Saying “Yes” | Opportunity Knocks

2025-04-14T12:44:06-05:00Articles|

Saying “Yes” When Opportunity Knocks I just sent out a New Year’s Newsletter  from Susan Hensel Gallery + Projects.  The responses are mostly “Out-of-office” replies that need to be looked at.  But there are also sweet, nice emails from friends and clients.  The “kudos” that we all enjoy when then arrive. The social network responses about how hard I work.   I do work hard, I guess, between an appalling number of appointments and administration tasks. But I also work with great joy. I am always experimenting on multiple fronts at all times, assembling parts and ideas until, seemingly all at once, multiple pieces come together and are completed. So, while it looks like I suddenly made 3 new pieces, the reality is that they have been kicking around the studio, sometimes for months, before I have to put my foot down and “finish it up, dammit!” […]

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Stitchery Stories | A Conversation | Susan Hensel Projects

2023-01-05T12:47:54-06:00Articles|

STITCHERY STORIES A Conversation   A few weeks ago I had the intense pleasure of speaking with Susan Weeks of the Stitchery Stories Podcast. Though parted by an ocean and a vast time difference. King with her in Great Britain was like talking to my favorite neighbor or long lost friend!   […]

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Genesis of an Artwork | Nothing Wasted | Susan Hensel Projects

2022-07-07T12:49:02-05:00Articles|

Genesis of an Artwork Nothing Wasted at Susan Hensel Projects Artworks come from various sources…including failure! Experimentation and intuition are key-words for Susan Hensel Projects. Genesis of an Artwork. When people visit the studio and see me at work, they are often astounded.  They expect that everything I do is strictly mechanical…that I design the artwork in the computer and then let the embroidery machine do its thing…turning out perfect, completed hands-free objects every time.  Boy oh boy!  That hardly ever, if ever, happens! Let me take you through how Solar Tide came to be. You will be astounded, too. […]

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

2025-04-14T15:27:53-05:00Articles, Embroidery Art, News|

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! […]

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

2025-04-14T15:34:19-05:00News, 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. […]

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ART is…Episode 1 |a series from Susan Hensel Projects

2025-04-14T15:37:51-05:00Articles, Exhibition|

ART is…Episode 1 ART is…Episode 1. Artists are often asked: “Why is THAT art?” Sometimes the person goes on to say, “Isn’t art supposed to be beautiful? ” or “It doesn’t look like anything!”. We artists are always flabbergasted, challenged, unprepared and at a loss for words when asked these questions. For us “THE ART QUESTION” is sort of a settled question or we would not be spending so much time making it! But we are an inarticulate lot! We fumble around to answer your questions! We take Twists and turns and chase rabbits down rabbit holes! So, I thought I’d spend a few blog posts musing on this topic! Maybe you will find it interesting, enlightening, revealing or hogwash! […]

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Running a growing art studio | Susan Hensel Projects | Textile Art

2021-11-14T18:27:06-06:00Articles|

Running a growing art studio is running a business…sort-of. So, once again, I am musing about things.  My workflow has recently become a bit more than I can sustain. Good things are coming my way a bit more frequently.  Even good things take time to accomplish. Fulfilling deadlines and data needs are eating into creative time with materials.  Has there been an uptick in income to match this activity?  a tiny bit….but mostly the demands on my time have increased. So, once again I had to look at my actual personal financial budget and determine how much I could carve out for a studio assistant and what I needed them to do. […]

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