Susan Lenz

Susan Lenz is a fiber and mixed-media artist renowned for her ability to transform found objects into meticulously composed works of art. From a distance, her pieces captivate with striking cohesion and visual balance. Up close, they reveal intricate layers of unexpected materials, stitched textures, and repurposed elements chosen with precision to create an astonishing interplay of form and meaning. The daughter of German immigrants, Susan has built a life devoted to creativity, craftsmanship, and artistic exploration.

For over forty-two years, she has shared this journey with her first and only love. Beyond the studio, she is a dedicated businesswoman, a college graduate, a passionate advocate for the arts, and an unquestioning servant to her feline overlords, Ernie and Mr. Minnie.

Working from her studio in a restored church within the historic Cateechee mill village near Central, South Carolina, Susan employs both hand and machine stitching, alongside book arts and three-dimensional assemblage. Her obsession with repurposing found photographs reflects her fascination with forgotten narratives and the passage of time.

Her work has been featured in national publications, juried exhibitions, and esteemed fine craft shows, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Smithsonian Craft Shows. She has appeared on art quilting television programs and South Carolina ETV's Palmetto Scene. Her pieces are included in the permanent collections of the Textile Museum and the Department of the Interior Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as the McKissick Museum in South Carolina. Susan is represented by the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina.


The Degenerate Art Project is a week-long multidisciplinary arts event (July 9–12 at Stormwater Studios) inviting Columbia artists to respond to today's socio-political climate, and unite our local arts community—physically and in spirit—in support and solidarity during challenging times. Inspired by—and reclaiming—the legacy of the Nazi-labeled “Degenerate Art” of 1937, this project champions creative resistance and free expression through a visual art exhibition, featuring over 20 Midlands artists, and one-night-only poetry, community and music events.