Why I Make Art
What grabs me are conversations between color and texture, and the drama of pattern in everything I see around me: the wind in the cedar trees below my windows, the Guatemalan huipiles and Mexican serapes in my studio drawers, the angels who come to me as I work.
I make collages from textiles and surface-rich original art cloth, stacking up tall stashes of the latter in order to make the former. In the last several years, I have added digital design to my tool box. Using my iPad and numerous apps I create designs that are printed commercially and then used as the fabrics for my art quilts.
My textile collage art quilts tell the spiritual and metaphysical stories that unfold in my life and in the lives I observe of women around me. My goddesses, saints and angels are less about religion than they are about everyday occurrences: our hopes, dreams, frustrations, foundations and the resources we call upon in the secret spaces of the heart.The landscapes I paint with fabric are inner and outer, celebrating the history of thorns, the symbols of snakes, the fossils that are all around me in this rocky landscape.
I have come to this work after decades of art work and other work. Like most women, I didn't choose a linear path though life or career. As a young art student, I sewed paper bags into installations. As an arts educator, I made banners, flags and costumes with children as my audience, collaborators and inspiration. As a newspaper journalist I practiced the art of storytelling and listening, in words rather than images. As an exhibit designer, I filled space with layers of meaning and experience. Throughout these incarnations, I've had to be a maker-- putting my hands on "stuff" and turning it into something new. The work I do now puts all those years to good use.
At this point in my artist's life, I want what I create to have consistency of style, to share a personal vision, and to find a home on someone else's wall. I like working within the world of fiber arts because that world, more than any other, allows me the use of many acquired skills: computer design, painting, printmaking, embroidering, building, layering, embellishment and collage. Techniques I incorporate include hand-dyeing, stenciling, stamping, screenprinting, fusing, machine and hand embroidery and quilting. Rather than a purist's approach, I cut up and use anything that comes to eye -- recycled skirts from the thrift store share space with Indian silks, dyeprinted damask tablecloths, pieces of Oaxacan hiupils, baby clothes and designer scarves. Nothing is sacred and everything is.
Working in fabric and working with these sacred images of women, words and pattern binds me to generations of other women, literally and figuratively. These are the connections I honor and celebrate in both content and form.
RESUME
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2016
Legends and Landscapes: Susie Monday and Junanne Peck, Temple Cultural Activities Center, Temple, Texas; curator Kristen Reichert, Visual Arts Director; digital catalog
2013
Oceana, Linda Lewis Gallery, Edinburg, Texas; Linda Lewis owner/curator
Invitational Fiber Arts Exhibit, Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, Kerrville, Texas: curator Susie Monday
2010
Fiber Arts Invitational Exhibit, Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, Kerrville, Texas; curated by Debbie Minns, Director
2009
Art Quilt Exhibit, four artist invitational, The Ties that Bind, Baylor University, Martin Museum of Art, Waco, Texas, curator Mary Ruth Smith
The Ties that Bind, invitational exhibit, FiberArts Space, Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Texas
Small Works, FiberArts Space, Blue Star Art Complex, San Antonio, Texas
2006
Never Static Art Cloth Symposium Exhibit, Minnesota Textile Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, curator Jane Dunnewold
Textures Reunion, Galeria Ortiz, San Antonio, Texas
By Hand; By Heart, Fair Oaks Ranch Event Center, Boerne, Texas
Yitzhak in Canton, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio; curator Leslie J.J. Klein
2005
The Women in Yitzhak’s Life, Yitzhak International Arts Gathering, Western Galilee University, Akko, Israel; curator Leslie J.J. Klein
Yitzhak: The Many Faces of Isaac, Northern Indiana Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, Munster, Indiana, USA; curator Leslie J.J. Klein
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2016
Art Heals Hearts: The Power of Expression, The Ecumenical Center, San Antonio, Texas: juried by counseling staff
2015
Sacred Threads, 2015, Floris United Methodist Church, Herndon, Virginia, curator Lisa Ellis
Digital Alchemy: Quiltmakers and Spoonflower.com, juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, George Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas; juror Jane Dunnewold
2014
Affinity, Dinner at Eight Artists juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, George Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal; catalog
What’s for Dinner, Dinner at Eight Artists, Houston International Quilt Festival, George Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal
2013
Metaphors of Aging, Studio Art Quilt Associates traveling exhibition, Birmingham, England and 14 U.S. and international locations; juror Pamela Allen, managing curator Mary McBride; catalog
Text Messages, Studio Art Quilt Associates traveling exhibition, Houston International Quilt Festival, George Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas and 5 U.S. locations including Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey; juror Lesley Riley, managing curator Georgianne Kandler; catalog
An Exquisite Moment, Dinner at Eight Artists juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas; and Long Beach, California; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal; catalog
Fiber Artists of San Antonio annual exhibition, ¡Say Si! Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, Best of Show Award
Austin Fiber Artists, 2013 Winter Show, Tokyo Electron, Austin, Texas
2012
Rituals, Dinner at Eight Artists juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, Long Beach, California; Chicago,Illinois; Open European Quilt Championships, Netherlands; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal; catalog
FiberArt 2012, New Braunfels Art League, New Braunfels, Texas, curator Lila Reynolds
Fiber Artists of San Antonio annual exhibition, Hill Country Arts Foundation Gallery, Kerrville Texas, SDA Award
2011
