Her Point of View -- Cindy Grisdela, Fiber Artist

Coral Reef

The fiber art community is a warm and welcoming place, and meeting new friends around the Colorado fiber art and fine craft scene is a joy! Visiting with other artists face-to-face adds greatly to my understanding of the varied opportunities in my field as well as opportunities to stretch and grow as an artist.

Interestingly, meeting other artists over the Internet has become a more steady part of my outreach in the fiber arts community. While we may never meet face-to-face, I can certainly tell you that delightful friendships can blossom through cyberspace!

Cindy in her sunny studio in Virginia

I would like to introduce you to one such new friend of mine, quilt artist Cindy Grisdela, from Reston, Virginia. She has also spent her time and talent getting to know other fiber artists, and in a recent interview, I learned a lot about how this successful, exhibited artist has built her career, year by year. Here is Cindy's point of view--

Georgianne Holland: Have you always been confident in letting your art quilt designs develop without a firm (design) plan, or did you need to build up your courage to work this way over time?
Cindy Grisdela: I started out as a self-taught traditional quilter about 30 years ago. I loved the old patterns and hand-stitching and made many quilts for my family and to give away as gifts. I almost always would tweak a pattern slightly to make it a little different than described. About 10 years ago I looked around at my quilts and realized that all of them were someone else's design, and that it was important to me to begin doing work that was uniquely mine. I started out revisiting traditional patterns like Sunshine and Shadow and Drunkard's Path and recreating them in a more contemporary style. You can see Coral Reef and Splash of Color on my Etsy shop page. Over a period of time, I became more confident in using a completely improvisational style, where I begin with only a general idea of what I want to accomplish and let the design evolve on my design wall. One of the first pieces I did that with was Amber Harvest which won a juror's choice award at Art Quilts Lowell in 2010.

Splash of Color

GH: Congratulations on that award! How would you describe your business style as a fiber artist?
CG:  Although I'm a self-taught fiber artist, I do have an undergraduate degree in Art History, and a master's degree in Business. I'm very focused on the business side of my career, and I try to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Early on, before I could really afford it, I hired Gloria Hansen at Gloderworks to design a very professional website for my work. That has been one of the best business decisions I ever made, since having a nice website has helped me to get gallery representation, commissions and other opportunities that I don't think would have come my way otherwise. Having a blog integrated into my website has also been important, and I try to blog at least twice a week--summers are a little slower for that though. I also joined TAFA in the early days and have tried to give back to that community as well. Plus I have a shop on Etsy, I blog regularly and I have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Amber Harvest

GH: What kind of community support are you finding in your hometown, and how has that impacted your work?
CG:  I belong to a multimedia arts group in my area called Great Falls Studio which has been tremendously important in the development of my work. It's been a huge advantage to be part of a group of creative people who support each other, even though I'm one of the only fiber artists in the group. I don't think I would be where I am today in my career without them. I started exhibiting in their local shows about 8 years ago. That was an invaluable learning experience that gave me confidence that I could have an art career at all. The key was to get involved though. I'm very active in the group, on the board of directors now, even though when I joined I only knew one other person. 


If you are a fiber artist who longs to build your professional presence, or you are a lover of colorful quilt art, I believe that Cindy is an artist whose expertise with both business and the tactile medium of art quilts is an ideal role model and guide. Thanks to Cindy for letting us see and learn more about the lovely world she has created in Virginia! I am a huge fan!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Buying Art Online -- What to look for and how to have FUN!

I truly thought that after all my kids launched, I'd have tons of time to visit art galleries and take long lunches with the ladies. My youngest is 23 years old and that daydream has not yet materialized!

In today's online economy, the Internet has significantly changed how folks look at art, and making a day of it going door-to-door with your girlfriends, hoping to find the "just right" piece for that weird little hallway corner may be old school. With many thriving online boutiques and galleries available (even on a yucky, rainy-weather day) I can enjoy an artful browse day and night.

My Favorite 3 Tips for Buying Art Online

Number One: Find out how they will ship your art to you

Using the Internet, I can see the work of thousands of artists from around the world! Each artist who endeavors to sell in this manner must by necessity become a direct-to consumer packaging expert. There are lots of ways to package art made using a wide variety of mediums, and while some artists have the best methods figured out, from my experience, you will also have those who use tattered old liquor store boxes (which they have cut down and re-taped using an entire roll of clear adhesive tape!). Opening those makeshift boxes is like breaking into Fort Knox! So know how the artist you like will handle your shipping needs.

Number Two: Communicate with your artists

I always look for an email address to communicate with the artist before I purchase. I like to educate myself about the artwork that I like. I also believe in asking questions. I can tell you from experience that you will make the artist's day by asking him or her to tell you a little more about what they made. Very exciting. I also think it is wise to feel confident about every purchase and know that you can reach this artist and expect professional communications.

Number Three: Measure First

Maybe you are like me and think that you can "eye-ball" measure everything? I've gotten into trouble using this method, which really isn't a method at all because it is so random. For an expensive piece of art, I like to make a quick paper pattern of the art piece I am considering and tack it to the wall. I then walk around and look at the space from other parts of my home. Is that the size you really want, or are you trying to sell yourself on something that you just love, but realize that it doesn't really fit your space? Perhaps you need to consider a new space for the art you love and keep looking for the right-size art on a later day?

I have thoroughly enjoyed selling large wall pieces of my eco-chic wool fiber art to folks in many countries, and over time, I've learned all of the customer-oriented ways to package and deliver art. It is thrilling to sell directly to each person who contacts me, with my art going directly from my hands to their home. Perhaps the Internet helps make our huge world a little more cozy, after all?

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy your art-buying efforts! Georgianne