As a fiber and installation artist, Susan Lenz uses layers of polyester stretch velvet, metallic foiling, and recycled acrylic packaging felt to reflect her passion for historic buildings, especially historic stained glass windows and the colors and eco-friendly ideals of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a 20^th c. Austrian artist and architect. The work is the result of hand-guided, free-motion machine embroidery and unusual melting techniques. Susan’s tools include three sizes of soldering irons and an industrial heat gun. This is a unique process that Susan developed herself over a decade ago.  Each piece builds on the last in an exploration of design motifs and stitched symbols.  

      Susan’s work has appeared in national publications, numerous juried and invitational exhibitions, and at fine craft shows including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Craft Shows. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Textile Museum in Washington, DC and the McKissick Museum in South Carolina. Susan has been awarded fully funded fellowships to several art residencies including The Anderson Center, PLAYA, Hot Springs National Park, the Studios of Key West, and Homestead National Monument. She has been featured on art quilting television programs, Columbia Museum of Art’s educational videos, and South Carolina Etv.  Her solo shows and installations have been mounted all over the country including the Mesa Contemporary Museum of Art and as far away as the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England.