Feature
Inheritance, open reverse quilt
I am pleased to introduce my latest book Inheritance as the College Book Art Association (CBAA) Artist of the Month. In the article, I discuss thoughts and processes involved in creating Inheritance, a book that features several unusual materials. Read the article here.
Join me Tuesdays, October 12, 19, 26 from 7–9pm CT (convert your time zone) for a virtual workshop sponsored by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) to build a book that serve as a personal library for adding text and imagery to your book work. Learn low-tech methods for adding text to book pages, creative ways to attach images,, and how to assemble samples into an album.
Each session will feature demonstrations, discussion, and brainstorming. Participants may follow along or work on their own between sessions. Together, we’ll create a tool that can be used to enhance or inspire your next project!
Additional details and registration here.
A lovely chat with Molly Burrows for Fiber Stories at Craft Boston, July 22, 2021.
Black is Every Color, detail
I was recently interviewed by Textileartist.org, an on-line resource for fiber art artists, curators, collectors, and enthusiasts based in the UK. Read the interview here.
I was recently interviewed by Voyage Dallas Magazine, part of the Voyage Group of magazines based in Los Angeles. Click the image below to read the article.
Alisa Banks in her studio
When is Now
Read MoreWrongful Termination addresses race-based discriminatory practices. Starting in the 1980’s, multiple suits have been filed against employers, schools, and other agencies by people of color (primarily women) who were fired, passed over for promotion or hiring, or sent home for wearing their natural hair. Wrongful is a unique altered book featuring two original poems and texts from newspaper editorials.
In 2019, California and New York became the first and second states respectively, to pass the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair or CROWN Act, to end race-based hair discrimination. According to a study sponsored by Dove:
A Black woman is 80% more likely to change her natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work.
Black women are 50% more likely to be sent home or know of a black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair.
More information about the CROWN Act can be found here. The CROWN Act is not about feeling good about oneself or one’s body, but about fighting discriminatory practices based on race.
A special thanks to Annie Howe, for the warm welcome she extended to her Baltimore studio earlier this year. Annie introduced me to a new knife and insisted that I bring home the samples that were used to carve out the book. I had so much fun at our visit that I didn’t think to take photos!
This tool was created for Modeling the Message: A Fusion of the Verbal and the Visual, a talk I gave at Scripps College for the Frederick W. Goudy Lecture Series, February 6, 2020. Click the button below to download your free standard copy of this tool and use it to evaluate your project. Print the pattern on regular paper. Folding instructions are included in the document.
To Use: Spell out the 4 principles - Communication, Design, Form, or Pattern while opening and closing the model. Read and answer the question that opens. Flip up the corresponding triangle for action tips.
For an interesting read about the cootie catcher, the form used for this tool, see the article linked here.
When Is Now is featured in the Exposure section of the Summer 2019 Fringe issue of the Surface Design Journal. The journal is published each season by the Surface Design Association, whose mission is to promote awareness and appreciation of textile-inspired art and design through publications, exhibitions, and conferences.
