mininimalist design

A Study In Minimalism I and II

| Cindy Anderson
  • 1973, AP # 74
  • X’s and O’s, AP # 75
  • Wise Old Owl, AP # 76
  • Hoo Knows?, AP # 77
  • Itty Bitty, AP # 78
  • Tropical Punch, AP # 79
  • Cobblestones, AP # 80
  • Once In A Blue Moo, AP # 81
  • Many Dots, AP # 82
  • Ragged Edges, AP # 83
  • Tuxedo, AP # 84
  • Purple Passion, AP # 85
  • Cobblestones II, AP # 90

Lately I’ve been sharing art pieces started while in attendance at Pam Beal’s Minimalist Design, Maximum Impact class. The art quilts I’m sharing today bring my series to a close. Let’s take a look back at the other projects. Click on any of the photos to view them as a slide show.

Let’s turn now to today’s specimens. Known as A Study in Minimalism I and A Study in Minimalism II, these two were created to hang together.

A Study In Minimalism I and II, AP # 91 & 92

Of the fifteen projects created at Pam’s class I would have to say that these two are my favorites and here’s why.

  • I like their overall color schemes.
  • The colors used work harmoniously with one another.
  • Their subject matter is simple yet elegant.
  • The quilting compliments the natural lines of the units.
  • They were created to hang together.

I had a great time creating these quilts. Both started with scraps leftover from other art pieces. If you have been a follower of my blog you are aware of my fondness for raw edges and fabric fringe. The quilt on the left has three fabrics with raw edges and one even has fringe. The art piece on the left measures 19 1/2 x 9 1/2” and the quilt on the right measures 19 1/2 x 8 3/4”.

I learned so much from Pam Beal! Thank You Pam for sharing your methods and insight. Your influence will always play a role in my thought process.

Thank you for following this series!


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.