August 24, 2008
Mark your calendars for September 5, 2008 from 10:30am to 12 noon, when I’ll be the guest on Design Scheme Interiors’ live internet radio show, “Inside Design,” The radio show is hosted every-other Friday by Susan Featherstone-Schemm and Sherry Burton Ways, the owners of Design Scheme Interiors, LLC, and we’ll be discussing home, interior décor and art.
So call to participate in the topic at 301-560-6992 in the DC/MD/VA area or dial 1-866-856-5903 nationwide. You can also e-mail your questions during the show to insidedesign@im4radiodc.com . They also maintain an online archive of shows, in case you miss it. Talk to you soon! —— lisa
August 21, 2008
Following Cultured Expressions’ first exhbit at the AQS show in Nashville this weekend, I have the honor of being the featured artist at an informal reception hosted by my friend Phyllis Hildreth at her gorgeous fiber studio, Falcon Feather Fibers. If you’re in town, please join us for some creative inspiration and refreshments this Sunday, August 24, from 1 to 4 pm. I’ll have a few finished works available for purchase, and it’s a great opportunity to check out this unique space. Learn more about its offerings for fiber enthusiasts of all ages and all skill levels. We hope to see you there, at 1207 Jefferson Street in Nashville. Contact: info@falconfeatherfibers.com (Photo: Falcon Feather Fibers)
August 6, 2008
Cultured Expressions is pleased to be nominated for the third year in a row for a Black Web Award! As a two-time winner (in 2007 and 2008), we’re excited about being the site to beat in the category of Best Site for Crafts, & Decor and Creative Living. And with 2009 marking the 10th Anniversary of the publication of my first book, African Accents, a third win would be the perfect complement to a year-long celebration! So please vote for Cultured Expressions (more than once if you like) at the Black Web Awards website. And while you’re voting, be sure to check out the nominees in the other categories, too, celebrating black excellence online! Enjoy…
August 4, 2008
I’m packing stuff up now for the annual Lowell Quilt Festival, located just outside of Boston, MA. The show runs from Thursday thru Sunday, August 7-10, and we’ll be showing off the new shipment of batiks and more. These batiks are the best assortment ever, lots of brights and overall, a very exciting group! Come check them out, along with our books, beads, brass embellishments and more, and say hi to my mom, Sylvia (she’s not a quilter but she’s cool anyway, so I let her ride shotgun)…
It’s Cultured Expressions’ first time at this event, where the art of quilting takes over the entire town & surrounding areas, with special exhibits, shows & more. Hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy some of it following a quick and easy set-up!! See you there — lisa
July 29, 2008
OK, even though I had the fabric and vision for this dress long before Michelle Obama appeard on “The View” in her black/white number (just for the record, love Michelle, hate the show - they yell too damn much!!), I guess you could consider my dress a tribute to the Next First Lady…it’s the whole black-white-chic-with-no-pantyhose” thing. Pantyhose are a waste of perfectly good spandex, but I digress…
If the Black/White Dress is the New Little Black Dress, I’m ready…how about you??
lisa
July 27, 2008
Yes, I’m pleased to confirm that I pulled an all-nighter on July 11 to complete my vintage Butterick dress to wear to a 3pm event on July 12! I decided to underline the entire dress in lightweight Sheer Magic fusible interfacing and got nostalgic about my “glory days” at HTC, where I got paid to experiment with interfacing all day long - canustandit?
Anyway, the fusible gave the lightweight cotton/spandex foliage print just enough body and I felt very accomplished and can’t wait to get to my machine again for a fashion session - and happily, we have an October 4 wedding to attend — nothing motivates me like a deadline…
Oh, and the shoes were so comfortable, I didn’t even take them off til we got home - shoutout to the DSW clearance section ; ) Maybe heels aren’t so bad after all - I mean, occasionally!! Stay tuned.
June 30, 2008
Sometimes I get so caught up in the quilt world I forget how pitiful my wardrobe has become, but I’m freshly inspired by the need for a dress for an event on July 12, so here goes… in Philly I found this cotton print with just enough stretch to keep things interesting but comfortable. Even before that I bought the shoes for inspiration, so I knew I was wearing some kinda black thing. Last night I finally settled on Butterick 6582 (the blue view - absolutely no poufiness or shoulder bows!!) and cut it out, so this is one of today’s goals…I’m also inspired by the total cost - fabric $10.60 including tax, pattern $1.99 at a JoAnn sale. I guess now you’d like to see a photo of it finished…yeah, me too!
Coming soon - our Embellished African Mini Quilt Workshop comes to the Newark Museum on Friday, July 11. Here’s a detail from one of the samples, a mix of jacquard batiks, silk douppioni, beads, cowries, fabric accents and novelty yarns. And of course, a tree branch is inserted into the rod pocket. You can bring your own fabrics & trims (and tree branch!), or purchase your selections in class from a variety of batiks, bogolan (mudcloth) and more, not to mention Cutlured Expressions growing assortment of embellishments…
Register today (see page 4, Quilting) and hang out with me at the Museum from 10-4. While we work, we’ll discuss the current exhibit, Glass Beads of Ghana, and even sneak out during what will be a well-deserved creative break, to take a peek at it.
I recently returned from four days of vending at QSDS - the annual Quilt Surface Design Symposium - held in Columbus, OH. It was inspiring on many levels, being surrounded by both not-so-famous and nationally-known quilt artists alike; it was a rare and interesting opportunity to view their works-in-progress, as they were immersed on classes that varied from 2 days to 9 days long — canustandit?? So I was peddling my newest group of jacquard batiks, brass and bead embellishments, my books and more and still had time to work on my own projects. It was also good to catch up with some familar faces in a select group of about 10 vendors, each with very unique and culturally inspired merchandise - not a plain ol’ calico in sight ; )
Above: a part of my hotel room display.
In town at the same time was “Material Matters,” an excellent quilt exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art, which included work by some of the symposium instructors and attendees, very cool (through August 31). And if that weren’t enough, I had a chance to check out the NQA quilt show as a regular consumer this time, another rare treat (Cultured Expressions exhibited at this show in 2007 and as a vendor you never really get to see much of it). So thanks to my odd-looking rental car (ever hear of a Chevy HHR?) and my Blackberry navigation system, I took in the pertinent fiber art sights and enjoyed a day of actual leisure on Friday, before opening up for business on Saturday morning.
But back to QSDS, the 2009 schedule is set and I’m planning to check it out again next year…maybe I could even squeeze in a class (?)
June 18, 2008
It ws good to be back as a vendor at the NJ Quilt Convention. (I missed it last year to attend a publishing event to launch African Accents ON THE GO!) The book was well received, along with the newest brass embellishments, bead packets, and oversized sadza batik panels. Not to mention our latest jacquard batiks! I had also had the privilege of seeing three former students who reported that they are now hooked on fiber arts as a result of one of my African Mosaic classes at the Newark Museum at least two years ago! One (Janice) is now an accomplished doll maker, and I’ve asked her to come up with a beginner’s dolll class so I can now learn from her — at Cultured Expressions, the inspiration comes full circle!! Check out Janice’s blog. I’m so proud of all of all of my students and I’m honored to have played a part in their new-found self expressions - very cool!!
And, as always, the show was one of my own best sources of inspiration for new products & ideas. Watch this blog for a quick, easy and very cute carryall, an idea that incorporates repurposed clothing, and in the tradition of Cultured Expressions, a slice of bogolan (mudcloth) here or there… I’ll try to post it before leaving for QSDS on Friday!
