Barbara Cheives and Kianga Jinaki, fiber artists and friends, will be sharing their excitement and lives of cultural activism as well as their love of artistic creativity at the upcoming Art Salon on August 5th.  The Rickie Report takes great joy in sharing this information, as each woman brings her own personality, creativity and her-story to the elements engendered by working with textiles.  This is Open to the Public, with a small fee to cover the costs of operating these Salons at the Armory Art Center, so ably accomplished by Elle Schorr.

 

 

 

AT THE ART SALON :

 

“SISTERS OF THE CLOTH”

 

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5TH, 2014

BARBARA CHEIVES AND KIANGA JINAKI

 

There’s a $10 fee to attend.

Armory Art Center

1700 Parker Avenue  W.Palm Beach, FL

 

 

 

 

Barbara Cheives says of her work, ” I learned to sew as a teenager and loved making clothes for myself and my friends.  In what seems like a former life, I obtained a degree in Fashion Buying & Merchandising and worked in the garment district for over 10 years.  Most of those years were spent buying and selling textiles.  When I left New York, I left that world behind until a Japanese American friend convinced me to work with him at the Houston Quilt Festival where he was selling vintage kimono to quilters….I was hooked.”

 

 

 

“I have a natural affinity for the African culture and with a new appreciation for the garments, art and culture of Japan, Afrasia was born.  The colors and textures of the fabrics work well together to form a unique marriage of cultures that preserves vintage Japanese Kimono and Obi blended with modern African fabric, African inspired trims, beads, and ‘found’ items. Call it multi-cultural recycling.  I spend my days as a consultant working to bridge the gap between cultures and I continue that work through my art. As a Fiber Artist, my one of a kind wearable and decorative art represents a harmonious blend of cultures.”

 

 

 

 

Barbara spends her days as a consultant working to bridge the gap between cultures, ” I continue that work through my art. You never know where life will take you. Whenever I’m asked how I got into race relations and diversity, I have a simple answer – GOD. I did not choose my current career, it chose me. The beauty of it is that now I have the best of both of my worlds. I can satisfy my social justice side through my work and my love of fabric and color through my art.”  

 

 

 

Barbara is the President and CEO of Converge & Associates Consulting, specializing in race and ethnic relations consulting and Cultural Competency Training.  Barbara’s consulting expertise includes law enforcement and public safety, media, education and corporations. Barbara is a native New Yorker who has called West Palm Beach home since 1990.  Additionally, she serves on the National Board of the Institute of Community Peace in Washington, DC. She is Immediate Past President of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. West Palm Beach Chapter and the Co-Chair of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church Social Justice Ministry. Barbara is an alumna of Leadership Palm Beach County, from the Class of 2002.

 

 

 

 

Kianga Jinaki says: “My media of choice are collage, dolls, & quilts. When it is enhancing to what I am creating, the written word is also incorporated. The influences of the African diaspora which were prevalent as I grew up in Baltimore, not only shaped me but my art. The love, honor and respect that I have for my heritage permeates my work. Doll making and quilting appeal to me because they are both multi-media constructions that allow me to indulge my love of working with fabric, fibers, and embellishments.”

 

 

 

 

“Starting with the initial idea of a piece I begin collecting the things that I want to incorporate in the final work. As the piece begins to reveal itself I add to or take away until before me is the art piece that I was reaching inside for. The inspiration for my work is everywhere and is funneled thru how I experience, see and feel things.”

 

 

 

 

 

She goes on to explain, “Romare Bearden once said ‘It’s not what you see when you looking at a painting, but what you feel.’ In my work I am also striving to get the viewer to connect to a feeling, to deliver a message. Sometimes that message is delivered as a whisper and sometimes I’m yelling at the top of my lungs.”

 

 

 

 

Kianga Jinaki is originally from Baltimore, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community Mental Health from Morgan State University.  In addition to being an artist, she is a licensed massage therapist and yoga teacher, and the mother of 4 adult children.  She is a teaching artist for the Norton Museum of Art’s P.A.C.E. program, and resides in West Palm Beach.

 

For more information about Barbara Cheives please email:  afrasia1@bellsouth.net

For more information about Kianga Jinaki please visit: www.kiangajinaki.com

 

 

 

 

 

ART SALONS

 

 

The Art Salons offer stimulating conversations with other artists, in a relaxed setting. As a springboard to each of our explorations, professional artists from South Florida are invited to present their work, talk about what influenced them, and examine the work of influential artists showing in museums and galleries. Our discussions cover the gamut of contemporary art themes, including conceptual, cultural, socio/political, environmental, race and gender focused and aesthetic practices, the materials and techniques used to convey these ideas, and where we fit into the world of contemporary conceptual art. They’re also an opportunity to explore the practical side of being an artist, of professional development and the sharing of useful resources.

Salons are facilitated by Elle Schorr.

 

 

TRAVEL DIRECTIONS:

NEW LOCATION: All Salons meet in the Library of the Armory Art Center, 1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida 3340, in the historic Art Deco Armory building to the left of the garden.

If you’re driving North on I-95, turn right/ east on Belvedere Blvd. Turn left at the light on to Parker Avenue. Continue north to Park Place, just before the fire station. The entrance and main parking lot of the Armory Art Center is halfway up the block on the left side.

If you’re driving South on I-95, turn left / east on Okeechobee Blvd. Turn right on Parker Ave, just before the Convention Center. Continue south past the fire station and turn right on Park Avenue. The entrance and main parking lot of the Armory Art Center is halfway up the block on the left side.

 

 

For coverage of your events, to place an advertisement, or speak to Rickie about appearing in The Rickie Report, contact The Rickie Report at:

Rickie Leiter, Publisher

The Rickie Report

P.O.Box 33423

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420

Rickie@therickiereport.com

561-537-0291