Cindy Grisdela ~ art quilter

Studio Tour Display

Despite contending with some very soggy weather on Saturday, the Studio Tour last weekend was a lot of fun! At right is a shot of my “Salon Wall” displaying my work.  This is the fourth year I participated in the tour, but the first time I did it at my home studio. I really enjoyed it! I had such a good time displaying my work all over the house and sharing it with interested visitors.

The reason I hadn’t done it here before is my studio is a small upstairs bedroom, just big enough for me, my sewing machine and my two cats. But it worked out fine–I brought my machine and my portable design wall down into the kitchen, which has a large table in front of a sliding door looking out into the garden and a nice gas fireplace–and I did demonstrations of freemotion quilting and my design process on the wall. It was a cozy setup and people seemed to enjoy it.

I’ll definitely do it here again because it gives people an idea of what fiber art actually looks and feels like on the walls in a home environment.

A Day at the Circus

I’m busy getting ready for the Great Falls Studios Studio Tour this weekend–making pillows, printing brochures, figuring out what will go where to create an inviting atmosphere! It’s a lot of fun trying to look at my space with fresh eyes to see how others might see it.

I wanted to share one of my favorite quilts in advance of the tour–I think this one will go outside on a screen on my front porch to welcome visitors to the house of color! Every time I say this is one of my favorite quilts I have to smile–because at one point or another they’re all my favorites.

This one is called “A Day at the Circus,” because it’s such a riot of color, set off by crisp black and white triangles in the border. All of the fabrics in this piece are dotted, as well, and it is quilted with swirls in variegated thread. There’s a lot going on in this one! It’s one of my larger pieces, at 48″w x 59″h. I’m very proud of this quilt, because it was juried into the Studio Art Quilt Associates Creative Force 2007 show and it traveled with the show for a year, starting with the International Quilt Festival in Houston that year. I went to Houston to see the show and it was spectacular–I was thrilled to be part of it.

The Studio Tour is this weekend, Oct. 17-18, rain or shine, from 10 AM-5 PM both days. For more information about the Tour and the 43 other artists on it, visit the website at www.greatfallsstudios.com where I believe today is the last day you can enter to win one of 40 $50 “Art Bucks” gift certificates we’re giving away good toward the purchase of art at any artist venue during the Tour.

I hope you’ll have time to stop by!

Cosmos

I finished “Cosmos” last Saturday right before the Artfest and I will have it on display at the Great Falls Studios Studio Tour next weekend, Oct. 17-18. It really does hang straight–this is not a professional photograph, but I wanted to share!

This piece grew out of my “Playing with Colors” series. I used the same improvisationally pieced circles as I did in the earlier quilt, but I wanted to limit the color palette to explore the complementary colors of blue and orange. The design took me a while to create because I had several different ideas to try and I had to live with each one on the design wall for a period of time before I decided which one I liked best. This design made me think of the images from telescopes in space of exploding stars and the universe–hence the name.

I’m really excited about the quilting on this piece, which unfortunately doesn’t show up well in this photo. I’ll post about it in more detail once I get the professional photo done. Usually on a piece like this I just choose one overall design motif and quilt it that way. I’m moving in a new direction with my most recent work, however, and putting different design motifs in the same quilt. This quilt has three different motifs worked into the design. It’s more complicated to do because it requires more planning of the quilting, but it’s more interesting to quilt and I hope to look at.

One more week until the Studio Tour! Visit the Great Falls Studios website for more information at www.greatfallsstudios.com

On the website you can register to win one of 40 $50 “Art Bucks” coupons good toward the purchase of art at any studio tour venue during the tour, plus you can downloan a map and artist directory to plan your visit. Or pick up a free color catalog at any artist venue, including the Great Falls Library at 9830 Georgetown Pike.

I hope you’ll have time to stop by!

Cindy Grisdela Artfest 2009

It was a gorgeous fall day yesterday–great for an outdoor art festival! At right is a shot of my booth at the McLean Project for the Arts Artfest before opening yesterday–it looked a little different at the end of the day. I had a great time meeting new people and talking about art all day. The volunteers at MPA did a fantastic job of putting on the festival–they make it look easy, but it’s an incredible amount of work.

Next up on my calendar is the Great Falls Studios Sixth Annual Studio Tour, which is happening in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18. Admission is free and the hours are 10-5 both days. There will be 44 artists on the tour this year–the majority will be in their homes or studios demonstrating how they work. I really enjoy this event because it allows visitors to see how I create my art quilts and to see them hanging in a real environment.

For more information, please visit the Great Falls Studios website at www.greatfallsstudios.com, where you can also register to win a $50 “Art Bucks” certificate good towards the purchase of art from any GFS artist during the weekend of the tour. You can also download a brochure and map of the area to help you navigate. Great Falls is an interesting village with a thriving art community that is a real hidden treasure–come see us!