Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact, A Class Taught By Pam Beal

Cobblestones II, AP # 90

| Cindy Anderson

Have you ever named an art project and then realized that you have already assigned the name to something else? Well, I have! Twice! The art piece I am showing you today, Cobblestones is the name I gave to Cobblestones, AP # 80.

Cobblestones, AP # 80

Both pieces were designed with the same photo in mind.

Cobblestones Street In Columbus, Ohio

While they both had the same inspiration their outcomes are totally different.

I am a spreadsheet person. By that I mean that I like to use spreadsheets to organize my life because they are much more reliable than scraps of paper. Of course their reliability hinges upon actually using the app.

After experiencing hurdles in maintaining a reliable list of my art pieces I decided to design a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet would be readily available because I could access it on all of my electronic devices—I almost always have one at my side. I was so proud of myself once the data was entered. While very few things are perfect I had high expectations that this would eliminate duplicate names.

In order for the spreadsheet to reach foolproof status one has to utilize it. Sometimes I’m lazy and resort back to pen and paper. In this instance that is exactly what happened. I was not aware of my dilemma until I sat down to bring my spreadsheet up to date. When I did, I had to make a decision—should I allow them both to maintain the same name or should I change one of them. In the end I chose to change one of the names ever so slightly. Today’s piece was given the modified name, Cobblestones II.

With the explanation for this project’s name revealed let’s take a look at the construction and design. I created my art piece while attending Pam Beal’s class Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact. Cobblestones II, as mentioned earlier, was inspired by a photo I took while attending QSDS.

Unlike it’s very colorful predasessor this art quilt was constructed using only three colors—a soft shade of blue, navy blue and bordeaux. Looking at the photo you will see that the cobblestones were fashioned from navy blue. The process of cutting and stitching the fabric back together created a woven texture or three dimensional appearance. I rather like that look. A border of soft blue was added to surround the cobblestones. Wrapping around all four sides is the bordeaux. The bordeaux creates a large negative space. This negative space creates a generous place for your eye to rest.

To finish my piece I added hand stitching using color coordinated threads. In the upper most bordeaux section I added three simple X’s. In the bottom area I echoed or replicated the cobblestones by stitching a grid pattern.

Cobblestones II, AP # 90

Cobblestones II has a very striking yet minimalist appearance. I think Pam Beal would be very pleased. Cobblestones II measures 14 1/2 x 8”.

Thank you for visiting.


Purple Passion, AP # 85

| Cindy Anderson

I am very excited to share another finished art piece. Measuring only 14 1/2 x 8 1/4” today’s addition to my portfolio is titled Purple Passion, AP # 85. As with so many of my other recent art pieces, this one began to take shape, on my design wall, at the Pam Beal Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact class.

Creating small works of art gives me the opportunity to use a variety of materials and techniques in a shorter amount of time. While minimalist in both size and design these new additions are not lacking in style. Let’s examine Purple Passion.

I’ve titled this piece Purple Passion because it reminds me of the passion fruit. Here’s why:

Both have

  • An outer purple layer
  • A green center
  • Black seeds (represented by the black circles in the center orange fabric strip)

Purple Passion has many stylish features. Among them are:

  • Raw edged fabrics secured with decorative stitching.
  • Color coordinated hand stitching
  • Three diamond shaped purple seeds represented by the three beads and
  • One very special, sparkly bead.

See for yourself.

Purple Passion, AP # 85

Thank You for visiting! Be watching for my next reveal.

Tuxedo, AP # 84

| Cindy Anderson

Slowly, ever so slowly I’ve been revealing art pieces resulting from my exposure to Pam Beal and her class, Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact. After today’s reveal there will be only four left to share. Let’s take a look.

Tuxedo, AP # 84 measures 10 3/4 x 6 3/4″. Like Ragged Edges, this special art piece has exposed edges. Look closely and you will find four.T

To give my Tuxedo a unique and masculine appearance I added a few embellishments.

  • All of the quilting was done by hand.
  • Except for the bold application of purple quilting, the remaining stitches were all done with color coordinated threads.
  • Centered in the tiny black fabric strips are small, purple, buttons made from French knots.
  • Last but not least, in the very bottom right corner, is what I have designated as the Tuxedo‘s boutonnière. There you will find three vertical purple French knots.

Let’s take a look at Tuxedo, AP # 84.

Tuxedo, AP # 84

Tuxedo, AP # 84

Thank you for sharing your time!