Susanna E. Lewis | |
---|---|
Born | 1938 |
Died | July 15, 2021
Monroe, New York |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Fiber Artist |
Years active | 1970s–1980s |
Movement | Art to Wear |
Susanna E. Lewis (1938 – July 15, 2021) was an American fiber artist, teacher and author known for her contributions to the Art to Wear movement. [1] [2]
The daughter of an Army Air Forces officer, [3] Lewis received a BA from University of Michigan and an MA from the Teachers College of Columbia University. She later attended the Pratt Institute. [4]
Lewis was active in Art to Wear movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Inspired by Mary Walker Phillips she bought a knitting machine (the Passap Duomatic 5) in 1971 [5] and taught herself, beginning to create hangings and garments in the late 1970s. She is known for her highly decorated textile wearable pieces, a direction she was encouraged to take by Julie Schafler Dale, her gallerist. [3] [4] For instance, the Moth Cape represented a nightmare, "wherein a feeling of death enveloped her like the wings of a giant moth". [1] The weight and shape of the piece meant the wearer could share that experience.
Lewis was also an author of knitting books, and contributor to knitting magazines, [6] including A Machine Knitter’s Guide To Creating Fabrics (with Julia Weissman), considered foundational to the craft, [2] and Knitting lace. She taught at Parsons School of Design about machine knitting in the 1980s. [7]
Lewis' work can be found in the collections of:
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cite book}}
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cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
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Susanna E. Lewis | |
---|---|
Born | 1938 |
Died | July 15, 2021
Monroe, New York |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Fiber Artist |
Years active | 1970s–1980s |
Movement | Art to Wear |
Susanna E. Lewis (1938 – July 15, 2021) was an American fiber artist, teacher and author known for her contributions to the Art to Wear movement. [1] [2]
The daughter of an Army Air Forces officer, [3] Lewis received a BA from University of Michigan and an MA from the Teachers College of Columbia University. She later attended the Pratt Institute. [4]
Lewis was active in Art to Wear movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Inspired by Mary Walker Phillips she bought a knitting machine (the Passap Duomatic 5) in 1971 [5] and taught herself, beginning to create hangings and garments in the late 1970s. She is known for her highly decorated textile wearable pieces, a direction she was encouraged to take by Julie Schafler Dale, her gallerist. [3] [4] For instance, the Moth Cape represented a nightmare, "wherein a feeling of death enveloped her like the wings of a giant moth". [1] The weight and shape of the piece meant the wearer could share that experience.
Lewis was also an author of knitting books, and contributor to knitting magazines, [6] including A Machine Knitter’s Guide To Creating Fabrics (with Julia Weissman), considered foundational to the craft, [2] and Knitting lace. She taught at Parsons School of Design about machine knitting in the 1980s. [7]
Lewis' work can be found in the collections of:
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link) CS1 maint: others (
link)
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)