Cindy Grisdela ~ art quilter

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 finished and delivered the commission piece I’ve been working on for the last couple of months–that’s a great feeling.

On the list I belong to for members of Studio Art Quilt Associates there was a thread not long ago about the power of using a sketchbook to record ideas and thoughts for times when you need inspiration. I hadn’t really thought about it much before, but while I was working on the commission, I decided to try and keep some record of ideas that I’d like to try out when I was finished.

Below are some of my sketches and at right is my first attempt at a new piece based on one of the sketches. So far, I’m really happy with the process. Before I started doing this, I would have an idea or see an image that I wanted to explore and I was sure I would remember it later, but the reality was, I usually didn’t. I was also self-conscious that my drawing wasn’t really very good. But then the light bulb went on and I realized that it doesn’t matter–all I’m doing is recording an idea for later, so when I’m ready to start on a new piece, all I have to do is look back at my sketches and decide which one to work on first.

This piece isn’t named yet, because I’ve just started it, but I’m excited with the possibilities. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’ve been working on a series of quilts that explore color and color interactions without the distraction of patterning–I call it my Color Block series. For this one I used scraps of Cherrywood handdyed fabrics I’ve been collecting. I really like the soft look the handdyed pieces have, compared to the Kona cottons I’ve used before. To create this piece, I started with the idea of a vertical strip of wonky improvisationally pieced units. I just started sewing the units together and let the fabric do the talking. It needed to have colors that were similar in value–not too many lights or darks, mostly medium values. Then I wanted to set it asymmetrically on the piece, with yellow on one side and soft orange on the other. Initially I thought the wider side would be green, but when I put it up on the wall, the green didn’t work. That’s what I mean by letting the fabric do the talking. I’m not sure about the yellow triangle near the bottom of the strip–now that I see it in a photograph, it stands out more than it does in real life, so I may have to do something different with it. That’s what I enjoy about this process–the give and take and the intuitive nature of the design–Stay tuned!

I’ve been caught up in finishing a commission piece for the past couple of weeks and I don’t want to spoil the surprise for my client by posting here, so that’s why I’ve been uncharacteristically silent about what I’ve been up to lately.

I’ve decided to take advantage of the fact that I live near a city with wonderful museums for artistic inspiration. So last weekend my husband and I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon visiting an exhibit by one of my favorite artists, Georgia O’Keefe. The Phillips Collection in Washington DC is showing her abstract works in a fabulous setting. Georgia O’Keefe: Abstractions includes about 100 paintings and drawings from the artist’s long career, ranging from the early charcoals that initially caught the eye of Alfred Stieglitz, to the wonderfully simplified paintings of clouds and doors she completed late in life.

I didn’t take pictures at the exhibit, so my picture here is a poster that I have in my house. This painting is in the exhibit and it’s one of my favorites. I’ve been fascinated with O’Keefe since I was an art history student in college, but the work that particularly attracts me is not her famous flower paintings, but the abstract work featured in this exhibit. She is able to distill the essence of her experience with a few simple lines, shapes and dramatic use of color–exactly what I am trying to do in fiber, although I have a long way to go.

It’s exciting and inspiring to see this work up close and in person. I’ve had the opportunity recently to revisit the Matisse cutouts and the Alexander Calder sculptures at the National Gallery and to experience a dramatic exhibit of the paintings of some of the Washington Color School artists, like Morris Louis, Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland. These are the artists who speak to me. Even though I’ve seen the work before, sometimes many times, there’s always something new to learn. Take a trip to visit the work of your favorite artist and see!

I was just notified that “Parcheesi” was chosen to be included as one of 55 pieces archived as part of the permanent collection of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I’m thrilled to be selected to be part of this collection.

I created this piece as part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates 20th Anniversary Trunk Show last year. The trunk shows have traveled all over the country and to some international venues in the last year. The collection being donated to the museum was chosen from these trunk shows. According to the juror, the collection is intended to document “the various techniques, processes, materials and artistic styles in quilt art during the early 21st century.”

Parcheesi is part of my Color Block series. Creating these contemporary color studies is intuitive and spontaneous, which is fast becoming my favorite way to work. This piece was hand quilted with circles and lines using perle cotton in a contrasting color. The design reminded me of a Parcheesi board when it was finished, so that’s where the quilt got its name.