Cindy's Art Quilts

A side view of my lovely art quilt from Cindy Grisdela.

"I am a fiber artist specializing in abstract contemporary work that explores the glorious world of color."  Cindy Grisdela

Here is the start of my little art quilt that I found on her blog posted about here.

Townhouses

Cindy's use of color...her machine quilting...and the stories she tells with her art quilts just mesmerize me.

Ocean Waves

"I'm intrigued by color and the way colors interact with one another. Color is such an exciting part of life--the red of a perfectly ripe strawberry, the deep blue of a summer sky, the russets and golds of fall leaves--all enhance our experience of the world. I like to use fabric the way a painter might use paint to create a mood, develop a contrast or explore an idea." 
Cindy Grisdela

City Streets

Riverbank

Her machine quilting and top stitching transform a quilt.  If you want to see more check out her blog, her Facebook page and her website. I'm a big fan Cindy!

Tweaking....

....at the other house.  My friend Lynn (the artist) is coming to visit...so I'm cleaning....and when I clean I tweak, rearrange, and ponder.

This wall color does not photograph well....it looks pretty bad in a picture...it's better in person.  

I have struggled a bit with these shelves...they're on a big wall...and with the TV it's a bit awkward.  I have been happy with the left...especially with Lynn's art...but I'm trying something new on the right.


I bought this lovely art quilt at "Craft Boston" last summer from Cindy Grisdela an artist/quilter I have admired for quite some time.  I just love it! I really wanted it in my kitchen...but was a bit worried about splashes. It's hard to tell from this picture...but it's mounted on a deep profile black canvas...which changes it from a quilt...to an art piece.




In the next few days I will share much more about Cindy....she is a huge inspiration to me.

For a while I had it centered over the shelf....but I just moved it to the left....and relocated "surprised by joy."  There is one little purple strip in the quilt so the colors work well!  I'm happier with the arrangement for now...but don't be surprised if it changes again.

I have shown you my argyle rug before in the center of the room....but here is my patchwork rug I was standing on taking the picture above.

Another colorful Company C rug....I love it!

A Splash of Color

The backyard clematis...

...to compliment the front.                                                                             

Good Reminders

This was on my Tumblr feed a few days ago...
and it's a good reminder.

















And this was on my Pinterest feed.
Bold, brave, strong....working on it.

A Completed Splash of Color!

This puzzle was one of my favorites of all time!  Anyone want to borrow it?

Speaking of Lupin....

This is one of my favorite children's books....Miss Rumphius, by Maine author Barbara Cooney.

It's a story about Alice, who at a young age learns from her grandfather that in addition to her dreams of traveling the world and coming home to live by the sea....she must do a third thing...something to make the world more beautiful.

Alice does travel the world...and she does come home to live by the sea. And finally, to make the world more beautiful, she spreads lupin seeds all over her town....and becomes known as the lupin lady.

A few random Rumphius connections:

My son Sam, who is the one who called them "blupins," used to impress girls he was dating by quoting from Miss Rumphius...it showed his softer side.

I heard Barbara Cooney speak at an education conference when I was a teacher.  She read from her books and shared the process or her art....such a wonderful experience. 

One of the graduation requirements of Deering High School in Portland, Maine where I used to teach was completing a number of community service hours.  It was called "The Rumphius Project" promoting it as a need to make the world more beautiful.

My friend Jane has just moved into her home by the sea....and this is her lupin garden.

"Blupin"

A few days ago Paul and I went to Two Lights State Park to sit on the rocks and enjoy the ocean.  On the way we came across this beautiful field of lupin...or as my son used to say "blupin."

Our view...once we got there.

Photo Connection

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a hour with Felice Boucher, an award winning Maine photographer, while she photographed our Maine house for the real estate listing.  She is an incredibly interesting and talented woman and her photographs are amazing...capturing special and unexpected moments in people's lives.  I thought this wedding shot was fabulous....check out her website!

Felice told me that she enjoys making her photographs look like paintings....and ironically enough her talented daughter Sydney Bella Sparrow makes her paintings look like photographs.  Sydney's paintings are breathtaking and worth checking out on her website!  Yes, these are really paintings!

Now for the listing photos.  Felice remarked how it's sometimes difficult to take these photos....she is often drawn to the art and personal touches in a home but that's not what the listing agent wants. We did had a good time talking about art. Thanks Felice!  

Not bad for a place almost completely furnished with hand-me-downs, thrift store purchases, and free stuff by the side of the road.  Only a small handful of things were actually purchased for this home.

A Splash of Color...

...and just in time!

The sign is up....the house is officially on the market...and showings start Friday.  The pink clematis helps with the curb appeal.                                                                              

Balance!

Needing a little more balance lately...
Actually what I need to do is sew....but it's going to be a while before I get to that. But that's OK...important things are getting done.

This is a page in my Pinterest inspired journal. I used a fabric background technique I learned from Ellen Lindner, a quilt artist I found on Pinterest. I fused and layered scraps of blue and purple batiks and added some wavy lined quilting. Then I fused and outlined the rocks. (did you notice the little gold vein in one of the rocks?)

Finally a border of free motion quilting to secure it onto a piece of card stock...and in the book it went!

Here is one of Ellen's quilts with her layered backgrounds.  I think she does a very good job with color.

I love these little collage quilts from a series Ellen calls "Notes for a friend."  I'm anxious to do a little mixed media art quilting and I will revisit her website for inspiration!