Kena Tangi Dorsey lives her life the way she wants to live her life.  It’s taken her in different directions throughout the years, but each step has added knowledge that she is able to use now.

While living in Harlem, New York, Kena had an abundance of access to African shops and boutiques along 125th Street, so she began infusing African wax prints, kente cloth and mud cloth textiles into her quilting projects -  by making wall hangings, table runners and quilted bags with them.  She also loves working with Indonesian Batiks and had fun purchasing a large collection of them on her trip to Indonesia a few years ago!  

This is one of Kena's favorite quilts! She calls it “Black Butterfly.”

“Oba!” was Kena's first Benartex Ambassador project for 2024. For her fabrics, she chose the “Transparency” collection by Modern Quilt Studio.

The purple quilt is a wall hanging quilt made of all African Ankara fabrics and a lavishly lavender organic cotton solid fabric for the background.

Making portrait quilts is one of Kena's favorite things to do,  “Marvalous” was published in Art Quilting Studio Magazine!

Connect with Kena

Website: Kena Quilt Studio

Facebook: Kena Quilt Studio

Instagram: kenaquilts

 

And Thanks to Shelly Martella for connecting us with Kena!

Connect with Shelly

Website: Threads & Ewe

Facebook: Threads & Ewe

Instagram: threadsandewe

Pinterest: Threads & Ewe

X: https://twitter.com/ThreadsandEwe

My interview with Shelly Martella