Medium/Technique: Quilting
Location: Hamilton, ON
Website: https://gezelligstudio.ca/
“Dis/connected,” 2023, 44" W x 52" H, 100% cotton batting and fabric, machine quilted with hand-sewn binding. Photo by Kristy Woudstra.
1. How would you describe your art and artistic practice?
I'm a modern, minimalist quilter who uses bold colours and geometric shapes to express my emotions and observations of the world around me. Basically, my quilts probably don't look like what most people imagine when they think of the word "quilt." Haha!
Unfortunately, I don't have the patience for hand quilting (even though I love the look and feel of hand-stitching). So all of my quilting is straight line and done by machine. However, I weirdly have the patience for piecing precise quilt top designs. (I'm a mystery even to myself!)
2. How did you first get into quilting?
If someone had told me five years ago that I was going to become a quilter, no one would be more surprised than me. I am a journalist by training and I was known for not being crafty. However, I reached my mid-40s and decided it was about time I learned to use a sewing machine. (My mom had tried to teach me when I was a kid, but I refused, which I regretted.)
In late 2019, I took a beginner lesson at Needlework (a fabric store here in Hamilton, Ontario, that has sadly since closed). Then I found out friends were expecting their first baby and I remembered how much I loved receiving handmade quilts when my daughter was born. So I decided I'd make them a baby quilt, thinking: "how hard can it be?" Of course, I didn't have any of the equipment or clue as to what I was doing. I was so naive!
It was a steep learning curve and I made a million mistakes, but I was addicted. I just kept making more and more quilts. Of course, this is when the pandemic hit. I was still working from home as a magazine editor, but I would quilt any spare moment I had. It was all I could think about in those early days. I started off using free patterns and watching a lot of YouTube videos. As my skills developed, I began creating my own designs.
3. Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Everything everywhere all at once?!? Haha! Not the movie, but just life in general. The first quilt that I made that truly felt like an artistic statement was when Roe vs. Wade was squashed by the U.S. Supreme Court. I was in Springfield, Illinois, for a residency through Terrain Exhibitions and Springfield Art Association, when the decision came down. I was absolutely devastated, but then people gathered in the streets of Springfield with signs and chants, expressing their frustrations and concerns. Witnessing this outpouring made my heart sore and inspired me to create a series of quilts representing the power of sharing our stories and speaking our truths.
Left to right: “Speak Truth to Power," 2022, 49” W x 66” H, 100% cotton fabric and batting, hand-dyed backing // “Speak Up," 2022, 48.5” W x 66” H, 100% cotton fabric and batting. Photos by Kristy Woudstra.
4. Can you walk us through your creative process, from initial idea to sourcing materials to the physical act of making?
The process is never exactly the same. But generally, I'll be ruminating on a concept or theme — it can be anything from personal experiences (such as being first-gen, dealing with perimenopause or caring for my mom who has advanced Alzheimer's) to world issues that I feel deeply. I'll start messing around on Canva or graph paper with shapes and colours, sometimes for days, or even months, until I have a design that I feel is "good enough."
Sometimes, it's the reverse, I'll be doodling and designing and realize what I've created represents something I've been pondering for awhile.
Once I have settled on the design and colours, I have to do a whole lot of math to figure out how much fabric I need and how to actually make the pattern I created. Then I'll source the fabric from local fabric stores (it's so hard to match colours online). I almost always use solids (patterns terrify me) and I stick to natural fibres. I also upcycle fabrics from the thrift store whenever I can (thrifting is another obsession of mine!).
The rest involves a ton of boring details and small decisions. In a nutshell, I piece the quilt top, baste the layers together and start the part I hate the most... the quilting! (Yes, I'm a quilter who really doesn't like to quilt.) So much can go wrong! And my designs are so exact that one wonky line can cause disaster. I just find it really stressful. After I finish binding it, I have no idea if it's any good anymore and usually need to put it away for awhile. Haha!
5. You also create adorable stuffed felt animals called Grumpy Faces. How did these come about, and how do these whimsical creatures influence your quilting practice (or vice versa)?
The Grumpy Faces really were a bunch of things coming together that no one could have predicted! I was bored during the 2021 holidays and watching way too much Netflix (I think we were in another lockdown). I needed something to keep my anxious hands busy, so I started drawing and hand-sewing whimsical felt animals while I binged TV.
I can't draw very well and I had no idea how to create a pattern for a stuffed animal, so they're minimalist and 2D. They're also made out of felt, which is a very forgiving textile.
The animals looked kind of grumpy, even though they're quite sweet in their simplicity, and I thought it would be funny to call them Grumpy Faces with the tagline: they're not actually grumpy, that's just their resting face! And the name stuck.
