Cindy Grisdela ~ art quilter

Summer Breeze 33" x 27"

I just received notice recently that “Summer Breeze” was accepted into the “Creative Threads: From Fiber to Fine Art” Textile Exhibit at Glen Echo Park near Bethesda, MD. The exhibit will run from January 23 to February 28 in the Popcorn Gallery at the park, which is open on weekends. It should be an interesting show.

Summer Breeze is part of the series that happened when I wasn’t looking. I’ve decided to call it my “Windows” series, because that was the name of the first piece. These pieces are constructed with small improvisationally pieced compositions that are arranged into an interesting design like puzzle pieces, usually with a solid or mottled background to set off the blocks. It’s one of my favorite ways to work and the series has been popular, since three of the five pieces have been sold.  The other one that I still have is “Color My World,” which I wrote about on the blog about a week ago. Summer Breeze is set onto a reddish-pink background and mounted on stretcher bars so it hangs on the wall like a picture.

Glen Echo is a fascinating place. It used to be an amusement park and many of the buildings from that phase are still there. They have wonderful puppet shows and a magical merry-go-round where I used to take my boys when they were young, in addition to artist studios, theater performances, and classes in art and dance. It’s also a national park and there are opportunities to learn about the unique history of the place. If you have the opportunity to visit, it’s well worth the trip, especially if you have children to accompany you.

Color My World 27" x 20"

You might recognize this piece from an earlier post. In November I was playing with making small compositions and turning them into coasters when I suddenly these blocks leapt onto the design wall and demanded to be turned into a quilt! I’ve used this technique several times, so I guess it’s turned into a new series while I wasn’t looking–I’ll have to decide what to call it. This is the fifth piece in the series.

Color My World is mounted on stretcher bars with a dark purple background. I had fun piecing the blocks out of scraps left over from other projects–each one is individual. I liked the blue batik I used for the block backgrounds because it reminded me of the water on the globe.

Color My World detail

I decided I wanted to try some different quilting motifs on this piece because I had made the little block compositions that draw the viewer in for a closer look. There are wild suns and spiky spirals and smooth spirals with stippling around them if you look closely!

One of my goals for the year is to spend more time mixing quilting motifs in my quilts. I read an analysis somewhere that good art can be appreciated on at least two levels. It’s interesting from far away and gives the viewer a reward for looking at it closeup as well. So it’s important to focus on composition, color, balance in the larger picture and add interesting details for more intimate viewing.