Cultured Expressions, Inc.

www.CulturedExpressions.com

As a lifelong fabricholic, I built a business around my love for African textiles in particular. Cultured Expressions specializes in the creative use of authentic African fabrics for sewing, quilting, decorating and crafts. It started with the publication of my first book, AFRICAN ACCENTS: Fabrics and Crafts to Decorate Your Home. Since then, I've been promoting my work through two more books (GLOBAL EXPRESSIONS and ON THE GO!) and by importing and selling fabrics, embellishments, kits and specialty merchandise to go with the books. Two favorites are our Jacquard Batiks and handcrafted brass adinkra symbols, both from Ghana.


I also offer related travel and tour opportunities, including our Textile and Craft Tour of Ghana (Sept 2010) and our 6th annual Quilter's Retreat, which takes place at a holistic spa in Negril, Jamaica (June 2011). In addition to helping others create their own artwork through workshops and the merchandise, I've also been carving out a bit more time to create custom handbags and commissioned wall hangings. I love what I do and I enjoy sharing it with others.


Friends are invited to my home studio in Rahway, NJ to shop-by-appointment, and a mini shop is always set up for workshops.


Artist's Statement:  Through my books, events and products, I want to offer people a unique avenue for self expression and at the same time, give them an appreciation for, and an understanding of African cultures and creativity.




Location:  Rahway, New Jersey, USA
Online shop:  CULTURED EXPRESSIONS, Inc.
Social Media:  LinkedIn  
Memberships:
   CHA Designer Member
   Newark Museum - Instructor & Member
   Textile Museum - Member
   Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Alumni Assn
Languages spoken:  English, some Spanish, a little Twi (spoken in Ghana)

African textiles available at Cultured Expressions, Inc.

+African Accents On The Go! Designing Accessories with Cultural Style


 

Tags:  Mudcloth, kuba, bogolan, retreat, embellishment, bead, ethnic, global, culture, how-to books

Susan Itkin Batik

www.susanitkin.com

I am a textile artist and I primarily utilize the centuries-old fabric dyeing technique of batik, using dyes and wax resist to create wall art, clothing, home décor, and greeting cards. Although I first tried batik many years ago as a teenage art student, I was drawn back to it in 1997 when I found the batik I created back in high school, a patterned skirt, folded away in a corner of the basement.  Thinking it would be fun to try it again, I began to batik, and I haven’t stopped since.  I love the planning part, which is like solving a puzzle. I love the tactile part of it – feeling the cloth, smooth when it is new, then rough when loaded with layers of wax, smooth and shiny and stiff when I iron off the wax, then silky and supple again when I get the last remaining wax out.  I love swooshing the cloth in the dye bath, watching the color develop, and then hanging my batiks up to dry. On a warm spring day, my backyard is enlivened by my colorful clothesline.

Because I enjoy scrapbooking, my playing with paper evolved into making cards, and of course I had to incorporate my batik into that!  I make greeting cards from photos of my batiks, sometimes bits of those photos crafted into a collage. Each card is hand crafted, creatively matted and embellished.

I welcome custom orders. I recently batiked a dress for a mother-of-the-bride. We collaborated on the design, which had elements from one of my wall hangings.

I have exhibited and sold my work throughout the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. Most recently I exhibited my wall hangings and scarves at the Maurice Pine Public Library Gallery in Fair Lawn, NJ. My cards are currently for sale at Stoopher and Boots, located on the Upper West Side in New York City. I have SusanItkinBatik shops on Etsy and 1000 Markets.

Although mostly self-taught, I studied batik at the New School for Social Research in New York. I minored in Fine Arts at Syracuse University, where I obtained a B.S. in Communications. 

Artist's Statement:  Batik is great "therapy" for a former perfectionist like me. Much like the flora that inspires my work, batik is an imperfect perfect art.  As no two leaves are alike, no two batiks are alike.  Just like the colors on a flower’s petal, the dyes on a piece of fabric blend a little differently each time. 

