Good Monday Morning! I hope everyone is thawing out from this very cold and snowy winter. This month we are featuring Susanne Miller Jones on our "Getting to Know You" blog feature. Enjoying reading about her and what she is up to these days.
SAQA: VA/NC Regional Getting to Know Susanne Miller Jones
SAQA: VA/NC Regional Getting to Know Susanne Miller Jones
I am a retired elementary school teacher, living in Potomac Falls VA. Retirement gives you time to explore many possibilities and I found that I love to create fiber art. I use mixed media techniques and love the freedom involved in creating my own designs. I work with bright colors and a variety of textures, pulling in fibers not usually found in traditional quilts: vinyl, fleece, crepe de chine, jute, raffia, and lace. Frequently I use machine embroidery in my designs. I enjoy adding beads, crystals, and buttons. To add more texture, I often quilt with metallic or holographic thread.
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Susanne's Birthday Dinner debuted in the What's for Dinner exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2014.
My Summer Paradise will be in the Southern Accents exhibit at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL from May 16 - Aug 22, 2015
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"Rain" was part of the Beatles exhibit which is currently traveling and can be found in Inspired by the Beatles: An Art Quilt Challenge curated by Donna Marcinowski Desoto
Question: Do you have your own studio or do you work wherever you can find a spot? What is your favorite feature of your work space and what is your least favorite feature?
Answer: My husband and I live in a two bedroom condo and I am fortunate enough to have the second bedroom as my studio. I love my studio because we re-purposed the room; adding cabinets and a counter-top that we had removed from the kitchen during a remodel, a built in ironing board and track lighting aimed at the design wall. My least favorite part of it is the temperature. In the winter, it's the coldest room in our place and in the summer it's the hottest.
Question: Do you have your own studio or do you work wherever you can find a spot? What is your favorite feature of your work space and what is your least favorite feature?
Answer: My husband and I live in a two bedroom condo and I am fortunate enough to have the second bedroom as my studio. I love my studio because we re-purposed the room; adding cabinets and a counter-top that we had removed from the kitchen during a remodel, a built in ironing board and track lighting aimed at the design wall. My least favorite part of it is the temperature. In the winter, it's the coldest room in our place and in the summer it's the hottest.
Question: Do you offer a professional service such as long arm quilting, teaching, commission work, fabric dyeing and selling, coaching, repair and restoration, etc.
Answer: Yes, I do commissions
. One of them hangs in the sanctuary of my church and I have two in the process right now. Anyone interested in commissioning a work can contact me at quiltmeastory@verizon.net My most exciting venture right now is a call for entries for a collection of fiber art pieces, Fly Me to the Moon, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon walk. It is a multifaceted collection and will be traveling as several exhibits. It will be published as a book in the fall of 2018. Information about it can be found on the SAQA website, www.saqa.com/calendar-detail.php?ID=4541 It is also on my blog: bleever.blogspot.com
Answer: Yes, I do commissions
. One of them hangs in the sanctuary of my church and I have two in the process right now. Anyone interested in commissioning a work can contact me at quiltmeastory@verizon.net My most exciting venture right now is a call for entries for a collection of fiber art pieces, Fly Me to the Moon, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon walk. It is a multifaceted collection and will be traveling as several exhibits. It will be published as a book in the fall of 2018. Information about it can be found on the SAQA website, www.saqa.com/calendar-detail.php?ID=4541 It is also on my blog: bleever.blogspot.com
Question: What inspires you to make art quilts and where do you draw inspiration for your individual works?
Answer: I draw inspiration from memories: a family meal; my grandmother's front porch; and old photographs. I am finding that I enjoy the process of recreating scenes that look so realistic you can almost smell the food or feel the motion of the hammock. I really enjoy challenges as a way of stretching myself. It is such a blessing to watch my designs come to fruition in fabric.
Answer: I draw inspiration from memories: a family meal; my grandmother's front porch; and old photographs. I am finding that I enjoy the process of recreating scenes that look so realistic you can almost smell the food or feel the motion of the hammock. I really enjoy challenges as a way of stretching myself. It is such a blessing to watch my designs come to fruition in fabric.
Question: What is on your list of new things to try that you have never done before?
Answer: I am a life long learner and can't wait to learn new techniques. I'm looking forward to taking thread painting with Nancy Prince, a portrait class with Esterita Austin, a fusing class with Sue Bleiweiss and a series of classes from Vikki Pignatelli at Sacred Threads. I've taken some dye classes and can't wait to dye some fabric at Focus on Fiber this March. I'm also looking forward to learning about applying paint to my pieces.
