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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Website redesign!


For about three years, I’ve needed to redesign my website. I had originally designed it using Adobe GoLive, and several years ago, they stopped supporting that software, and I could only use it on my ancient laptop with an outdated operating system. Not ideal.

I just spent two weeks working on it, and now I can cross that big job off my to-do list. Phew! I used Adobe Muse, which was pretty easy to learn and use (you don’t have to know or use HTML code at all!) The home page (above) features a slideshow of detail shots from some of my work. The other pages are:

fiber art – photos and descriptions of all my art quilts, including prices (if for sale), year made, and techniques/materials. Use the blue arrow keys near the main photo, or select an image from the thumbnails below. 
quilts – photos and descriptions of my best original quilts, including pieced and needleturn appliqué quilts, including year made. Use the blue arrow keys near the main photo, or select an image from the thumbnails below. 
 drawings, etc. – images of some of my black-and-white drawings, watercolors, and other miscellaneous projects. Use the blue arrow keys near the main photo, or select an image from the thumbnails below.


beauty on my morning walk – some of my photos taken on my morning walks, which I feature on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) using the hashtag #BeautyOnMyMorningWalk. Use the blue arrow keys near the main photo, or select an image from the thumbnails on the side. Or just let the slideshow click through all the photos.

classes & lectures – descriptions of the classes and lectures I offer,
my contract and brochure, pricing and details, my teaching schedule, and testimonials. And a slideshow of some of my fabulous students and their work!


shop – purchase my Workshop DVDs and books here via PayPal. (Yes, that’s a brand spankin’ new Workshop DVD up at the top; more on that soon!)

news – the latest information, including links to national venues where I’m teaching, publications, exhibitions; plus links to “Quilting Arts TV,” and other organizations, groups and ventures in which I’m featured.

tutorials – download PDF directions to learn how to make a 4" quilt sleeve, finish with a pillowcase turn, face a quilt (non-mitered and mitred versions), and frame fiber art. Free to print and distribute, as long as you keep my name and contact information on the sheets. 

 aboutmore than you really want to know about me, including my bio, artist’s statement, and résumé. 

 connect – all my contact information, links to my social media pages, the place to sign up to get my e-mail newsletter, and a form to send a message directly to me.  

I’d love for you to take a look and let me know what you think. If you see anything that doesn’t work or looks weird, please let me know. You can leave a comment here, or fill out the form on my “connect page on my website. There are some things I already know I need to fix, and some things I still need to figure out how to do, but overall, I’m pretty pleased. I hope you enjoy it!

Check it out here: http://www.bluemoonriver.com

Monday, November 9, 2015

“Fancy Goldfish” is up for auction this week!

“Fancy Goldfish” (16" x 16")
Copyright 2015 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
Cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint,cotton thread, cotton batting.
Free-motion machine quilted.
The piece I created to benefit The Quilt Alliance (The Alliance for American Quilts) will go up for auction this week on eBay. Please consider bidding, as this is a wonderful organization! The Quilt Alliance seeks to “document, preserve, and share our American quilt heritage by collecting the rich stories that historic and contemporary quilts, and their makers, tell about our nation’s diverse peoples and their communities.”

This is one my favorite pieces, so I really want it to go to a good home!

http://www.ebay.com/usr/quiltalliance

My piece is in the first auction week of the Animals We Love contest quilts, which will go live on eBay.com at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday night, Nov. 9, and will end  at 9 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 16.

Once the auctions have begun, you can go directly to the current week’s eBay auction by using this link: http://www.ebay.com/usr/quiltalliance.  



To go directly to the auction for “Fancy Goldfish,” go here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/31-Fancy-Goldfish-/131648573224?hash=item1ea6ddcf28:g:evgAAOSw5ZBWQRIs
 

Important note: the quilts for each auction week are only viewable on eBay.com during the auction period for that quilt. Before and after the auction period, the quilts are not viewable. (eBay only posts items included in live auctions – no archives or scheduled auctions are viewable).
Each auction begins and ends on Monday at 9pm Eastern Standard Time.


More quilts will go up for auction in the second week, Monday, Nov. 16 – Monday, Nov. 23.

To preview the quilts for each week before that auction week begins, visit the Facebook albums here:
Week ONE: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153784667266340.1073741838.31536621339&type=3
Week TWO: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153784517606340.1073741837.31536621339&type=3


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Watch me on TheQuiltShow.com (for free!)

--> Want to watch me (for free!) in Episode #1709 of TheQuiltShow.com? The show aired last Monday, Oct. 26, and is normally only available to subscribers. But from Nov. 1-8, 2015, you can watch even if you are not a subscriber! This is also a great opportunity to decide if you want to become a subscriber. 

