I’m just back from an inspiring teaching trip to Colorado–five days of Abstracting from Art at the Estelle Center for Creative Arts in La Veta.
I had nine enthusiastic students who came with a range of inspirations to jumpstart their creativity–from paintings to photographs to woven rugs.
Student Collage from Abstracting from Art at the Estelle Center in La Veta, CO 2025
As you can see from the collage above, each student worked on something different–interpreting their inspiration in their own way to create an original art quilt.
The class is meant to encourage students to use the inspiration photo to use color, shape, or even just the energy of the piece to translate their vision into fabric. After starting with simple Improv techniques to get the creativity flowing, they can turn the photo face down and just respond to the lines and shapes they are creating on their design walls.
They did some great work and I’m proud of their dedication and sense of adventure.
There was plenty of inspiration around the town of La Veta too, which is about 2 hours south of Colorado Springs nestled in the mountains.
Interesting rock formation in a mountain lake – Cindy Grisdela
Deer family eating – Cindy Grisdela
Lake Hike at Sunrise – La Veta, CO 2025
Colorado Wildflowers 2025 – Cindy Grisdela
I enjoy teaching this type of class where each student is working on something different and I am able to help them think of themselves as artists working in fabric and thread. The 5 day format allows for in depth exploration of all kinds of topics–from Improv techniques to how to use color effectively to design discussions to what is the difference between modern and art quilts anyway? We usually had a lecture each morning on a variety of topics, along with a Q & A session. This group had some great questions! Then working on our own projects and sometimes another lecture or discussion after lunch.
It was a lot of fun!
Visit my Teaching tab to see if I’ll be coming to a venue near you in 2026.