layers of polyester stretch velvet fused on recycled black industrial felt, stitched with cotton embroidery floss, and subjected to a melting technique.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Driving The Lace Forest to Fiberarts International in Pittsburgh and back meant time in the cargo van.  Time in the cargo van is an opportunity to stitch!  Many people don't know how I manage stitching in the passenger seat, but it's easy!  I use whatever color my hands land on first.  There is no pattern.  It's just stitch, stitch, stitch!

 

(Above:  In Box CDLIV.)

In one sense, there's not much to it.  Only straight stitches and French knots are needed.  When I run out of a color, I just switch to another.  I'll be doing it again ... very soon.  Why?  Well, Steve and I leave tomorrow to return for the opening events associated with Fiberarts International.  I have two more In Box pieces ready to go ... one for the ten hour trip there and one for the return.

 

(Above:  In Box CDLV.)

I'm frequently asked, "How long does it take you to make a piece?"  Well ... I now know that it takes about ten hours to stitch one of these, but that doesn't incorporate the time spent cutting polyester stretch velvet shapes and ironing them to the industrial felt.  It also doesn't include the time to melt, mount, and frame the work.  Plus, there's the time to iron heat-activated adhesive (Pellon 805 Wonder Under) to the back of all the polyester stretch velvet.  I really don't know how long a piece requires but t least I now know how long it takes to hand-stitch a piece this size! LOL!

(Above:  The last group of handkerchiefs for my Reasons for Tears installation.)

Meanwhile, I've been wrapping up the work for next month's Degenerate Art Project at Stormwater Studios in Columbia.  These are the last handkerchiefs for my installation Reasons for Tears. Since being rinsed and dried on this makeshift clothesline, they've been ironed and photographed individually.  There are 120 individual pieces.  I had to stop.  Honestly, the list of grievances from the Trump administration is weighing heavily on my mind and starting to seriously affect my attitude.  I want to be happy, especially this coming weekend in Pittsburgh.  I've waited years for the opportunity to have one of my pieces in the Fiberart International triennial!  It's going to be a great time no matter what is coming out of Washington DC (at least that's my hope!)

Nails in a Coffin

(Above:  Nails in a Coffin, 12" x 18" x 12".  Wooden coffin filled with old, yarn-wrapped nails and collaged with the following words. Top: Democracy. Inside lid: The Government as We've Known It. Bottom: Art by Susan Lenz June 2025.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

When I'm working, my mind is often roaming down rabbit hole ideas, especially when a strong concept is in the forefront of my brain.  Because I was invited to participate in an exhibit called The Degenerate Art Project at Stormwater Studios in Columbia, SC, I've been stitching a new installation called Reasons for Tears. (Click here for a recent blog post.) I've been stitching collected grievances about the Trump administration on dozens of vintage handkerchiefs.  There are now more than one hundred, but the process does allow my imagination to roam to other related ideas.  First, I just had to make The Locks Have All Been Changed. (I blogged that last Monday ... here.) Yet, I had another idea.  I couldn't help myself ... again ... and it just had to be made too.

 

(Above: Detail of Nails in a Coffin.)

It was actually quite easy because I already had thousands of old nails wrapped with yarn.  I've used these nails in other installations and even a collaboration with poet Al Black (Images HERE.)  I have two, plastic parts containers (the sort others use for beads or screws or other small items) filled with letters clipped from various magazines and vintage books.  One container has mostly black-and-white/vintage/antique letters.  One container has colorful letters clipped from magazines.  It was quick fun to select letters to collage on the wooden coffin which I ordered from Woodpecker Crafts. 

 

(Above:  The lid of Nails in a Coffin.)

All I basically did was to stain the wooden coffin maple colored, collage the letters, and fill the interior with nails.  At this moment, I don't even know whether the show will allow me to have three different works.  I've asked and am waiting for an answer.  I hope it gets to go!  One way or the other, this piece just had to be made.  

UPDATE!  This piece will be in the upcoming exhibit!

Further UPDATE: Due to limited space, this piece was withdrawn from the exhibition by the organizers who initially gave permission for its display.  (I did ask, of course ... and this piece still just had to come into existence whether allowed to be on view at this particular show or not.  I have no regrets over making it!) 

One more update!  The piece is back in the show!

 

Mandala CCXXXIV

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXIV. Custom framed:  11 1/4" x 11 1/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a scrap of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  A red faucet wheel handle; miniature clothespins; decorative toy scissors; Earth Day buttons; laminated Tampa Nugget cigar bands; hexagonal cut game pieces; lime green figures on horseback; assorted buttons and beads.  Click on image to enlarge.)

