This weekend is your last chance to see Susan Allred’s solo show, Outsourced, at Modified Arts Gallery on Roosevelt Row.
You’ll see cocoons made of vibrant thread, wrapping around objects like a protective layer, or emerging out of them like flowers from a seed.
The cocoons are part of an ongoing community project Susan started over the last year. She invited participants to bring personal items of emotional significance to her studio, where she taught them how to stitch and embed their objects inside these delicate forms.
Most of the cocoons completely camouflage the objects inside, but in some you can see traces of a teacup, a bracelet, and even a pregnancy test. Tiny glimpses of what people might be holding onto, or letting go of.
Eleven of the works are drawn from Susan’s own experiences, incorporating jewelry from her great-grandmother and other items connected to past intimate relationships.
For Susan, it seems this was a cathartic endeavor—a way of processing old wounds, coming to terms with loss, and embarking on a fresh future with plenty of promise on the horizon.
It’s incredible to learn that Susan is relatively new to artmaking. Her technique, presentation, and craftsmanship are well beyond what one might expect from someone considered an “emerging artist.”
She is a trailblazer. And she’s just getting started.
Outsourced is thoughtful, delicate, light, and full of depth and whimsy. She even included an interactive piece, where viewers can become participants in her Outsourced series by adding knots to a loom.
Give her a follow and take this last opportunity to meet her in person. She is as lovely as her work.