The artist pictured holding a basket of her Grumpy Faces stuffed animals. Photo by Bella Clemenico.
As I mentioned I'm a journalist by training, and I worked at both HuffPost Parents and Today's Parent, plus I have two grown kids of my own. All of those things likely informed the creation of the Grumpy Faces. I also started to name each animal and give them back stories (the writer in me loves that part the most). I want everyone young and old to be able to identify with at least one of the characters. If you read between the lines, you'll notice one uses they/them pronouns, another has ADHD and yet another needs glasses. There are 35 animals now, so I've been able to incorporate a lot of characteristics.
Sustainability is also really important to me since I worked in PR and marketing for international non-profit organizations that focused on humanitarian issues and the environment. So I use felt that's made of recycled plastic bottles and stuffing that's made from recycled materials.
I'm not entirely sure how the Grumpy Faces and my quilts interconnect. Maybe it's in the storytelling. Each animal and quilt enable me to share an idea or insight or observation. The minimalist designs are also consistent. I like to be succinct in all my work, including my writing.
6. In what ways do you use your practice and techniques to push conventional boundaries?
I feel like whatever I create is from somewhere in my subconscious and that is probably the only thing that really makes it unique. There are so many incredible modern quilters out there who have far more talent and experience. Their work inspires me to try new techniques or add new elements. But I don't feel like I'm really pushing the conventions yet.
At this stage, I only want to push the idea that there are rules to what a quilt is or should be. I've had people look down on my quilts because they aren't traditional or hand quilted. People question whether or not they're art, too. But I try to ignore all that and just do what I want and how I want to do it. For whatever reason, this is the medium that I'm using to express my ideas and creativity.
“Searching for Home," 2024, 90” W x 100” H, 100% cotton fabric and batting, quilted by Sylvia Lamothe (Honeybee Quilt Studio). Photo by Kristy Woudstra.
7. Tell us about a favourite piece or collection you’ve created and why it’s so memorable.
I mentioned the series that I created about speaking your truth, which was meaningful to me because they were the first quilts that felt like art. More recently, though, I exhibited my largest quilt to date. I teach quilting classes at Hamilton Craft Studios and I wanted to show participants how you can turn simple shapes and colours into images. I ended up creating a massive (more than 90 x 100 inches) tribute to the concept of home in a style that is reminiscent of vintage travel posters. I incorporated a font I designed (I'm a font nerd thanks to my background in magazines). Seeing that quilt suspended from the ceiling in my first art show held more emotion and meaning to me than I could have ever imagined. I felt like I "belonged" in the art world for the first time.
8. What have you encountered in your career so far that readers (or other artists) might find surprising or unexpected?
Ha! My entire life is a surprise, even to me. I never thought I'd be a quilter let alone an artist. I find it interesting that this plot twist is happening in my middle years (in a society that values youth), as we moved cities, as my grown kids ventured off on their own and as I moved my mom into long-term care. With my entire world and responsibilities changing, I grasped onto something that I could learn from and create with — entirely on my own terms. It was so freeing to have no goals or expectations.
Left to right: “Holding On,” 2022, 49” W x 52” H, 100% cotton fabric and batting, patchwork backing. Photo by Kristy Woudstra. // The artist folding one of her quilts. Photo by Bella Clemenico. // “Transition," 2022-2023, 50” W x 59” H, 100% cotton fabric and batting with 100% cotton flannel backing. Photo by Kristy Woudstra.
9. In what ways do you hope your own practice continues to evolve?
I have so much I want to learn and experience! I'm the happiest when I'm puttering around in my little studio or talking about process with other quilters. Often, when I learn new sewing techniques, I incorporate them in my quilt designs. It's like they unlock another creative outlet. Whenever I travel, I'm constantly finding inspiration for my quilt designs — in tiles, building shapes, logos. My husband and I were recently in Shetland, for example, which is known for its wool and knitting. I bought books about traditional knitting patterns and I want to turn them into quilts. I'm not sure if that answers your questions, but I feel like my work is constantly evolving with every new experience. And I'd love to do more shows! I dream of having a gallery show where quilts are suspended from the ceiling that people can walk through and envelop themselves in.
10. Pay it forward -- tell us about something or someone our readers should know about.
So many quilters and textile artists from around the world inspire me. Their skill, their expression, their genius -- I'm often in awe of other people's work. Off the top of my head, one of my favourites is Bisa Butler. Her large, quilted portraits are profound and share important stories. Carson Converse is another quilter whose work mesmerizes me. Esther Imm's quilts are absolutely stunning.
I also love textile artists who push boundaries in their messages and reflections. The Tiny Pricks Project is always thought-provoking. Here in Canada, check out Olivia Mae Sinclair. Her "sloppy craft" textile books are incredible.
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