Susan Lenz
Found Object Tidal Wave I, 2023
Found objects, thread, a section of a vintage quilt 40" x 40"
The Tidal Wave series transforms discarded objects into sculptural seascapes, capturing the overwhelming force of consumer culture and environmental neglect. By assembling found materials into wave-like forms, I explore the tension between beauty and devastation—highlighting how everyday waste contributes to a rising tide of ecological crisis. These works invite viewers to confront what we leave behind, and how it inevitably comes back to us.
Susan Lenz
Button Tidal Wave in Tan, 2024
Buttons, beads, thread, section of an antique coverlet 30" x 30"
This series explores the unexpected beauty and power found in everyday objects. Through waves of collected buttons, the works evoke a sense of movement, memory, and transformation—turning the small and often overlooked into a flowing force of color, texture, and meaning.
Susan Lenz
Button Tidal Wave in White, 2024
Buttons, beads, thread, section of an antique coverlet 30" x 30"
This series explores the unexpected beauty and power found in everyday objects. Through waves of collected buttons, the works evoke a sense of movement, memory, and transformation—turning the small and often overlooked into a flowing force of color, texture, and meaning.
Susan Lenz
Mandala CLXXXIV, 2024
Found objects, thread, a section of a vintage quilt 26" x 26"
Through the process of hand-stitching concentric circles, I can tap into an ancient practice of meditation while keeping seemingly mundane objects out of landfills.
Susan Lenz
Mandala CC, 2024
Found objects, thread, a section of a vintage quilt 22" x 22"
Through the process of hand-stitching concentric circles, I can tap into an ancient practice of meditation while keeping seemingly mundane objects out of landfills.
Susan Lenz
Mandala CCXVIII, 2025
Found objects, thread, a section of a vintage quilt 33" x 33"
Through the process of hand-stitching concentric circles, I can tap into an ancient practice of meditation while keeping seemingly mundane objects out of landfills.
Susan Lenz
Mandala CCXXII, 2025
Found objects, thread, a section of a vintage quilt 41" x 41"
Through the process of hand-stitching concentric circles, I can tap into an ancient practice of meditation while keeping seemingly mundane objects out of landfills.
Susan Lenz
Found Object Tidal Wave II, 2023
Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt 40" x 40"
The Tidal Wave series transforms discarded objects into sculptural seascapes, capturing the overwhelming force of consumer culture and environmental neglect. By assembling found materials into wave-like forms, I explore the tension between beauty and devastation—highlighting how everyday waste contributes to a rising tide of ecological crisis. These works invite viewers to confront what we leave behind, and how it inevitably comes back to us.
Susan Lenz
Mandala CXLIX, 2022
Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt 35" x 35"
I started stitching my found object mandalas during the pandemic. It was my attempt to deal with a changing world and a way to adapt to virtual opportunities that replaced in-person exhibitions and events. For me, using multiples of seemingly mundane objects puts into perspective the abundance of life and the capacity to keep things as if for a "rainy day". Concentric circular arrangements tapped into the ancient, meditative practice of making a mandala and provided a strong, graphic design that appealed in the new, virtual world. Using old, often obsolete things and plastic objects kept them from a landfill fate. This appealed to my environmental concerns. Paper clips, keys, bottle caps, cookie cutters, checkers, plastic spoons, and old clock parts suggested home, family, and a common nostalgic past. Repetitively stitching these every day items onto sections of old quilts brought an extraordinary new life to otherwise ordinary things.
Susan Lenz
Mandala XV, 2020
Found objects and a section of a vintage quilt 29" x 29"
Using multiples of seemingly mundane objects puts into perspective the abundance of life and the capacity to keep things as if for a "rainy day". Paper clips, keys, bottle caps, buttons, nails, plastic spoons, and old clock parts are found in most homes. These and so many other, often vintage items are repetitively hand stitched into meditative patterns on sections of old quilts, bringing an extraordinary new life to otherwise everyday things.
