News
Mini Retreat with Judy Coates Perez, Sue Dennis and Cecile Whatman
September 20-22, 2013 CanberraCecile has organised a Mini Retreat which will feature mixed media and surface design techniques in the 9 workshops available. To be held at the Belconnen Art Centre, numbers for each class are limited, so please book early via www.uniquestitching.com.au A discount is available for all 3 day bookings.
Sue’s workshops: Oil Stick Intensive, Taking Leaf of my Senses, Print Pizazz- NEW
Textile Souvenirs at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art, Italy 2014
Join Sue, one of the tutors invited to teach at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art, for a wonderful week of combined travel experiences and creative pursuits in Sulmona, Italy in 2014 from June 10-16. Textile Souvenirs is a surface design and stitch workshop utilising the rich Italian landscape and culture as inspiration.
The full details of the workshop day to day activities are available from the Abruzzo School of Creative Art, as well as booking details. Sue looks forward to meeting you in Sulmona. Ciao!
Magic Patch Features
Australian quilters' group, The Mexettes have a 4 page story about their Beautiful Australia exhibition in the French magazine Magic Patch. Download: De L'Australie au Beaujolais! (
586KB pdf)
Sue's solo exhibition is also featured in Magic Patch.
Download: Une Adventure ( 336KB pdf)
A Goat in a Coat: An Indian Adventure
Going to India opened Sue's eyes to ancient textile traditions,friendly people, noisy jumbled traffic and introduced her to the heady mix of tea and milk known as chai.
For more information on her travels and a project for a smale travel bag for your art supplies, purchase a copy of Down Under Textiles No. 9.
Taking Leaf of My Senses Solo Exhibition: Warwick Art Gallery 2012
Whether Sue is in the Australian bush, travelling overseas or at home trying to tame her garden, she is observing the shape, colour and variety of foliage present. A humble leaf is transformed via paint, fabric and stitch into a unique snapshot of place and time. Work from 2006 to 2012, and both Australia and North America are represented in her exhibition. View Taking A Leaf on You Tube by clicking on the image below.
Sue Dennis in Vid Cast #61 'Fabric Opals' with Bonnie McCaffery
During the Remarkable Symposium in New Zealand in April 2011, Sue was interviewed by Bonnie McCaffery for a VidCast. Bonnie enjoyed seeing the opal quilts Sue had for her workshop Opal Fever and they discussed the techniques in the making of these quilts as well as printing from Nature.
Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition 2012
Sue was one of the International Seminar speakers and tutors invited to the 2012 Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition. Read about her experiences in her Quilter’s Companion story.
Download Quilting in Taiwan ( 2.3MB pdf)
Destination USA exhibition 2011
Download Destination USA Article (291 KB pdf) as featured in the Issue 2,102 of Textile Fibre Forum.
During November 2010 I undertook a 3 week artist residency on a farm, near the small Texan township of La Grange, off the Interstate 10, west of Houston. Thanks to the generosity and support of Karey Bresenhan, I was supplied with a large studio, sewing machine, work table and internet access.
As an Australian quilt artist landing in the Texas countryside, many things began to interest me and site specific, plein air designing and dyeing dominated during my residency.
I turned to two surface design techniques I was familiar with: printing and oil paint stick rubbings. However these became bigger explorations than usual, facilitated by a number of factors: the studio design wall was much larger than my home studio, Texas history is legendary and the farm where I wandered to watch deer, squirrels and sunsets, was liberating.
The 'what if' questions also made me fearless. After all, this was a chance to try new things. The residency was a new experience as was the food, smells and sounds, all somewhat unfamiliar. In a chill, brisk wind, I taped fabric to Oak tree trunks and took an impression. I taped more fabric to the door of an old, retired Texas farm truck and rubbed the rusty metal. I collected Cottonwood and Oak leaves, Ball Moss and Cedar sprigs and printed them. I observed sunsets and the rustling of tall grasses in the fading pink, golden light. I watched squirrels scamper through the dry leaves collecting acorns for the coming Winter and knew my residency time was special.
'Destination USA' is the resulting exhibition and opened on July 16-31 at Gallery 159, the Gap, Brisbane. 'Destination Texas' premiered at the International Quilt Festival, Houston USA November 2-6, 2011.
SAQA: A Sense of Direction - Sightlines
As 1 of 14 international art quilters to be invited by Studio Art Quilt Associates to produce new work for the SAQA: A Sense of Direction- Sightlines exhibition, Sue is humbled & honoured to have been selected from 166 requests for consideration. Virginia Spiegel is the exhibition curator. Sightlines will premier in Houston at the International Quilt Festival in November 2011.
Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition 2009
As the only Australian exhibitor invited to the Taiwan International Quilt Exhibition 2009, Sue sent three quilts from her Foliage Series - Contemplation, The Many & the Few & Raining Green. 147 quilts from 9 countries were on display.
Vanuatu Inspirations
Read about Sue’s discovery of the bright tropical “Mother Hubbard” dresses in Vanuatu in Quilters Companion No.34 p90-91 & be inspired to stitch her resulting project Holiday Memories pages 94-95.
Get Creative Teacher Profile
Read Sue's teacher profile from Get Creative magazine: Get Creative Teacher Profile (541 KB pdf)