24 by 80, Art Cloth Network exhibition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Palos Verdes, California; Houston, Texas
The Space Between, Dinner at Eight Artists juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal; catalog
2010
Beneath the Surface, Dinner at Eight Artists juried invitational exhibit, Houston International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas; jurors Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal; catalog
2009
A Sense of Humor, Studio Art Quilt Associates Exhibition, International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, traveling to Chicago, Illinois, Somers, New York, Long Beach, California; juror Pam RuBert, curator Patricia Gould; catalog
Art Cloth Network exhibit, Tubac Center for the Arts, Green Valley, Arizona
2009-2015 Fiber Artists of San Antonio juried annual exhibitions, San Antonio, TX, galleries including Say Si Art Center, Southwest School of Art; San Antonio Central Library Gallery, Gallery Nord and other local gallery spaces
2016, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009 All School Exhibitions, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas; juried by full-time faculty
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Susie Monday, “The Last Word,” Quilting Arts Magazine, 08-09/16, print
Cynthia Winslow, Art Quilt Collector. 09/16
“Dinner at Eight Affinity Gallery,” 12/15-01/16; print (quilt featured in article)
“Dinner at Eight What’s for Dinner Gallery,” 02-03/15; print (quilt featured in article)
The Missing Alphabet, A Parents Guide to Developing Creative Thinking, with co-authors Susan Marcus and Dr. Cynthia Herbert, Greenleaf Press, Austin, 2013
“Dinner at Eight An Exquisite Moment Gallery,” 10-11/13; print (quilt featured in article)
Susie Monday, “iPad Designed Stars and Snowflakes,” Quilting Arts Gifts, 12/13 print
Susie Monday, “Susie Monday, “Rainbow Printing with Water-soluble Pigments” Quilting Arts TV Episode 603, 10/13; video
“Dinner at Eight Rituals Gallery,” 10-11/12; print (quilt featured in article)
Susie Monday, “Mixed Media Textile Art with Susie Monday,” DVD, Quilting Arts, 08/10; DVD
Susie Monday, Artist Profiles, Quilting Arts, 06-07/10; 10-11/09, 08-09/09, 06-07/09; print
Susie Monday, “Rainbow Prints with Water-Soluble Media,” Quilting Arts, 12/09-01/10
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2012“Ana’s Nook,” permanent textile mural, San Antonio Public Library Foundation commission, Parman Branch Library, San Antonio, Texas
Private collection, Baron Don Clausewitz and Jacob Bustamante, Ione Palace, Bandera County, Texas
Private collection, Diana Jacaman Saide; Monterrey, Mexico and; San Antonio, Texas
1990 Collaborative Textile Banner, Learning About Learning Educational Foundation, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas
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2016 Arts and Letters Award, Friends of the San Antonio Public Library, San Antonio, Texas
2013 Best of Show, Fiber Artists of San Antonio annual exhibition, ¡Say Si Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
2012 Faculty Artist of the Year, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas
2011 Surface Design Association Award, Fiber Artists of San Antonio annual exhibition, Hill Country Arts Foundation Gallery, Kerrville, Texas
2009 Texas Original Artist, statewide artist designation program. Selected to make art gifts for incoming Texas Commissioners for the Arts, 2011
1995 Imagineer Award, Mind Science Foundation, San Antonio, Texas
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Owner, El Cielo Studio, artist workshops and retreats, Pipe Creek, Texas, teaching online and in person regionally and nationally (Texas, Alaska, New Mexico, Nebraska)
Keynote speaker, Quilt Nebraska, 2016
Creative Arts in Learning Specialist, Alamo Colleges, Palo Alto College, San Antonio
Art Classes and Workshops
Adjunct Faculty, Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio, TX, 2005-2016
Adjunct Faculty, Majestic Ranch Art Foundation, Boerne, TX 2005-2008
Faculty, International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Curriculum Development and Training,
The Foundry, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, ongoing
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Fiber Artists of San Antonio, former president, vice president and board member
Studio Art Quilt Associates, membership committee secretary 2016
Surface Design Association, conference planning committee 2013
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2025
Artist of the Year, San Antonio Art League + Museum, San Antonio, Texas
2018
Artist of the Year, San Antonio Art League + Museum, San Antonio, Texas
2016
Legends and Landscapes: Susie Monday and Junanne Peck, Temple Cultural Activities Center, Temple, Texas; curator Kristen Reichert, Visual Arts Director;
2014
Recent Work, Susie Monday, SoL Center, University Presbyterian, San Antonio, Texas,
The Road to Compostella, Salon d’Artiste, Palace Ione, Bandera County, Texas
2012
New Work, Salon d’Artiste, Palace Ione, Bandera County, Texas
Textiles, Susie Monday, SoL Center, University Presbyterian, San Antonio, Texas
2009
New Work, Cypress Hall, Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, Texas, Artist-in-Residence
2008
New Work, Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, TX
Featured Artist, 1560 Gallery, Kerrville, Texas
OFFERINGS
ART
I am an artist and teacher whose work is inspired by the colors, textures and images of the rich landscape -- physical, historical and cultural -- here near the Texas Mexican border. From my Hill Country home and on-site El Cielo Studio, I make contemporary textile paintings, surface-designed art cloth and mixed media art.
WORKSHOPS
My small-group weekend workshops include explorations of creativity, art journaling, IPad apps for artists, surface design techniques, and spiritual growth and practice as it affects design process, creativity and the fine art of making a life true to one's strengths, gifts and passions. I also teach at conferences, events, guild meetings and schools around the world, custom designing content to meet the needs of my audience.
PUBLICATIONS
In one of my past lives I was a newspaper journalist and worked for Hearst daily in San Antonio. Since leaving the field I have continued to write and contribute to online and print publications. Most recently I contributed to The Missing Alphabet, The Parents' Guide to Developing Creative Thinking in Kids, an exciting and artful book published by Greenleaf Book Group in Austin, Texas.