BY SHAINA SHEALY Kala Cotton’s Connections to Culture and Livelihoods I crack the cotton boll’s protective shell, so tough that the muscles in my fingers cramp as I ply the encasement apart. Its edges jab into my skin, relentless in shielding…
BY SOPHIA MARISA LUCAS The Paintings of Barbara Ellmann Originally trained as a dancer, Barbara Ellmann has been working as a visual artist for more than 30 years. While her work spans a range of subject matters and aesthetics, it is…
BY CRISTIANE KIMURA Natural Fiber Brings Riches to Brazilian Weavers It’s harvesting time for Golden Grass but the smoke columns on the horizon announce bad news. “We’re facing one of the worst droughts I’ve ever seen in my life,” says Adelcina,…
BY REBECA SCHILLER Zardozi: Market for Afghan Artisans It all started 20 years ago when Zardozi started an income generating project with the mission to provide employment opportunities to Afghan women refugees who crossed into Pakistan at the start of the…
SUBMITTED BY REBECA SCHILLER Although we’re soon approaching the madness of the holiday season, if you have a moment, or actually a couple of hours to yourself, settle in with a big cup of coffee or tea and immerse yourself into Wall Art by…
BY DAVID NAITO David Naito’s handmade oil cans I use glass to express my ideas. It’s a material with superb malleability and transparency that reveals and distorts in a surreal manner. Its fragility is also significant as it references the skin…
BY REBECA SCHILLE A brand that serves a cause Founded in 2009 and based in Wayland, MA, by Priya Samant, Earthfrendz’s mission is both lofty and altrustic: to provide a global platform for underprivileged people so that they can display their…
BY ADRIANA ROSTOVSKY Adriana Rostovsky’s Upcycled Art While of Uruguayan nationality, my family roots are European. My art is informed and driven by economic crisis in European history. During times of economic turmoil, recycling was not a question of fashion but…
BY ARIEL AZOFF Bringing daughters into the fold Telares Indígenas Nicaragua is a small group of enterprising women weavers living in the village of El Chile, in the north of Nicaragua. They weave beautiful fabrics in vibrant colors from re-used cotton…
BY ABIGAIL DOAN Yeleen Design’s pure and sensual sustainable textiles If you are an admirer or collector of West African textiles, you might be acquainted with the indigo and earth-toned mud cloths or the flowing ‘boubous’ robes of Mali. Traditionally symbolic…