Suzann Thompson
Writer & Artist
Suzann Thompson was born into a family tradition of needlework. She learned knitting and crochet as a child. Later she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from The University of Texas at Austin, but knitting and crochet became her avocation and then her career. She gained skill by teaching others. She learned more by designing needlework projects for publication in books and magazines. In the 1990s, Suzann developed TextileFusion, a signature technique combining knitting, crochet, quilting, and embellishment. Since 2016, on-going projects of Suzann’s include exhibiting TextileFusion wall art; Celebrate Doilies, a growing collection of her doily-inspired art quilts; and Texas Crochet Heritage, a traveling panel exhibit of stories and photos of needlework made in Texas families. Suzann and her geoarchaeologist husband live in rural Texas in a compressed earth block house with dogs and many books. Their two grown daughters knit and crochet.
Artist’s Statement
My work captures a dream of home, a glimpse of nature, a moment in everyday life. Inspired by enchanting children’s book illustrations of my childhood, I strive for a colorful simplicity and dreamlike complexity, which hints at a rich and active collective unconscious. I work in media associated with home and homemaking—yarn, fabric, buttons, knitting, crochet, and stitching. These are all useful and practical, as well as ethereal and whimsical, and deeply interwoven in our shared life experience. My practice has grown to include community involvement, tapping into the memory and culture of handmade textiles in local families. Their stories are often displayed alongside my work.