Local Quilting Artist

Ms. Cindy Grisdela is a fabulous artist - making incredible quilts that have nothing to do with what your grandmother made. She has all hand dyed vibrant fabrics and she free forms the stitching. Mostly it is geometric, but she did have a few which represented flowers. I thought her geometric and swirled pieces were the best, but art is an evolution, isn't it?

Ms. Grisdela works in Reston, VA. She makes me think of another artist I featured Ms. Judith Trager, though the colors are different and Ms. Trager's are not confined to the rectangular shape. Ok, ok, maybe the only similarity is that they are quilters....!

I saw this piece at the Washington Craft Show over the Halloween weekend this year. The colors are incredibly vibrant and the amount of stitching is impressive.

Here is what she says for herself on her own web site:

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.

Much of my recent work employs improvisational cutting and piecing techniques where the design evolves organically as the process unfolds. Because there's no pattern to follow, seeing the interplay of color and design is integral to my creative process. Fiber art is exciting to me because it offers a tactile quality beyond the color and line of a design. Once I’ve played with the colors and the fabric in the pieced top, I have another opportunity to add dimension to my work by quilting the layers together with whimsical free motion quilting—a process I like to think of as drawing with a needle and thread.

I use vibrant color and bold graphic design to create contemporary art quilts that have a strong visual impact as art for the wall.

I hope you enjoy your visit and come back often. I update my blog regularly with news and new work in process.

My work is represented by Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ and Chasen Galleries in Richmond, VA, and I have studio space at the Artists' Atelier at 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA. Open hours are 12-4 PM Wednesday and Saturday, or by appointment.

Home decor and gift items, like pillows, journals, and eyeglass cases, are available through my shop on Etsy.com.

Contact me if you are interested in commissioning a unique wall piece for a special place in your home or office, or if you're interested in having me talk about my work to your group.