Cindy Grisdela ~ art quilter

I’ve been playing with this new piece for several weeks now–I think it’s going to be called Lavender Garden. I’m sharing a detail of the quilting section I finished today, because I’m so excited about it! I’d been putting off this part because I was nervous about being able to execute the idea in my brain–but today I decided to go for it. If you click on the image you’ll be able to see the stitching more clearly.

This is a great example of what I like to think of as “drawing with needle and thread.” I use a regular home sewing machine and a darning foot–there’s no marking ahead of time and no computer to do the work–it’s just me and my machine. I draw the images freehand directly onto the piece and if I’m in the proper zone, it just flows. Today was one of those good days!

I used several different colorways of variegated thread, depending on the background color, which gives an added sparkle to the overall design. This is a larger quilt–about 25″ high x 42″ wide–and it’s one of the new pieces I’m putting together for my show later this fall at the MPAartfest.  I’ve been busy the last month or so creating new work, putting together a brochure, designing postcards to send out for my shows at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, the MPAartfest, and the Great Falls Studios Studio Tour. If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive a colorful postcard notification of these events, please fill out a contact form on my website here. I’ll only use your information to send the postcards a couple of times a year.

“Afternoon at the Beach” is finished and on display in the Fiber Landscapes exhibit at the Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery until September 12, 2010.  This is a much more realistic piece than I normally create, but I had fun with the curved landscape piecing, the applique on the chair and the fish, and the beaded starfish and crab in the lower section. Click on the image to get a better view of the details.

At left is a closeup of the chair that shows the  thread sketching on the chair seat and back and some of the dense quilting on this piece. In an earlier post I discussed my process to create this part of the scene. There is pebble quilting in the sand sections–one of my favorite motifs–swirls for the waves, undulating lines for the ocean and cloud formations in the sky area at the top.

I think it’s a good idea as an artist to step outside your comfort zones and try something new and different every once in a while. I don’t think I’m going to give up my abstract color work for realism any time soon, but it was fun to work on this piece.

I also have some fun coaster sets in this show, one set is black and white with red accents and the other is bright colors framed with black and white. Each set has four coasters and all of the centers are different improvisational compositions. They have a bit of hand stitching for accent around the centers.

If you have a chance to visit the Torpedo Factory to see the show, the Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery is on the first floor in Studio 18 and the address is 105 N. Union St. in Alexandria.

I’ll be displaying my work at the Great Falls Studios booth at the Great Falls Farmer’s Market in the Village Center tomorrow, Saturday May 29, from 9 AM – 1 PM. I’ll have several new pieces that I haven’t shown here before, including “Impressions of Paynes Prairie,” at right. In addition, I’ll have other contemporary quilted wall art, colorful pillows and journal covers, and note cards for sale.

I created “Impressions” specifically for a show in my hometown, Gainesville, Florida, that ran earlier this year. The theme was quilts depicting natural Florida, so I created this impressionistic landscape of a local hiking area near where I grew up. If you click on the image, you’ll be able to see the dense free form quilting in this piece, including stylized flowers, pebbles, cloud formations, walkways and waves. I had a lot of fun drawing with my needle and thread on this piece.

If you’re in the Great Falls area tomorrow, stop by and say hello–I’d love to see you!

Impressions of Paynes Prairie

I’m excited to announce that two of my pieces were accepted into the Quilting Natural Florida II exhibit, which will be on display from Feb. 6-April 25, 2010 at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. I grew up in Gainesville and I’m thrilled that my work will hang in the museum where I visited as a child. Actually, the museum is in a new location now than it was when I was young, but you get the idea!

One of the accepted quilts is shown at right. It’s called “Impressions of Paynes Prairie,” which is a state park near Gainesville.  I remember driving through the park and hiking there with my dad. I had fun with the quilting on this one–it has waves and pebbles and boardwalk designs, plus some fun vegetation and clouds at the top. You can see some of the quilting in the detail below.

The other quilt that was accepted in this show is “Sunrise on the Beach,”  which embodies the many memories I have of long lazy days spent watching the seagulls and the ocean. I didn’t really realize until I began writing this that both of these pieces use the same curved piecing technique to represent a landscape. It’s fun to do and very easy once you get the hang of it. You simply lay two pieces of fabric right sides up with an overlap between them. Then you cut a gentle curve freehand with a rotary cutter, remembering to stay within the overlap.  After discarding the waste pieces, sew the curves together right sides together. They will look like they won’t fit, but trust me–they do! Press. It’s as simple as that.

Sunrise on the Beach

If you’re in the Alexandria area on Saturday, Nov. 21, I’ll be doing a show at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology on Braddock Road–my son’s alma mater. The show, which runs from 9-4, is for the benefit of the TJ crew team, which my son rowed for four years before going off to college. I’ve got some new small items for sale, including pillows, covered journals which are really fun, pieced coasters and holiday ornaments, in addition to my quilts. Stop by and say hello if you get a chance! It’s a great cause and there should be some interesting booths there. For more information visit their website at www.tjgiftshow.com