Susie Elliott
Quilted fabric, Plaster Feet, Wood
I have always loved birdwatching, and Travelers’ Rest State Park is a beautiful place to admire the birds. At the base of the bridge, there was a magpie nest, and over the course of the project, we were able to admire how it changed week by week. I was convinced that I was going to draw and carve magpies for the project, and yet, instead, I found myself drawn to carving out the tree bark. It was so meditative to carve, and I was enjoying the looseness of the bark, the knots in the trees, and the repetition.
Right before the project began, my grandfather, who was diagnosed with polio at a young age, went into hospice care. Every Monday, while showing up to work on this project, it felt like a way to connect with him from far away. He was paralyzed from the waist down, and spending time thinking about feet and sturdiness would always lead me back to thinking of him.
After the sessions concluded, and I was working on covering my log base, I got to thinking of community and collaboration, which inspired a quilt. The patches, like a community, are stitched together to create a whole. Wanting to channel the same flow and meditation of carving the tree bark, I chose to join the quilt improvisationally, without thinking of what the final outcome would look like, and got into a repetitive rhythm. As I worked on the little quilt block, my grandfather passed. Part of him is stitched up in there somewhere.
Bio: Susie Elliott is an artist, sewist, and friend. After moving from South Carolina to attend the University of Montana, Susie put down roots in Missoula. With a BFA in painting and a lover of fiber arts, she currently runs Morning Star, an upcycled clothing brand specializing in raw-edge appliqué patch designs, and works as the Events and Exhibition Coordinator for Open AIR. In her free time, you can find her in her a-frame roof studio, knitting with her cat, or splashing in the river.
