Suzie Liles

Suzie Liles (born 1956) is an American fiber artist, master weaver, the owner of the Eugene Textile Center and co-owner of Glimakra USA, in Eugene, Oregon.

Early life and education Susan "Suzie" Manzer Bickford, daughter of George Huff Bickford and Edith Ann Manzer, was born in 1956 in Portland, Oregon. She married Allen Liles in 1976, and they have four children. She married Robert Van Buskirk in 2008.

Liles completed a B.F.A. in Fibers (2004) and an M.F.A. in Fibers (2006) at the University of Oregon. Her M.F.A. terminal creative project, Concealing and Revealing, was advised by Barbara Setsu Pickett.

Career Liles began weaving in 1982. Liles' career as a professional weaver began in 1984, when she taught private classes at the Weavers Cabin in Roseburg, Oregon.

She opened the Eugene Textile Center in Eugene, Oregon, with Marilyn Robert, in 2008; Liles became the sole owner in 2011. Since October 2015, she has also co-owned Glimakra USA with her daughter Sarah Rambousek in Eugene, Oregon.

Critical reception The Oregon Weavers' Guild rated her weaving skills as excellent, noting, "Her knowledge of materials is unsurpassed, and her expertise is marked by a great number of commissions."

For an exhibit entitled, Something about Susan, Ellen Snellgrove described Liles' "weavings that show profiles of people. Because of the ambiguous nature of the figures' actions, visitors could either interpret these pieces as violent or loving."

Linda Sellers of The Register-Guard described her as a "master weaver", adding that Liles' creations are often displayed in Handwoven magazine.

Selected invited exhibitions Liles has participated in multiple invited exhibitions:

The Weaving Guilds of Oregon twice awarded her the "Complex Weavers Award", in 1999 and 2000, in the Best of Oregon Travelling Exhibit, for "The Falconer" and "Dragon in the Forest".