Upcoming show – Viewpoints 2025, Montclair NJ

2025-04-21T15:32:52-04:00Exhibition, Articles|

Susan Hensel – Upcoming show – Viewpoints 2025, Montclair NJ At long last, Susan Hensel is showing in exhibitions once again! Susan has a few shows coming up this spring and into summer, the first of which opens on Friday, Viewpoints 2025. It is an annual juried group show put together by New Jersey-based gallery, Montclair Studios, that she participated in last year as well. Viewpoints 2025 marks the gallery’s 28th year of putting on the juried exhibition and features over 60 artists from across the country. This year, Susan submitted a piece from her Neotectonic Period series, Atmospheric Event 3. There are four atmospheric event pieces in the Neotectonic series which symbolize a pulling apart of the atmosphere. The work deals metaphorically with the effects of climate change, globally and universally.  […]

Collecting Art on a budget | Why does art cost so much | Susan Hensel Projects

2022-08-05T00:25:22-04:00Articles|

Collecting Art… on a Budget? And, why does art cost so much? I love art.  I make art and I sometimes wonder, too.  I make art that I cannot easily afford! Collecting Art on a budget. You and I see the news flashes about auction prices at 10’s of millions of dollars.  You go to galleries and museums and see tiny, precious things, or huge piles of ordinary detritus and you wonder, ” What gives here?”  I get asked questions from time to time. […]

NOBLE TRUTHS OPEN STUDIO | Why even do this? | Susan Hensel Projects

2022-08-05T00:22:18-04:00Articles, News|

NOBLE TRUTHS OPEN STUDIO August 10, 6-8pm 3441 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN Why even do this? Artists do “open studios” for a variety of reasons. Wait!  What is an “Open Studio” anyways? Oh!  Sorry!  An OPEN STUDIO EVENT is basically an opportunity for the public  to visit your place of work. […]

Making a new artwork! | Chromatic Wave 4 | Susan Hensel Projects

2025-04-14T12:05:46-04:00Articles|

Making a new artwork! Chromatic Wave 3 at Susan Hensel Projects There is a lot that goes into making any artwork.  I thought I’d take you behind the scenes again.   I wanted to see what would happen if I up-sized Chromatic Wave 1, Chromatic Wave 3 was just finished last week.   Chromatic Wave 1 is only 24 ” w.  Chromatic Wave 3 is 77″ tall!  Architectural in scale. The digitizing took an afternoon. The stitching took about two days. The cutting, sewing and ironing took another day. At this scale, movement of the pleats into new forms was limited to the triple curve. […]

The Work of an Artist | completing a commision | Susan Hensel Projects

2025-04-14T15:27:53-04:00Embroidery Art, News, Articles|

On some level, the work of an artist is never done.Or another cliché: Old artists never retire. Completing a Commission The Work of an Artist. Sometime ago I received a commission from an art consultant out of Atlanta who had been trying to find a fit for my work.  We had been communicating for several months before something landed. The commission came in, requesting that I make 12 “bookblocks,” all different, but in a muted palette of indigo, beige, misty blue and some black. And could I do it in 3 months?  Was that doable? probably not unless I began the testing before the contract was signed and delivered! […]

Can Beauty help us | Perhaps a manifesto | Susan Hensel Projects |

2025-04-14T15:34:19-04:00News, Articles|

Can Beauty help us? Perhaps a manifesto Can Beauty help us? I make art to learn what I am thinking and feeling.  While it is always an internal investigation, I am engaged with the world and culture around me. I am a quiet contemplative, a delayed emotional reactor, a visual glutton.  I think and mediate, I get mad the next day and I just simply have to look…all the time. From this essential disposition and with study and thought I have adopted a theory for my artmaking that I call “radical beauty.” So, here goes!  Starting with a few appropriate quotes. […]

Twists and Turns | New Work | Susan Hensel Projects

2021-10-27T14:52:46-04:00Articles, Embroidery Art, News|

Life is always full of Twists and Turns. So is my new artwork. More years ago than I care to count, I lost my husband to a freak accident, leaving me with a two year old. Sad? yes. But there is always learning to be had. The day after his father’s death, I told my son that his Daddy would not be coming home. His 2 year old response,”OK. Let’s play zoo.” So many unforeseen bridges were left to cross ahead, but the imperative, as demonstrated by a two year old, was “going forwardness,” to continue to grow, learn and live. Those imperatives do not disappear.Creativity is our birthright. It has survival value. We need it to grow-up and into our lives, no matter what they may be. […]

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