"Ajani" by Unicia Buster

Finally, a new piece I'm working on called (for now) "Ajani." I have a long ways to go but so far the squares (more like rectangles) for the outer border are done. The pieces for the portrait are all cut out and ready to be appliqued. After which, I will have to add details using stitching and fabric paint. Then I will be using green seed beads for the eyes and wrapped cording for the hair, which I'm not sure how will do and what color I will use. I can't wait to see the finished result! I may do an inner border of a dark purple and edge off with a light purple. This guy is a talented poet, musician, artist and hair stylist. In the quilt, I feature some photographs of him as a performer.A detail of one of the squares below:

The original photograph, which I took, that I am using as the imagery for the center panel.

Drawings of Todd Hobson by Unicia Buster

These are three drawings I did recently using graphite (forgive the camera phone shot). They are of the same person, Ajani Sekou, a musician and natural hair stylist originally from Richmond, Virginia, now residing in Atlanta, Georgia. I surprised myself by drawing these because I did them in the span of two days. Not a big deal to most, but, for me, I stopped drawing over a decade ago. I was truly inspired after hanging out with this individual and, hopefully, the feeling will continue and I will create more things once again.

Facepainting and Two Small Wall Hangings

I made up a friend's face, Shanaye, for Halloween. A co-worker took this picture. I did hers better than I did my own face.

"Freedom with Constraints" and "Windy" by Unicia Buster

I haven't posted in a while. But I haven't done much art in a while either. But there a few things. I am currently exhibiting some of my wall hangings and photographs at Elegba Folklore Society on the corner of 1st and Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The show will be up until January 31st. Here are two new wall hangings I did for the show.

I - the woman who couldn't run a mile - AM GOING TO RUN 26 OF THEM.

Check out my page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/richmar12/ubuster
Thank you so much for your support.

"Grandmother's Pearls of Wisdom" by Unicia Buster

I did this piece for my aunt, Juanita Buster, and entered it into an exhibition at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia titled "Pearls of Wisdom". It was initially called "Grandmother's Flowers." The lady on the pot is my grandmother, Mary Alice Buster. The center sunflower is an image of her five children by birth. In the centers of the remaining four flowers are the children, grandchildren and husband of four of her children. It's a play on the family tree theme. Stitched at the top and bottom are three quotes that my grandmother often said. And Mama used to say is what's printed on her shirt. Imitation pearls are stitched throughout. Enjoy.

"Cockatoo Mohawk" by Unicia Buster (Update)

This piece is still a work in progress. I have added some details since the last post of this wall hanging. I used fabric paint on the face and neck as well as satin stitching. I haven't worked on this piece in a while. The next phase will be to add beading and finish the applique. Then I will do a border and sandwich the quilt with batting and a back. I should be finish in about a year. :-)

"Afro Clouds" (Collection of Dr. Davis) and "Afro Flowers" (Collection of Mr. Anderson) by Unicia Buster



"Afro Clouds" by Unicia R. Buster (2009)

"Afro Flowers" by Unicia R. Buster (2009)