Stitch & Structure
with Sue Stover
May 14-19, 2025
Have you wanted to incorporate stitching into 2 and 3-dimensional work but don’t know where to start? Or perhaps you’re interested in using stitching as a way of mark-making and drawing? Or maybe you want to explore stitching as a decorative or structural component in your work?
This workshop will focus on the combination of contemporary methods and materials with traditional techniques of construction and stitching. We will look at traditional uses of stitching, such as in boro, bojagi, and
quilting, as inspirational springboards as well as contemporary artists using stitching in unique ways.
Along with fabrics, participants will explore stitching on a variety of alternative surfaces including paper, photographs, cardboard, matboard, plastic, and more. Topics to include concepts of: reuse and repair; drawing and mark-making with thread; decoration and embellishment; honoring time and hand labor; constructing and piecework; and installation and presentation.
Attention will be given to participants to
find their own voice with materials and methods. This class is for all levels and anyone with an open mind to experimentation.
Supply List
Variety of surfaces to stitch on - fabrics, old drawings, book pages, corrugated
cardboard, matboard, photographs, plastic, etc.
Threads - waxed linen, embroidery floss, quilting thread, etc.
Variety of sizes of needles
Embellishment items - i.e. buttons, tassels, ephemera, etc.
Mat knife
Cutting surface
Drawing and painting materials — i.e. water-based paints (acrylic, gouache,
house paint, etc.), brushes, colored pencils, markers, charcoal, pastels, etc.
Scissors
Ceramic needle tool (https://www.dickblick.com/items/pro-needle-tool/) or similar
Sketchbook
Water container
Paper Towels
$20 materials fee paid to instructor
About Sue
Susan Stover is an artist who creates paintings and sculptures that stem from the traditions and techniques used in creating patterns and building structures. Her work often combines traditional textile techniques such as basketry and stitching, with painting and sculpture mediums. She is interested in creating work that has historical and cultural reference at the same time bringing it into a personal and contemporary context. Having studied many aesthetic traditions from around the world, she embraces ritual, tradition, and meditation inherent in repetitive processes.
Originally from the midwest, Susan Stover received a BFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and her MFA from California College of Art in Oakland, CA. Both of her degrees concentrated in textiles and painting. Susan has been on the faculty of University of California - Davis, and worked for 10 years with Jacquard Products, a textile paint and dye manufacturer. She has taught extensively including workshops in Australia, India, Italy, France, Mexico and throughout the U.S.
Susan has recently relocated from the northern California wine country to upstate
New York. She is represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY and Cura
Gallery in Morgan Hill, CA.
Your Red Thread Retreat fee includes:
- 5 nights lodging
- Dinner Wednesday thru Sunday
- Lunch Thursday thru Sunday
- Self-serve breakfast each morning
- 4 days of class 9 AM - 4:30 PM (1 hr lunch break)
- 24 Hr art room access
The DETAILS
Location: Blue Mountain Retreat Center is located steps away from the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, at the junction of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Walk along the river path and cross the bridge to historic Harpers Ferry. Enjoy the clean mountain air just an hour away from three major airports.
Dates: May 14-19, 2025
Arrive Wednesday, May 14, after 3 PM and in time for 6:30 dinner.
Class Thursday thru Sunday from 9-4 with 1+ hour lunch break.
Depart Monday morning, May 19 by 10 AM
All rooms are offered on a first come basis. Payment due in full if registering after March 1, 2025.
As always, the retreat cost is all inclusive except for the $20 materials fee due to instructor at the beginning of class.
(Massage appointments available upon arrival. $85/1 hour session, paid directly to retreat center owner, Beth Ehrhardt LCMT, a licensed massage therapist, and an excellent one at that!)
REGISTRATION
Single Room - $1139
Double Room - $1059
Triple Room - $979
Cancellation Policy - Please read!
Cancellation by or before March 1, 2025 - Full refund less a $150 cancellation and processing fee
There will be no refunds after March 1, 2025, but if you or I find someone to take your spot, you will receive a full refund less the non-refundable $150 fee.
SEE YOU THERE IN