My anticipation and delight in each blossoming flower reflects my hope and joy each time I remove the wax from a completed batik.   The beautiful imperfections in the batik process have taught me to value the unique and enjoy the unexpected.

"Anthurium", detail, batik by Susan Itkin

Location:  Oradell, New Jersey, USA
Online Shops:  susanitkinbatik
Social Media:  Twitter, My Space
Memberships:  Etsy NJ Team
Languages spoken:  English

Tags:  batik, silk, scarves, floral, clothing, cards, pillows, cotton, wall hanging, colorful

dbk design arts

 www.dbkdesignarts.com

i create unique, one of a kind scarves, metal mesh jewelry and accessories. i use a wide variety of materials including ribbons, kimono fragments, recycled textiles, as well as vintage mid-century fabrics.  my customer is someone who seeks out unusual and individual pieces. i have had success with trunk shows and private sales, and would like to enter the retail market.

Artist's Statement:  I have a lifelong love for color, form and texture.  My mother, who studied fashion design, taught me to sew at age 4 and I have loved textiles ever since.  My projects have included embroidery, knitting, sewing and other traditional needle art forms. I have taken these forms and used them in nontraditional ways to change the viewers’ perception of, and reaction to them.  Having earned a BFA in painting, I have worked with oil and acrylic paints, metals, fabric and yarn.  In my fiber works, I now “paint” with yarn, ribbons, and other materials. My experience of creativity is a journey with constantly changing inspirations and forms of expression. I am always looking to learn new methods and materials.

My goal is to create objects of beauty that delight and enhance, and to evoke associations with memories and events in the wearer’s lives. Ultimately, I want to make my art a part of their lives that gives joy and beauty. 

-Debrah Block Krol

Location:  Millburn, New Jersey, United States

Memberships: famm, asid, potomac fiber craftsmen

Languages spoken: English

Knitted Copper Cuff by dbk design arts

Tags:  scarves. mesh,knitted wire, silk, ribbon,woven, embroidery, pillows shawl

DharmaKarmaArts

http://dharmakarmaarts.etsy.com

My name is Indira. I create original yoga art in watercolor, sari wall art in mixed media, recycled silk scarfs from old Kanchipuram saris, decorative wooden boxes and jewelry inspired by my Indian heritage.  I have a successful career in higher education but have been an artist/craftswoman of some kind or the other all my life. I paint in oils and in watercolor and came to jewelry making only recently. I am self-taught in many of my crafts and what I did not learn myself, I learned from my mother.

My mother taught me to sew. She learned sewing from a Portugese woman who taught her to cut patterns precisely and efficiently. My mother once told me that during the period she was learning to sew, she made one new frock for me every week. For a long time, she sewed clothes for the entire family and as we grew older she taught us to make our clothes. It was not until our adulthood that we revolted and started getting our blouses and petticoats sewn by professional tailors! Sewing your own clothes had become quite unhip.

I got my first sewing machine as a wedding anniversary gift from my husband. Like my mother, I made dresses for my daughter till she revolted against feminine dresses for blue jeans upon entering kindergarten!

I left India a long time ago but India has not left me yet. My work is grounded Indian aesthetics, especially that of the Tamil culture. I use the colors, materials that were part of my life growing up in India and which have informed and shaped my own idea of beauty in my artistic creations.  If you have a taste for Indian culture, artwork and colors, then Dharmakarmaarts is for you.  I donate all proceeds from the sales of my products to aid physically handicapped children and adults through Sukriti Social Foundation. For more information about Sukriti, go to http://www.sukriti.org.




Location: Summit, New Jersey, USA
Online shops: 
   dharmakarmaarts on Etsy
   dharmakarmaarts on 1000 Markets
Blog: dharmakarmaarts
Languages spoken: English, Tami, Hindi

 Recycled silk scarf by Dharmakarmaarts

1000 Markets

DharmaKarmaArts

Visit the Shop

Tags:  sari wall art, kanchipuram silk, recycled