About the Educator Camp

NMWA’s virtual Educator Summer Camp is designed for all educators: teachers, home school instructors, scout leaders, etc. We just ask that you come with your learners in mind and a playful spirit!

The standalone sessions, inspired by the Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) Institute, are hands-on, participatory, and fun. The Educator Summer Camp explores the museum’s collection and resources, introduces historical and contemporary artists, and engages participants in experimental art-making and close-looking exercises.

Guest instructors include artists and educators from around the country. You will receive a recommended supply list, applicable digital resources, and a Zoom meeting link in advance of each session. Camp activities are designed to make use of materials and tools that you might have at home and encourage repurposing and seeing everyday objects in a new light.

Register for one session, some, or all, depending on your interest and commitments. Session participants can request certificates of completion reflecting total earned participation hours.

About the Program

Known for her couture textile books, Suzanne Coley uses repurposed textiles from around the home, passed down or purchased from second-hand shops. Each page begins with a “memory block.” Learn to create a “memory block” made from repurposed textiles from around your home to begin your own personal book. Coley will teach you to cut, arrange, design, and sew the textiles so that the materials convey a personal sentiment or record a memory.

About the Artist Instructor

Suzanne Coley’s main artistic fields are printmaking, poetry, embroidery, and bookbinding. She has pioneered the style of textile book making called “couture textile books,” combining precision and intentionality of design with bold experimentation and abstraction. Over the past fifteen years, Suzanne has merged couture sewing techniques with embroidery and poetry in her art. Suzanne is a resident artist/scholar at Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and a 2023-24 Folger Shakespeare Institute Fellow.

Her artist’s book, In Bloom, is featured in Holding Ground: Artists’ Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Questions? Reach out to education@nmwa.org.