Susan Irish is an artist that employs modern and ancient methods and materials to create paintings and mixed media pieces. She knows that students learn best when their minds and hands are actively engaged in the creation process. 

Visual Thinking– How to think and communicate with pictures. We are a culture of icons and emojis. How did these come about? What do they really mean? How do pictures help us learn and remember? Through games, storytelling, strategies, and cartooning, students will learn better ways to be clear and effective communicators. Utilizing Art History, Social Studies, Editing and Art making for all interest and skill levels.

Printmaking Without a Press– Although so much of modern press, the text we read and the images we see are computer generated, the less modern art of printmaking is still very viable. It is an interesting way to learn history, art, graphic design, and also an innovative way to learn problem-solving and useful transferable technical skills. Students will generate a series of mono-prints in a scientific, low cost, and efficient method. Negative and positive space will be explored through creating and cutting stencils. 

Collaborative Collage and Quilt Project– How do we create an individual expression and still connect with our society and culture? Students will make a series of small pieces of art that will become parts of a larger whole assemblage art piece to be displayed at the school. Using paper, fabric, and found materials, several high quality and detailed pieces will be made. Each has a basis in art and culture. This lesson can be adapted to include Fibonacci and geometry for math standards. It has been very successful with social studies to incorporate the use of quilt symbolism and code as applied to Abolitionist and Underground Railroad.

All the Colors Imaginable– Color Theory through the math of color. Students will study color mixing then apply the results to make a series of paintings. This lesson underscores the integration of art into a curriculum. It is a visual representation of ratio, percentages, and other mathematical measurements in ways that are experimental and very hands-on with math.

Susan is the founder and owner of Fabulon. It has been her lifelong dream to be part of a welcoming place for creative people to collaborate, market, and support each other’s artistic endeavors. She facilitates the possibility for people of all ages and experience levels to have the opportunity to try something new. Susan has degrees in Interior Design, Art Education, and Curriculum Integration. Her favorite medium is encaustic; the ancient art of painting with beeswax and pigment.