Baltimore Sonnets

I was invited to create this fabric book for the grand reopening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  It will be one of nine books featured in the year-long exhibition "Holding Ground: Artists' Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts" beginning October 21, 2023. The other artists in the exhibit are  Alisa Banks, Adjoa J. Burrowes, Julie Chen, IBé Crawley, Maricarmen Solis Diaz, Colette Fu, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, and María Verónica San Martín reflect on spaces that foster women’s creative expression. Many of the works consider NMWA as a special and evolving place for art by women, now and into the future. Others remind viewers that creativity is expressed and uplifted in unexpected spaces, from small interiors such as Harlem kitchens to vast outdoor geographies such as Chile’s Atacama Desert. Above all, the artists’ books celebrate the spaces where women’s creativity blooms

 Do research at the university's wonderful library!   UGA Collections Libraries Give a class presentation. UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art

 What an amazing week visiting UGA and meeting book historians, scholars, students and staff  from the Departments of English and Romance Languages, the Institute of African American Studies, the Lamar-Dodd School of Art, the Institute for Women's Studies, UGA Libraries, Bibliographic Society of America and the Office of Institutional Diversity. Thank you! 

  Handmade textile book by Suzanne Coley, 2023 “The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing”.    Toni Morrison

Suzanne Coley - "Masked Purpose: The Aesthetics of Negative Space" By  Institute for African American Studies ,  Institute for Women’s Studies ,  Office of Institutional Diversity ,  University of Georgia Libraries ,  Willson Center for Humanities and Arts Department of English ,  Department of Romance Languages ,  Lamar Dodd School of Art  Tuesday, September 12, 2023 2pm Share Suzanne Coley - "Masked Purpose: The Aesthetics of Negative Space" Suzanne Coley's main artistic fields are printmaking, poetry, and book arts. She has pioneered the style of book making called "couture textile books," combining precision and intentionality of design with bold experimentation and abstraction. Over the past fifteen years, Coley has merged couture sewing techniques with embroidery and poetry in her art. Her fine art textile books are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of African Art Library), The Folger Shakespear...

O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't. The Tempest ~Shakespeare What a magnificent experience!

 Explored the intricacies of couture constructions and fabric manipulation techniques at the Fashion and Textile Museum , London. Christian Dior, 1954 Pierre Balmain, 1960s Pierre Balmain, 1960s Bellville Sassoon, 1960s Bellville Sassoon, evening gown Bellville Sassoon, designer Lorcan Mullany Chanel, Haute Couture, 1960s Absolutely wonderful experience examining original designs by leading designers!  Can't wait to use some of these techniques in my couture books.