Answer: I am a life long learner and can't wait to learn new techniques. I'm looking forward to taking thread painting with Nancy Prince, a portrait class with Esterita Austin, a fusing class with Sue Bleiweiss and a series of classes from Vikki Pignatelli at Sacred Threads. I've taken some dye classes and can't wait to dye some fabric at Focus on Fiber this March. I'm also looking forward to learning about applying paint to my pieces.
Question: Are you a member of a traditional quilt guild? If so, how involved are you with your guild?
Answer: I am the president of Reston Quilters Unlimited, a chapter of a much larger guild in the Washington DC area. I also am a member of Countryside Quilters, a much smaller guild near my home. I enjoy the friendships made and the generous sharing spirits of the ladies in my guilds. I think my favorite job in my guild was Program Chair. I loved planning the programs and getting to know the quilters who came to share with us.
Answer: I am the president of Reston Quilters Unlimited, a chapter of a much larger guild in the Washington DC area. I also am a member of Countryside Quilters, a much smaller guild near my home. I enjoy the friendships made and the generous sharing spirits of the ladies in my guilds. I think my favorite job in my guild was Program Chair. I loved planning the programs and getting to know the quilters who came to share with us.
Answer: Usually the name of a quilt comes to me. I rarely have to think hard. Most of the time I just know what the title is during the process of making the quilt. It's like the quilt tells me its name. Often it is a play on words or a familiar phrase. My current project is a zebra, called Black and White and Red All Over.
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Question: How many art quilt groups are you involved with? Tell us a little about them and what you do.
Answer: I am a member of a local group of friends, who make textile art. We are called Playing Outside of the Block, Playgroup for short. We meet every Monday and do hand work and chat and share and challenge each other. Inspired by the Beatles, an Art Quilt Challenge was begun as a challenge in this group issued by Donna DeSoto.
I am a Quilt Alliance member and have participated in their yearly contest for the past two years. I won a Judge's Choice the first year and a Members' Choice the second year. I love going to their Quilters Take Manhattan event each September.
On the Sacred Threads Committee I am the liaison to the Artist in Residence, chairperson of the workshops, co-chair of the volunteers and I act as the facilities POC. It is a thrill to be involved in such a special show of textile art focusing on the themes of joy, grief, inspiration,, healing, spirituality and peace/brotherhood.
For SAQA, I serve as chairman of the workshops, vendors and advertising for the upcoming Fiberlandia Conference in Portland, OR the May.
Question: Do you use any very non-traditional materials in your quilts or have any unusual methods of working that you would like to share?
Answer: Texture is critically important in my pieces and I will use whatever I can find to simulated the texture that the piece calls for. I have used vinyl, fleece, charmeuse, jute, raffia, window screen, and earring backs on pieces that I have made. Searching for the right texture and shape is part of the fun.
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Question: How many art quilt groups are you involved with? Tell us a little about them and what you do.
Answer: I am a member of a local group of friends, who make textile art. We are called Playing Outside of the Block, Playgroup for short. We meet every Monday and do hand work and chat and share and challenge each other. Inspired by the Beatles, an Art Quilt Challenge was begun as a challenge in this group issued by Donna DeSoto.
I am a Quilt Alliance member and have participated in their yearly contest for the past two years. I won a Judge's Choice the first year and a Members' Choice the second year. I love going to their Quilters Take Manhattan event each September.
On the Sacred Threads Committee I am the liaison to the Artist in Residence, chairperson of the workshops, co-chair of the volunteers and I act as the facilities POC. It is a thrill to be involved in such a special show of textile art focusing on the themes of joy, grief, inspiration,, healing, spirituality and peace/brotherhood.
For SAQA, I serve as chairman of the workshops, vendors and advertising for the upcoming Fiberlandia Conference in Portland, OR the May.
Question: Do you use any very non-traditional materials in your quilts or have any unusual methods of working that you would like to share?
Answer: Texture is critically important in my pieces and I will use whatever I can find to simulated the texture that the piece calls for. I have used vinyl, fleece, charmeuse, jute, raffia, window screen, and earring backs on pieces that I have made. Searching for the right texture and shape is part of the fun.
Thanks for sharing with us Susanne! It's been wonderful getting to know a little about you. Eileen
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