Sue Reno

52 Ways to Look at the River

I’ve lived near the Susquehanna River for most of my life. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time visiting its shores and hiking the adjacent trails. It occurred to me that there was something new to notice every time. With that guiding principle I undertook an ambitious project to document my observations.

Beginning on the 2015 summer solstice and continuing uninterrupted for a year, each week I visited the Susquehanna River somewhere along its course and took pictures. Back in the studio, I chose an image and interpreted it in a 6” x 12” fiber art panel. The panels are on a wool/rayon felt base and are primarily needlefelted with wool and silk fiber, with some added applique, and were machine and hand stitched. I wrote about the process and illustrated it extensively on my blog at: http://suereno.blogspot.com/search/label/52%20Ways%20to%20Look%20at%20the%20River

At the end of the 52 weeks, I began assembly of the panels.  I handpainted fabric and quilted it to form a background. Each panel was appliqued onto black felt and then stitched on the quilt. I added hand beadwork with glass beads and semi-precious stones.

 Needlefelted panels with wool and silk, on hand-painted and quilted background, with hand beadwork.

Size: 72”h x 82”w"