East coast transplant Cindy Brendzel channels her passion for art and sewing into expressive textiles. Her pieces incorporate fabric layering, stitching and paint. Brendzel’s artwork is on display at the Leawood branch until August 21, 2022.
Introduce yourself and describe your work and the medium you work in.
My name is Cindy Brendzel. I moved to Overland Park from New Jersey 8 years ago. Among the first things I did when I settled here was get a library card and do a google search to find art quilters like myself. I am a multi-media artist, but I work primarily with fabrics. I do use readily available commercial fabrics, but I also like to use repurposed fabrics and my own hand dyed fabrics.
How does the fabric determine/influence your direction?
The nature of materials I use requires that you work indoors in a studio setting, rather than on location. I make sketches and take photos of things that interest me and bring them back to the studio to develop.
How has your practice changed over time?
Initially I my efforts were to re-create reality, but I now lean more toward abstract work.
What was the most important thing you learned from being a self-taught artist? What’s something inherent in your art that couldn’t be taught?
I can’t really say I’m self- taught, because I’ve taken all levels of art classes for as long as I can remember. What I am learning on my own is when it is OK to back away from the ‘rules’ and just do something in a way that feels right to you.
What is your most important artistic tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
That is a hard thing to pin down, but I would have to say….my glasses!
What is a book that currently inspires you?
I’ve been reading a lot of books about the history of the western expansion. Apparently, father’s family, Breyfolgle, was one of the pioneer families of Overland Park. How this environment has changed over time is endlessly fascinating to me.
