Artist Profile: Susan Fletcher King

Susan Fletcher King
Houston, Texas www.Susanfletcherking.com
1. How do you describe yourself?  I describe myself with the three roles that I play:  mother, wife and artist.  My life is flexible enough that these roles shift and morph as needed.

2. What is your creative process?  My creative process usually combines a lot of angst and/or being “in the zone”.  If I am truly inspired, the work comes together very easily and seamlessly (no pun intended!).  When I am in the zone, it works so well that I don’t even have an awareness of process after the piece is completed.  Conversely, I can feel lonely and depressed if I struggle a lot to reason out the “why” and “how” of a piece.

3. Describe your studio space.  My studio is a small room with a wall of windows.  I feel like an astronaut in the old space capsules, kind of jumping into my seat and having everything within arm’s reach surrounding me and my work surface.

4. What's your signature style? How long did it take you to find your style when you first started making art quilts?  With my background as a graphic designer and illustrator, it now seems inevitable that I brought those aspects into my work.  This took a while since I first had to learn to sew when I started this adventure.  My very first challenge was figuring out what a “bobbin” was!

5. Are there artistic endeavors you are yet to do?  Oh yes!  I am beginning to enjoy and incorporate more printing and painting into my fiber work and there is a wealth of techniques that I have yet to try.

6. Do you keep a sketchbook and/or journal?  As much as I admire those who keep journals and sketchbooks, I am not one of them. 

7. Being published is important to artists, so do you have any instructional dvd's, author of books, YouTube channel, have a website with other artists for collaborative projects?  Alas, no.

8. Do you teach?  I may be teaching some classes locally in Houston, but not certain yet.

9. Having your work in juried, invitationals, and solo shows is a great way to get your name out there. Where can people see your work?  During this time period I will be displaying my Dinner@8 work and another piece at IQA – World of Beauty.

10. How many years have you had your work in d@8 exhibits, or is this your first time?  This will be my 6th consecutive year.  This is something I am very proud of.
 
Do you have a special memory about Yvonne Porcella that you would like to share with us?  I had only heard of Yvonne Porcella with the same hushed and reverent tones that people use when meeting the President or the Pope.  When I finally met her, I happily discovered that she was truly one of the most real and gracious people I had ever met.