Collage, much like quilting, is an act of piecing together—much like we do with our own lives. Fragments, memories, textures, and moments come into relationship, forming something whole yet beautifully imperfect. In this way, the process becomes a form of storytelling—intuitive and personal—where meaning emerges through connection, contrast, and care.
This workshop combines textile traditions such as printing, stenciling, shibori, stitching, embroidery, and quilting with painting, drawing, and collage. Collage and quilting share a fundamental kinship: both involve assembling fragments into a unified composition, creating harmony from diversity, and telling stories through material, pattern, and texture. We’ll explore how these traditions inform one another, considering how cloth and paper alike can hold memory, evoke emotion, and convey narrative.
We’ll start the week by creating a library of fabrics and papers: dyed, printed, marked, and stitched. These pieces become your palette to draw from—layers of color, pattern, and gesture that you’ll use to as you compose your collages. As the work unfolds, we’ll move into intuitive assembly—cutting, tearing, layering, and stitching elements into compositions that balance structure and spontaneity. You’ll explore rhythm, contrast, and negative space, allowing each piece to grow organically, guided as much by feeling as by design.
This workshop invites you to slow down, to notice, to experiment, and to trust your instincts. It’s a space for curiosity and discovery, where there is no single outcome— only the unfolding of your own visual voice.
Open to all levels and anyone willing to experiment.
About Susan Stover
Susan Stover is a multidisciplinary artist whose work draws from a deep foundation in textile traditions and contemporary painting. Originally from the Midwest, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a Master of Fine Arts from California College of the Arts in Oakland, California—both degrees emphasizing her dual passions for textiles and painting.
With a professional career that spans several decades, Susan has cultivated a unique voice that merges cultural textile practices with modern abstraction. She spent ten years working with Jacquard Products, a leading manufacturer of textile paints and dyes, where she gained technical expertise that continues to inform her practice. In addition to her studio work, Susan has served on the faculty at the University of California, Davis, and on the staff of California College of the Arts. She has taught extensively across the globe with workshops in Australia, India, Italy, France, Mexico, and throughout the United States.
After many years in Northern California’s wine country, Susan recently relocated to the Hudson Valley in New York. Her work is represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY, and Cura Contemporary in Morgan Hill, CA.
Rates & Enrollment
Day Student Tuition: $1,095.00
Full 5-Day Package*: $2,948.28 (double occupancy pp) or $3,162.12 (single occupancy)
*5-Day Workshop Package includes: Tuition for 5 full class days, 6 nights of dinner, lodging, breakfast, daily cookie and fruit breaks, unlimited coffee and tea, and welcoming wine and cheese reception. Your choice between a room to yourself (single occupancy) or bring a friend and split a room (double occupancy).
Get more information about your options to enroll here.