“Pokeweed Berries”

“Pokeweed Berries” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021. 19.5" x 27.75"

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink, cotton backing fabric, cotton batting, cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

“Orange Milkweed with Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle”

 

“Orange Milkweed with Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle.” 

Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021. 21.5” x 27.5” 

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink, cotton backing fabric, cotton batting, cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

“Drama Queens: Pitcher Plants”

“Drama Queens: Pitcher Plants” 

Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp. Approximately 32x25”. 

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing fabric, 

cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

 

Persimmon

“Persimmon” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp. 21"x16.5” 

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing fabric. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.  

Intergalactic Pinball

Intergalactic Pinball

15" x  22.5" (Copyright 2020)

Hand-dyed and hand-painted cotton fabric, interfacing, silk sari ribbon, embroidery thread, perle cotton, gift card discs, beads. Free-motion machine quilted, hand embroidered.

I realized today that I never posted about this piece that I made in August 2020. I made it to showcase these balls made from silk sari ribbon, threads and perle cotton. (I demonstrated how to make these in Series 2600 of “Quilting Arts TV,” and in an article for Quilting Arts  magazine. 

 

I have not made very much three-dimensional work, but these little balls called out for something different. I hand-painted the lime green fabric, which is a jacquard napkin given to me by a neighbor; it belonged to her Belgian grandmother! The hot pink/purple piece is fabric that I hand dyed years ago. I used a sturdy interfacing in it so that it would be able to be shaped and have enough body to hold its curves. 

It needed some additional bling, so I added beads, hand stitching, and embellishments I punched out of old Target gift cards. 

“Northern Maidenhair Fern”

Northern Maidenhair Fern
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
20.25" x 16.25"

This is another piece in my botanical series. It is based on a photo I took at the North Carolina Botanical Garden of a Northern Maidenhair fern. It is a deciduous perennial fern is native to North Carolina. 

This is a wholecloth painted quilt. I added some visual texture with stenciling before masking with black/dark green, and then adding shading and details on the leaves. 

“Winged Sumac”

“Winged Sumac”
19-1/2" x 25-3/4"
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

This is my latest finish, based on a photo I took last fall. I changed the background to suggest that the leaf was in a puddle of water. It is wholecloth painted and free-motion machine quilted. I love the color combination on this piece. 

“Christmas Fern”

 

“Christmas Fern”
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
12x12"
Wholecloth painted and stenciled, free-motion machine quilted.

“Christmas Fern” is my donation to the 2021 SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) benefit auction. The donated 12 x 12-inch art quilts support exhibition and outreach programs. This year’s auction will take place online from September 10 through October 3, 2021. 

Christmas Ferns are native throughout much of the eastern U.S. and are so named because they are evergreen, and because the pinnae are shaped a bit like Christmas stockings.

Ravens

I’m hoping to participate in the Orange County Artist’s Guild Open Studio Tour this fall (Nov. 6-7 and 13-14) and I've been thinking about creating some new pieces and some other products (notecards, bookmarks, etc.) that I can sell at a lower price point than my larger, more complex work. 

These ravens are an experiment. I drew the raven first, and then scanned it in and sent it off to Spoonflower to have it printed on fabric. Then I painted the entire surface, then free-motion quilted them. I’ve made three so far. They are 11" square. It’s been fun to play with different color combinations on the feathers. 

“The Art of Science + Hope” in Chapel Hill

I’m excited to have a piece in this public art exhibition in Chapel Hill, NC – The Art of Science + Hope. This is a painted 3x4’ piece of plywood, and it’s one of more than 80 pieces of art installed along Franklin Street about a week ago to create mile-long Pop-Up Art Walk, celebrating science and hope. Community members designed this special outdoor event to thank scientists, healthcare workers, teachers, and local business owners - everyone whose leadership and innovation helped the community and the country make it through the past year. 

My piece is in front of Epilogue Books, a great little bookstore. 

You can read more about this exhibition on Instagram here: @science.hope.art.walk 

Local peeps: 

VOTE on your favorite art and win gift certificates from Downtown Chapel Hill businesses! TAG @ science.hope.art.walk on Facebook and Instagram for more prize drawings. Learn more: #linkinbio 

HURRY!  The art walk will be up through the end of May. Bring your friends/family downtown for a fun walk in downtown Chapel Hill and stay for dinner. 

DON'T MISS special tribute art dedicated to: 
NCDHHS Director Mandy Cohen, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)'s Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, and Orange County Health Director, Quintana Stewart. Thank you! 

“Sea Glass” on the cover of "Genetics in Medicine"

My work was featured on the cover of the February 2021 issue of "Genetics in Medicine" – the official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics!

Sea Glass
10" x 16.5" (Copyright 2020 by Susan Brubaker Knapp)
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, Lutradur, cotton threads, cotton batting. Painted, free-motion quilted.

"Bittersweet Autumn"

“Bittersweet Autumn” 

by Susan Brubaker Knapp
Copyright 2020 

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, cotton batting, cotton backing fabric. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

This piece is based on an ink drawing, which in turn was based on a photo I took in October 2015. My goal was to create a piece that looked a bit more graphic, and with a sense of drama that captures my feelings about Halloween. 

The title references both the vine (bittersweet) and my emotions about this particular autumn, when so much hangs in the balance. Here are some detail shots: 

Pink Coleus

Pink Coleus 

35"x35" Copyright 2020 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

White fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton backing fabric, cotton batting, cotton thread. 

Wholecloth painted, free-motion quilted.

My latest piece, “Pink Coleus,” is based on a photo I took (below) of a neighbor’s coleus, a hot pink/orange variety. 

Detail

Photo