Susan Allred
Artist Statement
With fiber as my medium, I find a language both intimate and resilient—thread and fabric become vessels for the thoughts and emotions at the heart of women’s experiences. Much of my work has been based on quilting, but I also incorporate hand-painted or dyed textiles, coiling, wrapping, embroidery and wrapped-wire armatures in my sculptures.
My work examines the expectations placed on women, inviting reflection through honesty, humor, and quiet defiance. I've explored what happens when women don't feel safe in their daily lives and how external pressure from religious expectations can harm a marriage instead of supporting it. My most personal work reveals the lasting damage that the trauma of sexual assault can leave on the human body and soul.
My artistic process, which is lengthy and repetitive, becomes a meditation on "women's work" — the painstaking labor, both mental and physical — that has historically been dismissed as merely decorative or utilitarian instead of as the product of a fertile and creative mind. By transforming quilts into non-functional sculptural works that invite viewers to think about concepts that may be controversial, I question the notion that crafts cannot be used to create fine art while also commenting on the invisibility of women's labor.
In 2025, I’m shifting my focus from personal stories to an issue every woman I’ve spoken with recognizes: unacknowledged and unreciprocated emotional labor.
Bio
Susan Allred pursued several careers before becoming an artist at the age she had once planned to retire. Her work experiences—and a few life detours—gave her the freedom to make art on her own terms. She began creating as a way to process those turns and soon discovered she had much to say—and that others connected with her work.
Her degree in journalism and long career in software development taught her how to communicate and solve problems, skills that translate seamlessly into her fiber art practice. The skill she uses most often is patience with repetitive, meticulousprocesses. What once felt tedious in paid work now feels meditative and productive in the studio.
When she isn’t working in her home studio, Susan swims and kayaks. She lives and works in Tempe, Arizona