My name is Kena Tangi Dorsey, and I'm a quilt artist, teacher, speaker, mentor, designer and owner of Kena Quilt Studio. I currently live in Palmdale, CA, but I began sewing and quilting a little over 20 years ago while living in Harlem, NYC.
Early on, I was influenced by many of the Harlem Renaissance artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Zora Neale Hurston, James Van Der Zee, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. So, it’s no surprise that when I quickly became intrigued with portrait quilts, I began making raw edge appliqué story and art quilts using images that reflect African American people. While living in Harlem, I had an abundance of access to African shops and boutiques along 125th Street, so I began infusing African wax prints, kente cloth and mud cloth textiles into my quilting projects - by making wall hangings, table runners and quilted bags with them. I also love working with Indonesian Batiks and had fun purchasing a large collection of them on my trip to Indonesia a few years ago! I teach both in- person and live virtual classes and workshops, and I want to share that passion with you!
So, no matter whether you are a confident beginner quilter or an intermediate/advanced quilter looking to add new tools and techniques to your tool-kit, my online courses are for you!
Sign - up today and get started making beautiful quilts!