Making blanket statements
South Holland man finds peace in creating quilts
In a room full of quilters, Eric Suszynski stands out, and that’s before you see his quilts.
Being male in a traditionally female folk art sets him apart. Then there’s his age — Suszynski is 27. And he’s about 6-foot-4.
But Suszynski also stands out because of his work. While some of his quilts conform to traditional patterns and methods — triangles and squares attached to a backing —many are multilayered works of art that represent the social and political unrest Suszynski sees around him.
One shown at the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., is composed of 49 equal signs — one for each victim of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Another addresses the contested Dakota Access Pipeline.
“That one goes from all these shades of blue and trickles into a fabric called ‘Poison’ that has yellows and greens and browns. I mixed some of my blood with acrylic medium to use on it,” Suszynski said. “I don’t think of myself as an artist because there’s quite a bit of math involved in this.
For me, figuring out the mathematical part of a pattern is simple. Trying to figure out colors is more difficult.”
A native of South Holland, he studied mathematics in college when he was working toward becoming an actuary.
Suszynski said a “major depressive episode” caused him to drop out.
“I suffer from severe depression, and I’ve found that keeping myself busy is very, very helpful. After college, I met this woman named Cecile at Home Depot (where they both worked), and she taught me how to sew. I had offered to shovel her snow for her, and in return she wanted to teach me,” he said. “At first I was like, ‘No thanks,’ but she kept offering. So I finally agreed, and a week later I had my first king-size quilt.”
Cecile, a woman in her 60s, now holds the roles of both best friend and de facto grandmother in the young quilter’s life.
Suszynski won fifteen ribbons, including Best in Show, at the 2016 Lake County Fair in Indiana. The winning piece was a quilt that he said explores childhood poverty.
Using eight separate layers of fabric and acrylic paint, he created a forest that looms above the dark silhouette of a young boy at the bottom.
Suszynski said he splits time between his home in South Holland, where he helps take care of his father, and an apartment in Cedar Lake. He works at Corporate Thread in Highland, where he digitizes textile designs and oversees knitting production.
Suszynski also runs an Etsy shop where he sells his quilts and other textile art.
Suszynski’s work can be found at eric thequilter.com.
Angela Denk is a freelance reporter.
Being male in a traditionally female folk art sets him apart. Then there’s his age — Suszynski is 27. And he’s about 6-foot-4.
But Suszynski also stands out because of his work. While some of his quilts conform to traditional patterns and methods — triangles and squares attached to a backing —many are multilayered works of art that represent the social and political unrest Suszynski sees around him.
One shown at the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., is composed of 49 equal signs — one for each victim of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Another addresses the contested Dakota Access Pipeline.
“That one goes from all these shades of blue and trickles into a fabric called ‘Poison’ that has yellows and greens and browns. I mixed some of my blood with acrylic medium to use on it,” Suszynski said. “I don’t think of myself as an artist because there’s quite a bit of math involved in this.
For me, figuring out the mathematical part of a pattern is simple. Trying to figure out colors is more difficult.”
A native of South Holland, he studied mathematics in college when he was working toward becoming an actuary.
Suszynski said a “major depressive episode” caused him to drop out.
“I suffer from severe depression, and I’ve found that keeping myself busy is very, very helpful. After college, I met this woman named Cecile at Home Depot (where they both worked), and she taught me how to sew. I had offered to shovel her snow for her, and in return she wanted to teach me,” he said. “At first I was like, ‘No thanks,’ but she kept offering. So I finally agreed, and a week later I had my first king-size quilt.”
Cecile, a woman in her 60s, now holds the roles of both best friend and de facto grandmother in the young quilter’s life.
Suszynski won fifteen ribbons, including Best in Show, at the 2016 Lake County Fair in Indiana. The winning piece was a quilt that he said explores childhood poverty.
Using eight separate layers of fabric and acrylic paint, he created a forest that looms above the dark silhouette of a young boy at the bottom.
Suszynski said he splits time between his home in South Holland, where he helps take care of his father, and an apartment in Cedar Lake. He works at Corporate Thread in Highland, where he digitizes textile designs and oversees knitting production.
Suszynski also runs an Etsy shop where he sells his quilts and other textile art.
Suszynski’s work can be found at eric thequilter.com.
Angela Denk is a freelance reporter.
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