Artist Profile: Cindy Cooksey

Cindy Cooksey

Irvine, California

 

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table? A pile of hexagons from a hexie exchange. Silk chiffon selvedges for a challenge. Fabric pulled for a quilt idea that may or may not happen.

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you? Beneath my reserved, quiet exterior is a comedian longing to come out. Just kidding. Or am I? I do like making people laugh, or at least smile. My father had a wonderful, quirky sense of humor, and I like to think that my siblings and I carry some of that within ourselves.

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table?The floor, which sometimes serves as my design wall when my wall is otherwise occupied.

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life? Watching the idea in my head turn into the finished quilt I see before me.

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio? Must have tea. Must have music and/or radio on while I work, unless I really have to concentrate.

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you? The current one.

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work? I have an affinity for nature, people, animals. They have become dominant themes in my work.

8. What kinds of patterns do you use in your work to create interest and texture? Circles, stripes, hexagons, swirls. Newsprint. 

9. What personal iconography is identifiable to you exclusively in your work? I don’t really know how to answer that. A quirky, whimsical point of view?

10. What was your inspiration for the Best of Dinner at Eight? To me, my morning walks encompassed all of the Dinner at 8 themes. It felt like a no brainer to use my walks as my inspiration.