Artist Profile Series: Terry Grant

Terry Grant

Beaverton, Oregon

Www.andsewitgoes.blogspot.com

1. What is sitting on the edges of your work table? a stack of recently purchased solid fabrics. I haven't put them away, hoping that seeing them everyday will inspire me for an upcoming call for entries to a show themed, ironically, "The Edge."

2. If someone looked beneath the surface, what could be revealed that we might not know about you? That I'm a quiet introvert—on second thought, you probably wouldn't need to look too deep to realize that! 

3. What occupies the space between your sewing machine and your cutting table? A very messy table, piled high with the striped fabrics I'm currently using in a landscape piece. 

4. What is the most exquisite moment in your artistic life? Probably meeting, for the first time, the members of the Twelve by Twelve online challenge group and seeing all our quilts exhibited together at International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2011. 

5. Do you have daily rituals in your studio? I sweep the floor and tidy up my sewing area before I go to work. The rest of the space can be a jumble of work in progress, but I like to start with a clean floor and sewing table. 

6. Reflecting on the quilts that you have made, which one stands out to you? I made a quilt depicting a campfire, that seems to be very frequently posted on Pinterest and I get a lot of email asking if I have a pattern for it, if it's for sale (it was sold years ago) or just expressing admiration for it. I had no idea it would resonate as it has, but it may be the one piece I have made that most nearly satisfied the vision I was trying to achieve. 

7. What do you have an affinity for in your work? I am attracted to imagery that invokes a memory or a feeling that is part of my life. 

8. What kinds of patterns do you use in your work to create interest and texture? I love using very graphic, geometric patterned fabrics, especially stripes and checks and plaids. 

9. What personal iconography is identifiable to you exclusively in your work? I have a kind of doodly stitch pattern that I very often use in my work, as well as crisply outlined shapes. 

10. What was your inspiration for the Best of Dinner at Eight?  I loved the "Beneath the Surface" theme and it fit well with my thoughts about aging and stereotypes of older women and the conviction that we are all so much more than what we display on the surface.