Bisa Butler, Fiber and Quilt Artist
Originally trained as a painter, Butler earned a BFA cum laude (Howard University) and, while pursuing her Masters, discovered fiber art. “As a child, I was always watching my mother and grandmother sew….” She made a quilt for her dying grandmother and has been quilting ever since. To Butler, the fabrics she uses in her quilts capture the essence of her subjects. As she stated, “The more worn the fabric, to me, the more spirit and soul that’s in it.” Included in nationally renowned traveling exhibitions by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Butler just opened her first NY solo show in February (at the Richard Beavers Gallery). With her works in such prominent collections as the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Arkansas Art Museum, and the Kinsey Collection at the Smithsonian Museum as well as at Disney World’s Epcot Center, Butler was Art in the Atrium’s 2015 Featured Artist and exhibited at the Emperors Palace, in Johannesburg South Africa during the International Quilt Expo. A NJ native, Butler currently resides in West Orange, NJ. She teaches art in the South Orange and Maplewood public schools and is represented by the Hearne Fine Art gallery of Little Rock, Arkansas and the Thelma Harris Gallery in Oakland, CA. Please visit www.bisabutler.blogspot.com for more information.
David Keefe, Combat Paper NJ Founder; Artist; Marine Veteran
Montclair artist Keefe developed Combat Paper NJ (CPNJ) into a nationally recognized, award-winning community art program bringing veterans and non-veterans together to make paper and art out of military uniforms. Its ultimate goal is sharing the veteran experience and changing the culture of the “silent veteran.” A Marine Corps Sargent from 2001-2009, Keefe completed combat duty in Iraq as a riverine infantry scout (2006-2007). Currently Senior Assistant Dean for Veteran Initiatives at Columbia University’s School of General Studies, Keefe works to strengthen the veteran community, centralize resources, and sustain community practice through the arts. He co-founded the non-profit Frontline Arts, which provides resources and support for artists, veterans, and community-building art movements. As an Adjunct Professor of Art at Montclair State, Keefe uses the CPNJ model in his “Combat Paper for Veterans” course (the only one of its kind in the country), teaches painting and exhibits his own art throughout the country. Recipient of the Krider Prize for Creativity (2013), Keefe has been a visiting artist /lecturer at various universities, and was featured in print and on TV. With a BFA (U Delaware) and MFA (Montclair State), Keefe is also an art project consultant, curator and active artist. To learn more about Combat Paper visit www.printnj.org/combat-paper.