Cindy Grisdela ~ art quilter

I finished “Fractured Landscape” just in time to send it in for the early bird April 1 deadline for the Studio Art Quilt Associates 2010 Benefit Auction. The auction is a major fundraiser for the group, which is a non-profit organization that promotes the art quilt. The donated quilts are posted on the SAQA website until the auction begins September 20, 2010. Each piece is 12″x12″, or One Foot Square. It’s a reverse auction, with prices starting at $750 and declining each day to $550, $350, $250, $150, and $75. The auction is virtual, so it takes place entirely online and it’s a lot of fun.

This quilt is another in my Color Block series. This series explores the relationship between line and color using only solid fabrics without any other pattern. Creating these contemporary color studies is intuitive and spontaneous, which is my favorite way to work. This piece was built using purchased hand dyed solid fabrics and some odds and ends from previous projects. It’s almost like using sourdough starter–I keep scraps and odd blocks that didn’t fit into earlier projects and invariably they become the basis for something new.

If you click on the image, you should be able to see the free-motion machine quilting, which includes stylized flower shapes, pebbles, clouds, bricks and other interesting motifs.  The name suggested itself as I was quilting the piece–the curved top edge looked like a mountain and the bottom edge like a walkway, with interesting structural shapes in between.

My quilt “Splash of Color” has been published in the most recent issue of Quiltmania, a quilting magazine based in France. The article is titled “Building Blocks: Contemporary Quilt Artists” by Sandra Sider and it features the work of six Professional Artist Members of Studio Art Quilt Associates who use a block system to construct their designs.  The other five artists are Gloria Hansen, Deborah Melton Anderson, Julie Hirota, Terry Kramzar and Eleanor McCain. I’m thrilled to be part of this group.

“Quilt blocks within a grid system continue to intrigue contemporary artists because their simplicity and diversity provide a sounding board for innovative approaches,” Sider notes in the article.

“Splash of Color” is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional pattern known as Drunkard’s Path. It uses just one block unit and in this case the design is created by using color in an unusual way. The crisp black and white fan shapes seem to dance around the surface of the quilt while the background batik fabrics move from warm to cool colors and back. This quilt is mounted on a black linen background and stretched over stretcher bars so it hangs on the wall like a picture.

To order the magazine online, visit www.quiltmania.com

I’ve been on vacation the last couple of weeks, but I’m finally back in the studio now.  No pictures yet, but I wanted to let everyone know that the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Reverse Auction of 12″ square art quilts starts today. There are many wonderful works to choose from and you’ll being helping support a great organization that organizes exhibits of art quilts, publishes a portfolio of work from current members once a year and offers much needed support and encouragement to art quilters all over the world, among other activities. I’m proud to be a member of this group.

The auction is held in three sections. On the first day, the price for any work is $750. The price drops at 2 P.M. on the following day to $550, then to $350 on the third day, then $250, $150 and to $75 on the last day. The first section starts today, Sept. 10, the second section starts Sept. 17 and the third section begins Sept. 24. All start times are 2 P.M. EST.

Here’s the link to the first series of quilts http://www.saqa.com/newsebulletins/Squares09_1.aspx

Happy Bidding!