Introducing You to a Fabulous Shibori Quilter –Carol Anne Grotrian

There are many shibori artists around the world whom I admire. Shibori quilter, Carol Anne Grotrian is one of the first I discovered when I was starting out. I find her work so inspirational. I am hoping you will to, if you don’t know her work already. Here is her website >>

Carol Anne combines traditional American quilting and Japanese shibori dyeing. She has been creating with shibori for over 30 years so that there is much to learn from looking at her stunning and innovative work. I am sharing just a few of her pieces that I especially love.

In particular I love the way she uses many shibori techniques to create such convincing landscapes. Visit her website and witness the great variety of her quilts and artworks. Be inspired in particular by her use of mokume shibori.

All the images in this blog are Carol Anne’s work.

Inspiration for a Shibori Quilter

Her large quilts and many smaller pieces are inspired by the places she lives and has experienced. She has lived mainly in the northeastern part of the U.S.A but has recently moved westward to Utah. I await to see what new work appears influenced by her new surroundings.

Additionally, she is motivated by the words of poems especially haiku, those compact expressive Japanese poems.

Here is a quote from Carol Anne about her landscapes: 

“My landscapes’ subtext is always ecological, but my subject is usually a quiet sense of place, often based on places I’ve experienced–what I call “breathing spaces” –where my art stops time, whether cycles of seasons, tides or day to night. It’s that bigger-than-human natural world, a gift of great beauty, whatever one’s spiritual beliefs. It always gives me more ideas for quilts than I have time to make them.”  

I love to use mokume shibori to create water patterns. Here in one of my blogs are some helpful tips as a starting point with mokume.

Methods of Working​

Shibori quilter Carol Anne Grotrian’s quilts begin with white cotton, then dyed with fiber reactive dyes and/or indigo. She believes Indigo is a perfect partner to shibori, discovering that a natural indigo vat is a centring and mediative process.  

Influenced by Japanese boro textiles many of her current works have moved away from traditionally sewing pieces of fabric together with finished seams. She uses a raw edge approach, where the fabrics are layered and quilted directly to batting and backing. Moreover, these pieces show her love of stitching and quilting by hand.

Furthermore, she has been part of a crit group of women artists and quilt makers. They have encouraged and supported each other since 1987! The group has successfully exhibited together though the voices and work of each member is quite individual.

Where to see

Her quilts are in corporate, private and museum collections. They have been exhibited nationally and internationally and have appeared in various publications.

Online Links to Shibori Quilter carol Anne Grotrian

Her website >>

Facebook @Carol Anne Grotrian Quilts & Shibori

Instagram @carol_anne_grotrian.

I do hope you love the work of Carol Anne Grotrian as I do and as a result be encouraged to try something new with your shibori pieces. Take a look at her website and Facebook and Instagram pages for more inspiration. There is so much to see.