Artist Profile: Gayle Simpson

Gayle Simpson

Thousand Oaks, California

1. What other ideas for this theme "rituals" did you have?  My other ideas for Rituals included Yosemite Falls, hiking Point Lobos, my daughter's shoe collection,Sunday newspapers,Thanksgiving dinner, meeting friends for     35 years to exchange handmade ornaments, finding bird nests, water skiing Lake Coeur d' Alene, studying the moon,and pancake eating contests.

2.  Are you involved in any community or group projects where you donate your work?  if yes, what project or projects? I donated 8 Nutcracker banner quilts to Senior Concerns annual tea; post cards for auction to Sisters, OR. and the Wayne Art Center, PA; the SAQA auction again this year; and two entires for the AAQ "Home is Where the Quilt Is" 2012 auction.

3.  Do you belong to a small group of like-minded artists?  yes/no  Name/where?  What is the best part of being part of an art group? I am in Extreme Quilters. We meet in and around Ventura County,CA once a month, with an annual exhibit in October, and in Hawaii too, 2013. The artists in this group are talented and inspiring. I chaired our first show in 2010.

4.  Are you a member of a professional art organization, such as SAQA?  Have you ever held a volunteer position in the organization, and if so, what? In the 1970's I was the professional chair for CAEA. In the 90's I earned signature status in the Gold Coast Watercolor Society. I joined SAQA in 2009.

5.  What is your favorite palette of colors that you use in your work?  Name 5.  Name 5 of your least favorite colors? Favorite colors are complimentary ones; also Payne's gray, sage, lilac, Caribbean blue and spring greens. I steer away from pastels, cream, and colors named Haystack, Reed, Cornbread, Okra and Sharkey Gray.

6.  Describe your creative work space in 20 words or less.  Are you messy or tidy? My creative space is my brain. My production space is parts of three rooms at home, and a large pub table in a cabin. I get tidy, to then be messy.

7.  What is your creative process?  Think, draw, design, make or right to the design?  I take many photographs; think through and sketch the composition; use Canson tracing paper to move things around; lightly acid-free glue small pieces; machine piece when possible, or raw-edge appliqué; then draw, paint and free-motion quilt.

8.   Is there a particular object or shape that shows up repeatedly in your work?  Why? Landscape shapes, human silhouettes, ovals and circles show up in my work. Why? As an artist, I think one is drawn to certain elements often. It is intuitive. But I do love a variety of subject matter, and sometimes hard edges.

9.   If you had to choose a favorite artist from another media, who would it be, and why? From painting, I choose Wayne Thiebaud. From music, I choose Yo Yo Ma. Both men are  talented, honored and devoted to improving the world; and at the same time, very humble. They seem content and happy; my kind of "peeps."

10.  Have you written a book related to Art Quilts and Quilting or have an instructional DVD?  If so, can you tell us the title or titles? I am writing a book called: "Art Quilts: From Moose to Mannequins."

I want to teach people methods of how to  design an art quilt, and the subject matter (besides the title) will also cover landscapes, gourmet food, architecture, hornets' nests, and sundials.

11.  Do you make art full time?   If you have another career, would you describe what you do? and how you incorporate art into your life? I taught in public schools for 19 years. In 2007 I retired, and changed my art  from painting and drawing, to art quilts. Unless a life event interrupts, I am always creating and composing pieces. Sometimes being competitive pushes me to work more intensely; sometimes I just relax and try new things.

12.  What is your most thrilling news to date in relation to your art quilt life? You can read about my hornets' nest quilts in the SAQA Spring/Summer 2012 Journal. And a small mannequin quilt was chosen to be in the permanent collection of the  Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU. 

www.gaylesimpson.com