NORWAY — Frost Farm Gallery will hold a First Friday reception and artist meet-and-greet on Friday, Oct. 1, for the “Fiber to Pastel: Celebrating Life in Color” exhibit featuring original works by Cathy M. Grigsby of Bridgton.

One common thread has run through Grigsby’s entire creative career: a love of anything involving fabric. She started making her own clothes as a teen, and has been a quilter for 25 years. She is also experienced in fabric painting and dying, as well as beading, embroidery and other kinds of embellishing.

Recently, she has done extensive work with disperse dye printing. In this process dyes are applied to papers using many kinds of textured tools. After painting, the papers are cut into collages and are transferred onto polyester fabric using a dry mount press. “One of the things I love about this process is that the colors are so intense and permanent, and quite different from their original appearance,” Grigsby said.

Over the years, Grigsby’s artwork has changed a great deal. She has moved from being an oil painter and printmaker during college, to supporting herself with leather craft, to becoming an elementary art teacher. She has explored many mediums through classes at the Maine College of Art and at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle.

Grigsby began painting with pastels about eight years ago. “Mostly what I love is that pastels are easy to take outside,” she said. “For me, being outdoors is a kind of meditation. The beauty of the natural world, particularly here in Maine, is something that puts me in a state of reverence and awe when I stop long enough to truly be a part of it.”

Grigsby, a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in fne arts, has been an elementary art teacher in Bridgton for 25 years. Her hand-dyed and stitched quilts have been shown in the Bridgton Quilt Show and the Michigan Art Education Association show, and have been published in Quilter’s Newsletter magazine. She has lived in Bridgton for more than 26 years with her husband, and has three children and two grandchildren.

During the reception, from 5 to 8 p.m., Maya Best of Greenwood will sing and play guitar and harmonica with a blues-folk style. Her repertoire includes works from James Taylor and Bob Dylan to Van Morrison. She is also a visual artist.

The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit and sale will continue through Oct. 30 at the gallery in the historic David W. Frost farm, 272 Pikes Hill. For more information, visit www.FrostFarmGallery.com or call 743-8041.