Last week I asked Steve to cut me a floater frame with precise outer dimensions: 12" x 12".  This was for my SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) annual fundraising auction donation. (Click here for that blog post.) He found a short stick of moulding that he said "might work". It was going to "be close". We had no more of this particular moulding.  So, Steve tried to cut it to the required size.  The last piece, however, was three-quarters of an inch too small.  I told him to simply cut another moulding to the needed 12" x 12" size but to trim the three sides of this moulding to the length of the leg that was "too short".  So, I ended up with this frame:  11 1/4" x 11 1/4".  I designed the two pieces at roughly the same time.  Like the donation, it was a challenge to work this small but also fun to stitch!

The Locks Have All Been Changed

(Above:  The Locks Have All Been Changed. 43" x 21 1/2".  Mixed media.  Click on any image to enlarge.) 

Sometimes I just can't help myself.  An idea presents itself in my imagination and resistance is not an option.  The work has to be made; the idea haunts my mind until the work is underway.  This is one of those pieces!

(Above:  Detail of The Locks Have All Been Changed.) 

Truthfully, I don't need this piece.  The exhibition, The Degenerate Art Show, to which it is headed is only going to be on view from July 8 - 13 at Stormwater Studios in downtown Columbia.  That's not very long and not in front of many people.  The show is being organized by Jasper Project as a way for local artists to respond to the current socio-political situation.  I was invited to participate and immediately started an installation called Reason for Tears.  (Click here for my most recent update on Reasons for Tears ... which now has ninety-three stitched handkerchiefs.)

 

(Above:  Detail of The Locks Have All Been Changed.)

The thing about this installation, however, is that my mind is really engaged while free-motion stitching the handkerchiefs.  I'm literally THINKING about each "reason for tears" and wondering about all the people effected by sudden executive orders, every proposed action, all the insults and the many lies.  How many people were forced to resign?  How many people were terminated?  How many grants have been halted? How many businesses have lost contracts?  Well ... I asked Steve to do a little research for me.  I asked him to find out how many office leases have been terminated.  Honestly, I thought the number would be low enough that I could create a tagged key for all of them.  NO WAY!  Steve found the official website for the Department of Government Efficiency and scrolled down to "lease terminations".  It's overwhelming.  (The number has increased during the three days it took for me to create this work.  As of this message, there are 485.  There are claims that the number could rise to nearly 800 offices.)  

How could I not make this piece?  It had to be made regardless of the days on view or the number of people who will see it.  It is my response to the staggering number of closures.  It is the least I can do.

UPDATE:  This piece was accepted for display in the upcoming exhibit but later, due to space limitations, the organizers withdrew their permission.  It doesn't matter; the piece just had to come into existence.

Further update:  The piece is back in the show!

Mandala CCXXXIII, SAQA auction donation

(Above:  Mandala CCXXXIII. Custom framed: 12" x 12". Found objects hand-stitched to a block of an antique Dresden Plate quilt. Objects include:  Part of a pocket watch; thimbles; miniature clothespins; decorative plastic scissors; bobbins; keys; prisms; Brownie and Junior Girl Scout pins; pink, fabric yoyos; antique eyeglasses; recycle buttons; assorted buttons and beads. Click on either image to enlarge.)

Every year SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) holds an on-line autumn fundraising auction.  Each piece is exactly 12" x 12".  I decided to create a miniature Found Object Mandala for this event.  It was a challenge.  Sometimes, small is hard!  But I think the work turned out very well.  My hope is that someone will love it enough to bid ... September 13 - October 6!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXXIII at an angle.)

In Box CDLII and CDLIII

(Above:  In Box CDLII, left and In Box CDLIII, right.  Custom framed: 21" x 9" each. Polyester stretch velvet on synthetic felt with hand stitching and melting techniques. Each $195 plus tax and shipping.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Right now, I have lots of new work in various stages of production.  This is one of the reasons why I never answer the question "How long does it take you to make a piece?"  I really don't know.  How does one account for all the prep work?  Ironing Pellon 805/Wonder Under onto the reverse of every piece of polyester stretch velvet in my stash?  How do I count the hours of a single piece when there are literally SIXTEEN on which I am working?

 

(Above:  Detail of In Box CDLII.)

Why so many?  Well ... the first thing I do is to cut squares and rectangles of each color of polyester stretch velvet ... making small piles.  Then, I construct the foundation layer on several pieces of prepped synthetic felt.  This way, I'm using the cut pieces before trimming the rest into increasingly smaller and smaller pieces to be fused on the top of the foundation layer.  So ... sixteen foundations are now ready for smaller pieces.  Yet, I went ahead and layered up these two skinny pieces.  They were hand-stitched in front of the television over the weekend.

 

(Above:  Detail of In Box CDLIII.)

Both these pieces were mounted on small pieces of acid-free foamcore, one behind every square or rectangle.  Then, the work was mounted on mat board where I signed it.  That gives each piece the look of being slightly above the mat board, as if "floating".  I took the photos directly through the glass.  This was possible because the glass is UV filtering and anti-reflective "museum" glass.  These two were fun to make.