Susan Lake creates fantasy worlds. She writes the stories and elaborately costumes the characters as collectible, ball-jointed dolls. With a background in visual and performing arts, as both a choreographer and costumer, Lake knows how to conjure and weave gothic tales of magic, the struggle between dark and light. And lifting the words from the page into 3-D creations, she designs costumes for character dolls that are available for purchase with her book series, “Goblins’ Bend.”
Lake is the next featured presenter for the popular Idyllwild Community Center Speaker Series. Series organizer Chris Singer said she is excited to be featuring Lake and is looking forward to a presentation that will be both unusual and amazing.
Lake said she will take her audience into a world of witches, magic hats, totems and a gathering Winter Solstice battle between good and evil in her talk and show, “Designing a World Imagined.” Lake will read from her two-book series, “Goblins’ Bend: The Legend Begins,” and the sequel, “The Journey to Hollowberry.”
Lake has built a career creating distinctive and detailed head-wear designs for theatrical and commercial use. As a respected choreographer of contemporary tango and stage performances, and as an internationally recognized design personality, Lake has imbued the pages of her books with her love of fantasy and magic. By giving life to the characters, using her talent for color, fabric and texture to elaborately costume collectible dolls, she lifts her stories from the page into dazzling reality.
Photo courtesy of Susan Lake
For 10 years, Lake, a San Diego resident, has enriched the cultural life of her city as creator and artistic director of Tango Ball. Tango Ball is considered one of the premiere Latin cultural events and contributes to San Diego’s reputation as an art and culture destination. As president of the World Council for Argentine Tango Events, Lake brought acclaimed tango artists to San Diego to intimately involve residents with the romance and beauty of the tango. She created Tangocentric, a unique experimental dance ensemble that enhanced the mystique of tango for San Diego audiences.
She brings that energy and inventiveness to Idyllwild with her ICC appearance.
“Designing a World Imagined,” begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at Silver Pines Lodge. A wine and cheese reception precedes the event at 5:30 p.m. Both are free to the public.
For more information about Susan Lake, see www.susanlakeproductions.com and www.susanlakedesignsshop.com.
