28" x 37", 2005

As a young girl, Susan Cranshaw was captivated by photographs of the desert and its inhabitants in her grandmother’s Arizona Highways magazines. She made many drawings of the unique landscape. When she began to quilt in 2002, Susan adapted her drawings to make vibrant appliqué creations, such as this one of a roadrunner navigating between prickly pear cactus and agave plants. Streaks of fabric resembling bristled feathers outline the wings and create the illusion of speed. Batik speckled rocks rest upon dunes of sandy, red soil. Susan combines free-motion machine quilting with tiny, intricate patterns, contrasting thread, and a variety of fabrics. Her patterns are for sale on her Web site. Susan also accepts commissions for quilts from her home studio and gallery in the Texas Hill Country, which she shares with her husband, painter Alfredo Sanchez.