Baltimore Sonnets

 A day in Florence, buying paints and taking a moment to enjoy the view.

Research in Italy Milan, Italy

 The Marriage Of True Minds Working on Shakespeare's sonnet 116 has made me re-examine how I construct books using textiles. When analyzing the text of this sonnet, I took a deep dive into the history of thought and knowledge. How information is documented and re-analyzed each generation. What has changed? What has remained the same? Looking at the text in this light, in the now , but not forgetting the historical past lingering in the shadows, I realized that the poem was much more complex than I had initially thought. And, instead of working on it daily for four weeks, I worked on it daily for twenty weeks.  Here are some WIP imagery inspired by Sonnet 116: Linocut printed onto a quilted page. A few textile pages waiting to be sewn into a book. Silkscreening sonnet 116 onto hand-painted fabric by Suzanne Coley .

Passion 

In Sequent Toil Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,  So do our minutes hasten to their end; Each changing place with that which goes before, In sequent toil all forwards do contend.     - Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 When making this book, I couldn't help but wonder: Whose memories and experiences of our time will become part of documented history? And which memories will be washed away with the waves of time? sc💙

Artistic Research Residencies In Sequent Toil, 2024, handmade book by Suzanne Coley Some residencies are life changing and put you on a path you never imagined for yourself. They inspire creativity and offer opportunities to meet and work with scholars you have only read about in textbooks. These scholars love what they do and their approach is joyfully rigorous! They enjoy talking about challenging literary works and explore complex themes and characters. They patiently listen and review your art based on these readings and offer you insightful feedback. They introduce you to more books and scholarship. Your mind spins and your hands get to working, producing art and books you never imagined possible. I am forever thankful for my wonderful residency at Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and my continued work with their scholars.