Author Archives: Suzanne Forbes

About Suzanne Forbes

Suzanne Forbes is a traditionally trained figurative artist who makes documentary art of queer culture and Berlin life. She also works in mixed media. She is a former New Yorker who immigrated to Berlin with her third husband and their two cats. Her work is crowdfunded by the support of her Patrons on Patreon; you could help! In previous lives Suzanne was a graffiti artist in downtown NY, a courtroom artist for CBS and CNN, a penciller for DC Comics on Star Trek, and a live-drawing chronicler of Bay Area alternative culture.

Miss Natasha Enquist at Chantal’s House of Shame!

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Miss Natasha Enquist sings The Cat Came Back by Suzanne Forbes Sept 5 2017I went to see my friend Miss Natasha Enquist perform at a legendary Berlin gay boy dance party.

Chantal’s House of Shame happens every Thursday, without fail since 1999. It is at the Bassy Club, which is usually a swing/rockabilly kinda place but is taken over by filthy techno and sweaty naked men for Chantal’s. Bassy is kinda divey but also really awesome. It reminded me a little of my beloved Lone Star Cafe in NY.

Miss Natasha appeared on stage at 2am. She was clad in golden sequins like a vision of 30s glamour in the dark club, her shaven head glinting. Then she stripped off her golden batwing gown to reveal a gorgeous gold leather harness and booty shorts outfit she made herself!

Miss Natasha Enquist at Chantals House of Shame by Suzanne Forbes Sept 14 2017A sassy, saucy, sparkling Deco Belle from Outer Space, the electro-accordion chanteuse also accompanied herself on a delightful version of “The Cat Came Back”.

The boys were howling, “NATASHA!! QUEENNNN!!!”

One of them was kind enough to hold his phone over my sketchbook so I could see to draw for Miss Natasha’s entire performance. In all the dark clubs and sex parties and alleys I’ve drawn in, no-one has ever done this before! I really appreciated it.Dancers at Chantals House of Shame by Suzanne Forbes Feb 20 2018

Why does it have to be so hot in the dance clubs in Berlin? It’s like hot yoga or something. I do not like it, but I was so comfortable at Chantal’s and the boys were all so incredibly nice to me I was able to stand it.
Boys dancing at Chantals House of Shame Sept 14 2017 Suzanne Forbes

The place was wall-to-wall beautiful young men in peak physical condition, dancing their brains out and smooching.

Everyone was super friendly, I had a lovely talk with a gleaming young god on the sidewalk at 4am about the casting of the upcoming Teen Titans tv show. More cute dancing boy drawings soon!

You can listen to Miss Natasha on Spotify here and on Bandcamp here, and watch a bit of the performance here.

Sacred Heart with titanium druzy.

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I have had almost no time for embroidery this month.

I drew at so many events, we had an art show where I did live painting, I made the Trans Dino-Witch, I finished a big new portrait. It’s been glorious and exhilarating. Yet I really wanted to get some thread and bead time in, for the energy and comfort it gives me.

And I wanted to work with Sacred Hearts, the symbol of hope and faith.

I learn so much from beloved artist Monique Motil, aka @z0mbique, about how working with mystic powerful symbols gives you creative juice. So I used bricolage and upcycle principles to make these collage embroidered Sacred Hearts or Ex Votos.

Sacred Heart collage embroideries WIP by Suzanne Forbes Aug 2017The hearts in the center are beaded patches I bought on eBay for a couple of euros.

I sewed them to some of the last scraps of an iridescent blue-violet panne violet I bought two yards of in 1999 and have used for innumerable projects. I made the orange and blue flames out of the last pieces of some vintage velvet flowers bought at Lacis in Berkeley, also in ’99.

Then I embroidered around them with my favorite Rico Metallic thread, the Holy Grail of metallic embroidery thread.

sacred heart collage embroidery by Suzanne Forbes Aug 30 2017I sewed on iridescent and AB Swarovski bicone crystal beads and added hundreds of Swarovski crystals in many, many colors. I attached some of my new blue oil slick iridescence titanium druzy crystal beads with invisible thread. I painted the frame by rubbing it with deep madder paint, then gold paint, then tapping silver leaf onto the still tacky gold paint.

The shiny red string was saved from a gift I received – I save all my gift ribbons and bows for projects.

Like the embroidery collage jacket I did last month, this kind of collage/bricolage embroidery is a low-impact, flexible project anyone could do. I love how in the top picture the fiery heart coordinates with my sketchbook-carrying sack, a 50th-birthday gift from Daria! I plan to sew a LOT in September, along with the million new events and teaching, so I’ll finish the blue flame lightning heart soon.