Artist: Susan Reed

Artists » Susan Reed

Craft Medium: Fiber

Artist's Statement: SUSAN H REED

ARTIST STATEMENT

I BELIEVE THAT ART IS TRANSFORMATION-THE TAKING OF ONE MATERIAL AND MAKING IT INTO SOMETHING ELSE. WHETHER ONE USES CLAY, PAINT, WOOD,GLASS OR WOOL, THE CHALLENGE IS TO TAKE THOSE RUDIMENTARY ELEMENTS AND TRANSFORM THEM INTO A WORK OF ART. FOR ME, THAT MEANS CHOOSING A SKEIN OF YARN, DECIDING WHAT IT WANTS TO BE, ADDING COLORS, TEXTURE, OR OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS, AND USING MY NEEDLES TO COMPLETE THE TRANSFORMATION FROM SKEIN TO WEARABLE ART.

Artist Works:

Artist Biography:
I learned to knit during the dark ages when I was in high school in Houston, Texas. A group of friends and I took lessons from a woman who we thought was older than dirt… It has been only recently that I have realized she was probably my age!

The minute I walked into that shop, I was hooked. I immediately fell in love with all types of natural fibers: wools, cottons, the combinations of textures and colors, and became a devotee of the craft. Several years ago, when the new novelty yarns came on the market with their exciting mixtures of fibers, I really became addicted to creating wearable art using various combinations of yarns and colors.

I design my own garments and accessories (shawls, handbags, stoles, etc) each with a unique mixture of color and texture. The designs themselves are relatively simple patterns; it is the mixtures of the color palette, texture, and or embellishments that makes them unique and one of a kind.
I have taken numerous classes with “masters” to hone my skills in various techniques and also continued education on my own, learning from the books of the “masters”. I have taught classes, sold work in boutiques in Lake Charles and participated in several art markets-the last being in Baton Rouge. Through my membership in the Crafts Guild, my work is in galleries in Alexandria, Shreveport, and Lafayette.

My day job is serving as the director of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum in Lake Charles. I served two terms on the Louisiana state arts council and the Louisiana Association of Museums and was a member of the Board of the Louisiana Crafts Guild. Any director of a non profit agency understands the periods of high stress involved when one is wearing about ten hats at once. It is during these times especially that I am grateful to be able to pick up my needles and yarns and enter my personal “fortress of solitude” shaping fibers into cloth and allowing the creative process to erase life’s stressors.

SUSAN H. REED
Director, Imperial Calcasieu Museum
Lake Charles, La

I learned to knit during the dark ages when I was in high school in Houston, Texas. A group of friends and I took lessons from a woman who we thought was older than dirt… It has been only recently that I have realized she was probably my age!
The minute I walked into that shop, I was hooked. I immediately fell in love with all types of natural fibers: wools, cottons, the combinations of textures and colors, and became a devotee of the craft. Several years ago, when the new novelty yarns came on the market with their exciting mixtures of fibers, I really became addicted to creating wearable art using various combinations of yarns and colors.
I design my own garments and accessories (shawls, handbags, stoles, etc) each with a unique mixture of color and texture. The designs themselves are relatively simple patterns; it is the mixtures of the color palette, texture, and or embellishments that makes them unique and one of a kind.
I have taken numerous classes with “masters” to hone my skills in various techniques and also continued education on my own, learning from the books of the “masters”. I have taught classes, sold work in boutiques in Lake Charles and participated in several art markets-the last being in Baton Rouge. Through my membership in the Crafts Guild, my work is in galleries in Alexandria, Shreveport, and Lafayette.
My day job is serving as the director of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum in Lake Charles. I served two terms on the Louisiana state arts council and the Louisiana Association of Museums and was a member of the Board of the Louisiana Crafts Guild. Any director of a non profit agency understands the periods of high stress involved when one is wearing about ten hats at once. It is during these times especially that I am grateful to be able to pick up my needles and yarns and enter my personal “fortress of solitude” shaping fibers into cloth and allowing the creative process to erase life’s stressors!

Email to Susan Reed