Getting Close to Delivery The commission is just about a month to completion!   It’s been an interesting month!  I have been repairing and re-repairing the big machine…boo!  And develeping work-arounds with the smaller machine. And it is going well!  Most of the stitching is completed. All the regular modules are done! […]

The commission proceeds| Susan Hensel Projects | textiles It is Labor Day here in the US, but Abby and I worked today anyway. Abby did research and data entry and helped pack the car with the boxes from the Bemidji exhibition. After five days with house guests and a pesky machine, progress on the commission is right on schedule. I took the large embroidery machine apart at least four times to fix the timing, change out needles, and check the thread path. So far, so good. The thread keeps shredding. Most of the design is stitching with several multicolored threads that do not seem to hold their plies well. But, broken thread , while a nuisance, does not destroy anything;-)  Today I designed a large module that is stitching in the smaller machine, even as you read this.  The function of the larger module, while still floral in character, will be to relieve the eye as you scan the large wall.  I am thinking if it as a "Dale Chihuly" glass flower. It is good to be back at work on this. You can hear the big machine chugging away in the background of this little film! https://youtube.com/shorts/hl1HxkuMIDs?feature=share

The commission continues although life happens! Life happens, even while you are watching out for the potholes!  I began the commission for a HUGE wall in downtown Minneapolis before I left for vacation on Lake Superior. Two weeks of glorious weather awaited me, and utter exhaustion!  […]

Pictures at an Exhibition 12 th International Biennial of Mini Textile “Scythia” I couldn’t be more pleased! Pictures of the opening of the 12th International Biennial of Mini Textiles “Scythia”  arrived today from Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine! Two artworks from my Solar Flare series are in the show and are entering the collection at the end of the exhibition!  The Solar Flare series explores the dynamic intersections of material, light, and digital fabrication, conceptually rooted in natural energy phenomena and executed in a hybrid textile language. The inclusion of these works in “Scythia” is just thrilling. I gather that the Mayor of Ivano-Frankivs’k attended the event.  Could he be the one presenting the roses in front of my artwork?  How cool is that? […]