TheQuiltShow.com with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims is a fabulous way to learn all about quilting, ground-breaking quilters (traditional, contemporary, modern, art quilters and fiber artists) in a wonderfully friendly interactive online community. You can watch a promo of the show, which includes my fellow North Carolinian, Jane Hall, here



To watch the episode that features me (and Jane), click on this link:

http://thequiltshow.com/watch/show-list/video/latest/show-1709-from-pineapples-to-photorealism?artist_coupon=17091026

Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

I am what I choose to become

“I am what I choose to become”
Copyright 2015 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
I made this last night for a courageous young woman I know who is dealing with a traumatic injury and facing a challenging recovery. I chose a quote by Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology:

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”  – Carl Jung

I decided to add a butterfly because it is a powerful image of metamorphosis and change.  

I have only painted on canvas a handful of times, and it was interesting how much differently the acrylic paint moved on the gessoed canvas than on fabric. I used a prepared canvas purchased at a craft store, and my ProChemical & Dye transparent and opaque acrylic textile paints. Not sure if I should be using regular acrylic paints, but I don’t have many of them, and I have a lot of the textile paints.

Friday, October 16, 2015

From Insects to Elephants

Five pieces of my work will be featured in the exhibition “From Insects to Elephants” at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts Oct. 21, 2015 through Jan. 10, 2016.

The exhibition features the work of 64 artists from Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Maine, Texas, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Georgia, New Mexico, Tennessee, Kansas North Carolina, and Florida:

Eileen Daniels
Salley Mavor
Barbara Yates Beasley
Terri Sankovitz
Myra Van Uxem
Suzanne Mouton Riggio
Larkin Van Horn
Mary Alice Hart
Velda Newman
Grace Errea
Susan Balisterri
Cindy Garcia
Barbara Barrick McKie
Susan Carlson
Ginny Eckley
Melanie Marr
Jane Broaddus
Judith Roderick
Susan Brubaker Knapp
Linn Woodard
Darlene Determan
Bonnie Patton
Christine Sommerfelt
Paula Salzman
Candy Flynn
Jane Davila
Wendy Butler Berns
Nellie Durand
Nancy Linz
Deb Kinder
Barbara Strobel Lardon
Ruth Powers
Lisa Binkley
Marla Morris-Kennedy
Linda Teddlie Minton
Judy Raddatz
Karla Spinks
Nancee Ariagno
Barbara Kile
Pam Moller
Sandy Bates
Deanna Peterson
Jennifer Heynen
Anita Carpenter
Sue Rasmussen
Joyce Krueger
Michele Oxman
Christine Sparrow
Monica Ingwersen
Lorraine Jewell
Linda Reuss Benson
Laura Krasinski
Mary Young
Norma Klimpke
Hope Wilmarth
Vicki Quint
David Taylor
Kathy Golden
Tricia Glaister
Sharon L. Malec
Katherine Sharpless
Rhonda McClure
Mary Alice Schueler
Gayle Simpson

“Insects, correct to the smallest detail, multi-colored hippos and elephants, views of the undersea world, whimsical pincushions, favorite family pets, barnyard animals, and others more exotic – all are part of WMQFA’s celebration of nature’s creations.”
The exhibition was curated by Linda Reuss Benson and Linn Woodard.

WANT TO GO?
“From Insects to Elephants”
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts
Cedarburg, WI
Oct. 21, 2015 - Jan 10, 2016
Opening Reception: Nov. 8, noon to 3 p.m.

“Suffolk Sheep #4”
20" x 20"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2013) Original design.
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton threads, wool/polyester batting.
Thread sketched and free-motion machine quilted.

“Beetles”
10.5" x 29.5"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2014) Original design.
White cotton fabric,acrylic textile paint, wool/polyester batting.
Free-motion machine quilted.
“New Zealand Chook #4”
24" x 24"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2013) Original design.
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton threads, wool/polyester batting.
Thread sketched and free-motion machine quilted.

“Maximum Cat Nap”
22" x 18.5"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2010). Original design.
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton threads, interfacing, cotton batting.
Thread sketched, free-motion machine quilted.
“Parrot Peek-a-Boo”
15.25" x 20.25"
(Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2010). Original design.
Cotton fabric, fusible adhesive, cotton threads, cotton batting.
Thread sketched and free-motion machine quilted.

Monday, October 5, 2015

A wonderful (rainy) retreat!


My “Once in a Blue Moon” Fiber Art Retreat was this past Wednesday through Saturday in Black Mountain, NC. Lyric Kinard and I each taught, and had a wonderful time with our fabulous students. Yes, we had some biblical rainfall for the entire time … but most of our activities went on as planned. We improvised a bit, and added a few more inside activities. Here are photos from my wholecloth painting classes. Most students worked from original photos, and some used mine. They did impressive work!