Susan Zimmerman
Vaccinated and Vermin Free, 2020
paper, thread 70” x 60” x 3”
Ellis Island immigration steerage-class inspection cards circa 1900 printed on tea-stained vellum and attached to tea-stained, hand-sewn paper garments
Susan Zimmerman
Steamship Ticket to America #2, 2020
vellum, thread, canvas, metal grommets 39” x 49” x 2”
authentic steamship tickets circa 1900 printed on vellum and tea-aged, hand-sewn together, inspired by story of my grandmother who grabbed a ticket intended for someone else and ran off to America at age 17
Susan Zimmerman
Online Grocery Shopper’s Fashion Statement, 2020
paper grocery bags and boxes, corrugated paper, cold wax, thread 54” x 39” x 2”
The accumulation of paper bags and boxes from online grocery shopping due to COVID-19 led to the creation of an online shopping "garment" for the occasion
Susan Zimmerman
Metamorphosis #1, 2019
polypropylene shopping bags, thread, wool batting 26” x 25” x 4”
deconstructed French and American shopping bags sewn together in tubes and interwoven
Susan Zimmerman
Metamorphosis #2, 2020
polypropylene shopping bags, thread 36” x 22” x 4”
deconstructed Trader Joe's shopping bags sewn together in semi-random strips with dressmaker tucks and pleats added
Susan Zimmerman
Metamorphosis #3, 2020
polypropylene shopping bags, thread, handmade paper yarn, paper cord, gesso, acrylic paint - 32” x 31” x 2”
deconstructed Trader Joe's shopping bags sewn into strips, woven, embellished with paint and cord
Susan Zimmerman
Sewing 101, 2020
found linen, archival pigment ink, wire, thread 48" x 60" x 4"
A notched collar and a sleeve have been added to a bed linen manufacturer's sample found with multiple seams, holes, and numbered panel. This piece has also been embellished with a variety of dressmaking symbols, pattern parts and hieroglyphics to reference the symbolic language of sewing
Susan Zimmerman
Inventing Beauty, 2019
handmade flax paper, abaca tissue paper, thread, newspaper type 21" x 42" x 3"
Newspaper type on front and back of handmade paper dress with machine-sewn lace express the artist's creative journey.
Susan Zimmerman
It’s a Cinch!, 2017
watercolor paper, ink, bookbinding paper, thread, wire, metal chain 35" x 15.5"
paper vest inspired by embroidered German bodice from late 1800s
Susan Zimmerman
Climate Change, 2017
paper maps, thread, silk yarn 20" x 20"
Duplicated layers of the same map in different proportions have been machine and hand-stitched over each other to illustrate changes in the Antarctic Circle.
