From her studio in Mebane, North Carolina, Susan Hope creates kiln formed design elements such as lighting, tiles, and windows, as well as freestanding and wall hung panels, functional objects, hand woven textiles and paintings.

She is a founding member of both, Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, a cooperative Art Gallery in Hillsborough, NC and Art and Soul Studios of Mebane, NC. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee, and has completed the course of study for the Certificate in Botanical Illustration from the University of North Carolina. Her love of the rural landscape and its old homes and barns give her a never ending supply of images for pastel paintings and colored pencil drawings.  

As the shepherd of a large flock of sheep she creates a multitude of fiber arts and textiles. Using a spinning wheel, she produces many different types of yarn which are the basis for the weaving of her naturally colored or hand dyed rugs, blankets and shawls. Susan is a student in the Master Spinner’s Certification Program of Olds College, Alberta Canada and has a deep commitment to the preservation of the old ways of doing life’s work. Her artwork is displayed in both galleries and is also available at her home studio during the annual Orange County Open Studio Tour. She teaches classes in kiln formed glass, spinning and weaving in her studio and the local area.

Kiln-formed glass, sometimes called fused or warm glass, is done in a kiln much like a ceramics kiln. Sheets of glass are cut and arranged together, then fused to about 1500 degrees. Crushed and powdered glass, copper, brass, glass threads, and other materials are sometimes introduced. Shaped pieces such as light fixtures, functional dishes and vases are slumped over molds after a preliminary flat fusing.

"My art work explores texture, pattern and color…and it is the light and reflections, the interplay of colors upon each other that so inspires me whether it is in glass, pencil, soft silk or wool." says Susan. "My experience as a mother of five, shepherd and weaver strongly influences the design of my work. I find inspiration in the vast farming landscape of the rural US, the beloved and often overlooked animals that co-inhabit our lives …and the Appalachian Mountains, which particularly hold my heart. It is imperative that I make things…it is a critical part of my existence that I capture impressionistic snapshots of life in glass, on paper or in fiber."