I have always liked working with the grid, for its inherent stability.
It removes composition from the plan, which leaves only the wonders of surface: color, pattern, texture, sheen…and how all of these elements play against one another.
Which gives me plenty to think about, thank you!
These images are details from two mid-sized (2′ x2′) collage-paintings I’m working on.
They are part of my continual exploration of how we view time; these fall into the very loose sub-category of “What If We Marked Our Days With Our Most Glorious Feelings Rather Than Numbers And Words?”, which is a bit of a mouthful, but a good thing to ponder.
They also fall into my determined effort to use up all the paper bits and lovelies I have saved for years and years (and that seem to multiply in the bins!) to make way for the fresh and new.
I don’t feel that these are complete, yet, but I’m at a point where I need to stop.
I have to take time to recognize what is working, and what will resolve the work.
Sometimes, that involves putting a piece away for a week or longer, so that when I pull it back out, I can see it with “fresh eyes.”
This time, what I’ve done is move these works downstairs where I can live with them for a bit…see them in the changing light and in a living space away from the studio.
We’re just all co-existing here – without judgment – for a while.
cindyricksgers 
Intriguing and pleasurable to look on and ponder!
Thank you, Gretchen! I always look forward to your feedback!
These are just beautiful, Cindy.
Thanks, Kate! I think they are quite beautiful, too, but am not quite sure if they are “art” yet!
you are surely good in math?! your compositions always have great balance and a sense of order. these are also calming! after a long day of travel, i’m happy to see something calm and soothing!
time for me to get busy w/my very-late timeout for art!
z
I never think of myself as “good in math,” but thirty plus years of serving has given me an uncanny speed and accuracy when adding up a string of figures and figuring tax. The grid offers strength and balance and order; I contribute a counter-balance with my kindergarten-level cutting and pasting. Sometimes, combined with fortuitous combinations of materials, it all comes together. (Sometimes not!) Thanks for reading, and for your lovely comments!
I didn’t realize being an artist could be so complicated. As Playamart recognized, math and order is part of your process. Then I think, what is art anyway? It is creation, whether an abstract painting on canvas, an architectural masterpiece, a putting together of words, a culinary concoction…
You are truly an artist, Cindy, and I wish I could see your works in person. Thanks for sharing them here for a little taste.
Oh, Sara, thank you! I like to think that we are all artists in our own way, if we are thoughtful in our organizing, combining and arranging of our lives or of the objects in our lives. It is a good exercise for me to post my work and talk about it, and I’m enjoying that discipline. Thank you for reading, and for your kind comments!
Oh I so agree with putting the things we’re working on on a back burner sometimes. Instinctively you just know when it’s time!
I really enjoy these process posts!
Thank you, Karen! Yes, I make things that I like to look at, but without that break-time, I have a hard time resolving it as a work of art, not just a pretty pattern. Thank you for reading, and for your comments!