I Don't Know How To Sew: Fabric Collage with Susan Flavell

Use hand sewing to create a small, recycled-fabric artwork in this hands-on workshop with Mother Island artist Susan Flavell. Your creation could be sewn onto a bag or cushion, made into a gift card or added into a quilt with other fabric squares

Surrounded by other makers and lively chat, participants will explore slow and meditative making through layering, mark making and repairing. The focus will be on the meaningfulness of materials rather than perfection.

This workshop is suitable for participants who are competent in basic hand sewing.

TICKETS:

$35 ticket price includes all materials as well as coffee, tea and biscuits.

Places are limited to 15 participants – so make sure to book to secure your spot!

WHAT TO BRING:

Please bring your own lunch as the workshop will include a half hour lunch break. Fridge, microwave and hot water are available for participants use on site.

Equipment and materials will be supplied but participants are also encouraged to bring your own.

Don’t buy anything new! If you already own any of the following, feel free to bring them along: thread, fabric scraps, wool, needles, pins, beads, small objects with holes in them.

Things that have special importance / history / memories for you are even better! Pieces of clothing from someone important, or leftovers from an important dress, or coat or furnishing.

FACILITATOR BIO:

Susan Flavell invites viewers to contemplate the mystical and otherworldly through recycled materials and her exploration of magical thinking. She draws inspiration from her rich childhood experiences of living in many places, including Central America, and the landscape of Western Australia.

Flavell's recent work emphasizes the use of recycled, found, second-hand, and gifted materials. She aims to avoid buying anything new. Susan Flavell's art speaks to our collective connection to the environment and the importance of sustainable practices.

VISITING LWAG

See Mother Island at LWAG 11am – 4pm Tuesday – Saturday from 17 October – 5 December.

Mother Island brings together three artists with distinct artistic practices who share a deep engagement with storytelling through material. Across sculpture, installation and textile works, the artists examine the bonds that connect us to people, places and histories, while reflecting on the ways culture, memory and care are passed between generations. The exhibition proposes the idea of the "mother island" as a site of origin, belonging and protection, but also a space from which we must sometimes depart to define our own identities.

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We acknowledge we are situated on Noongar land. We pay our respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we live and work across Western Australia and Australia.

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View all related events to the exhibitions at uwa.edu.au/lwag/Events

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Image credit: Susan Flavell with her work under the lake or river or sea, 2026, Mother Island exhibition, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, 2026. Photographer: Susie Gravestock, Ilkka K Photography