As Americans celebrate the inventions and legacies of Africans / African-Americans throughout history this month, reflections of their art, history and cultural traditions can be found in almost every aspect of our society. In recognition of their traditional African fabric textile contributions, the J&O Family would like to take a moment to highlight some of the beautiful waxed prints and metallics available for your crafting and quilting pleasure.
When we think about African fabric design, rarely do we as consumers give much thought as to the history, craft, and meaning behind the symbols, patterns, or design elements we see. Instead we ‘ooh‘ and ‘aah‘ at the bright colors and creative print, thinking about what we can make with this, what we can do with that . But until we have the opportunity to see its manifestation from concept to completion, we will never really appreciate the finished textile that seems to silently whisper…i am special, buy me!
With Black History Month officially kicking off this week, we thought it would be the perfect time to celebrate the multitude of contributions and achievements African-Americans have made toward the advancement of not only our country, but the human race as a whole in the fields of science, math, athletics, literature, medicine, technology, agriculture, art, music and more. From our farmer’s bible…aka…the Almanac created by Benjamin Banneker (appx 1791) , and clothes dryer by G.T. Sampson (1862), to the ever popular cell phone invented by Henry Sampson (1971) and house keeping friend …the dust pan, by Lawrence P Ray (1897), the list of ‘firsts’ invented by African Americans goes on and on. Each year since it’s inception, Black History month has been drawing more recognition to the achievements of the past, encouraging more creative ideas and first’s to come in the future, and offering exposure to the faces and stories our books have often left out in its attempt at rewriting American HIS-story.
