“Double Double” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2024 42" x 70.5" |
Friday, October 18, 2024
“Double Double”
Monday, October 14, 2024
“Beloved Blue Ridge”
“Beloved Blue Ridge” (19” x 9”) Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2024 |
Saturday, October 5, 2024
“Fire Burn (Orange Study)”
“Toil and Trouble”
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
“What Remains” is juried into Quilt National 2025!
“What Remains” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2024 33" x 45" |
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, acrylic ink, cotton thread, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing. Digitally-altered photo, thread sketched, free-motion machine quilted.
Artist's statement: Withering and decay are a natural part of the changing of the seasons and the cycle of life, and they are as inspiring to me as the lovely blooms that emerge in springtime. What remains can be beautiful, too.
I'm
absolutely thrilled to announce that this piece has been
juried into Quilt National 2025! 85 pieces were selected from 659 entries by LUKE Haynes, Ellen Blalock, and Martha Sielman. (Thanks!)
The
opening weekend is May 23-25. The quilts will be exhibited at The Dairy
Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio, through Sept. 1, 2025, and many will
tour through October 2027.
From www.dairybarn.org: “Quilt
National aims to demonstrate the transformations taking place in the
world of quilting. Its purpose is to carry the definition of quilting
far beyond its traditional parameters and to promote quiltmaking as what
it always has been — an art form. The works in Quilt National display a
reverence for the lessons taught by the makers of the heritage quilts.
Many of the works hold fast to the traditional methods of piecing and
patching. At the same time, however, Quilt National is fueled by the
challenge of expanding the boundaries of traditional quiltmaking by
utilizing the newest materials and technologies. These innovative works
generate strong emotional responses in the viewer while at the same time
fulfilling the creative need of the artist to make a totally individual
statement.”
“What Remains” (detail) |
Monday, September 23, 2024
Luna and the Moon
Amanita muscaria
“Amanita
muscaria” |
This mushroom is commonly known as fly agaric or fly amanita. It is usually red and white, but subspecies or variations are sometimes yellow or white. It has hallucinogenic properties, but is poisonous (although death from poisoning is rare).
This is the mushroom made famous in the Mario and Smurfs franchises!
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Castle Hill
Castle Hill Copyright 2024 Susan Brubaker Knapp 17.5 x 11" |
I attended my godson’s wedding last weekend at a gorgeous venue outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. We arrived early and sat in our car waiting until it was time to go to the ceremony, and I took a photo of the beautiful meadow, some in sunshine and some in shadow, with the lovely mountains and forests in the background. This piece is based on that photo, and I'm giving it to my godson and his new bride.
Batik fabric, cotton thread, interfacing, cotton backing. Raw-edge applique, free-motion quilted.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Zinnias
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Giant Leopard Moth
Sunday, June 23, 2024
“Join the Chorus”
"Join the
Chorus" |
My periodical cicada obsession continues. I had already finished this piece, and sewn on the facing, when I decided it wasn't done yet. It just looked too simple, and the oak leaf design I'd quilted in the background was confusing, and not reading as leaves. So I pulled out my trusty paint and painted the background with a darker blue and some metallic gold/green.
Before |
Monday, June 17, 2024
Cicada Dance 1
“Cicada Dance
1” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp (2024) 17.5" square. |
My latest in a series of pieces I planning that celebrate the periodical cicadas in Brood XIX that emerged in our area this spring.
Cotton fabric,
cotton batting, cotton thread, acrylic textile paint, interfacing.
Wholecloth painted and free-motion quilted.
For information on my wholecloth painting technique and materials, please read my blog post here: https://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/2014/01/faqs-wholecloth-painting.html
Thursday, June 13, 2024
“Crossroads”
Saturday, June 8, 2024
“Jubilee”
Brood XIX
“Brood XIX” Copyright 2024 Susan Brubaker Knapp |
I was thrilled to watch these insects – that look so different from our annual cicadas (smaller, with orange veining on their wings, and red eyes!) emerge from their exoskeletons, dry and unfold their wings. For the first time since 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president, both Brood XIX and Brood XIII (the Northern Illinois Brood) emerged together, with overlapping areas in northern Illinois. “Nobody alive today will see it happen again,” said Floyd W. Shockley, an entomologist and collections manager at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (New York Times)
18 x 10.5" White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton batting, cotton thread. Wholecloth painted and free-motion quilted.
"Barbara's Buttons"
"Stepping Stones"
Thursday, April 25, 2024
"Garden at Dawn"
"Garden at Dawn"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2024)
15.5" square
I started this piece years ago, for a demonstration on Quilting Arts TV on how to use acrylic textile paints to achieve a watercolor effect. I’ve been going through some pieces that were set aside over the years, as I was busy helping my dad and my children, and then moving and re-settling in Chapel Hill, and decided to finish this one.
Cotton duck, acrylic textile paint, perle cotton, cotton batting, cotton batting. Painted, free-motion machine quilted, hand embroidered.
Monday, April 22, 2024
Dragonfly Meetup
“Dragonfly Meetup” (Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2024) 15.5” square |
I’m teaching a class later this week where students create a thread-sketched dragonfly, and decided to finish up a piece I started while demonstrating in previous classes. Cotton fabric, cotton thread, cotton batting, interfacing. Fusible appliqué, free-motion thread sketching, free-motion quilting.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Festa Della Terra 2024
For the past four years, our friend (and the wonderful realtor who helped us find our current home), Natalie Marrone, has been holding Festa Della Terra. It’s an “artful food drive” held around Earth Day that benefits PORCH, a local organization with programs that distribute fresh and non-perishable food to families, pantries and schools. This year we set our goal to feed over 600 families in our community for a full month! It was held this past Saturday in Natalie’s backyard, featured artists, musicians and refreshments. People were invited to come and to bring bags of food or a cash contribution.
It was lovely to see all the art hanging and displayed amidst the trees in their fresh green spring leaves.
Looking to buy or sell a home in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Hillsborough/Durham NC area? I highly recommend Natalie as a realtor! You can find her here: https://www.nataliemarronehomes.com/
Anatolii Tarasiuk |
Deenie & Flip |
David Hinkle |
R. Scott Horner |
Natalie Marrone |
Will Ridenour |
My display |
Talking to visitors |
My work hanging amid the trees |
My work on the treehouse |
Friday, April 12, 2024
The Consortium
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
“Supple”
“Scintillating”
“Scintillating” Copyright 2024 Susan Brubaker Knapp 12-13" x18.5" |
“Scintillating” is another piece in a series of experimental small works that I’m creating to try out some new ideas, and just play. I find that this often leads me in different directions in my work, and is a healthy way to work – without expectations or confines – between larger pieces.
Note that the piece is purposely not square. The top edge is about an inch shorter than the bottom edge.
Hand-dyed, surface-designed, and batik cotton fabrics, cotton thread, cotton batting, holographic sequins. Raw-edge applique, free-motion machine quilted.