And Still We Rise

Carolyn Crump creates original art that reaches across time and cultures. During her childhood in Detroit, Michigan, Crump's artistic talent was nurtured from the age of eight by family and friends. She received an art scholarship to the Cranbrook College of Art, where she earned a degree in advertising design. Her restless creativity in advertising led her to fine art, which she taught herself medium by medium. Crump works in diverse mediums, from acrylic paints, etchings, handmade paper, clay, and wood to recent works in fabric and illustration.

As a working artist for more than twenty-eight years, Crump has explored and continues to explore a style that is as diverse as it is consistently striking. She developed an illustration style that earned a gold award from the Newspaper Association of America. Her original paintings, prints, and sculptures are sought by collectors throughout the United States and Europe.

Crump's artwork has been exhibited throughout North America and Europe in group and solo exhibitions. Her quilts, sewn canvasses that tell powerful stories, have been included in several national tours. Crump views her art as an expression of insight, strength, and traditional love.

Renee Allen is a Philadelphia native who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a bachelor of science from Hampton University and a master of business administration from Pennsylvania State University.

A self‐taught quilter, Allen uses her quilts to amplify the voices of the soft‐spoken. The tactile quality of fabric enables her to create and exhibit the emotions of her subject matter. She finds herself most at peace when creating beauty with her hands. Allen is actively involved in teaching young people the joy of creating art pieces with textiles.

Allen's artwork has been featured in many publications, including Georgia Quilts: Piecing Together a History (2006), Journey of Hope: Quilts Inspired by President Barack Obama (2010), 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (2010), Artistic Expressions of Quilters of Color (2010), A Time, A Season: A Visual Tribute to Oprah Winfrey (2011), and Trip around the World: A Country Quilt Block Travelogue (2012).

Marion Coleman has worked in youth and family services for thirty years. During the past two decades, Coleman has created artwork that explores portraiture, memory, social change, and community.

Coleman's public art experience began with a project for the Juvenile Justice Center in Alameda County, California. She has created several public art projects ranging from framed wall works to large-scale metal and fiber installations.

Her art has been exhibited in the United States and internationally. As part of an outreach program sponsored by the U.S. State Department, Coleman exhibited several jazz quilts and was an artist in residence in San José and Limón, Costa Rica, in 2010. In 2011, she exhibited artwork in the Kaunas Textile Biennial event in Kaunas, Lithuania. In 2012, Coleman was a guest artist at International Quilt Week in Yokohama, Japan. In early 2013, her artwork was exhibited in the Art in Embassies program at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

Coleman's art has been presented in many publications, including the periodicals O: Oprah Magazine, American Craft, and Costco Connections, and the books Textural Rhythms: Quilting the Jazz Tradition (2007), Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African American Quilters (2009), Journey of Hope: Quilts Inspired by President Barack Obama (2010), and 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (2010).

Barbara Ann McCraw is a fiber artist and retired medical technologist. McCraw has sixteen years of quilting experience; she also teaches classes and lectures with her business partner, Teresa Sherling. McCraw's artwork is influenced by her imagination, the encouragement she receives from friends, and the memory of her mother. The artist also draws inspiration from vivid colors that signify movement, nature, and the beauty of the people around her. McCraw greatly respects traditional quilting and loves to learn the history behind the patterns. However, her true quilting interest is in creating one-of-a-kind quilts that call for techniques that are more contemporary.

McCraw's artworks have been shown in national galleries and universities. She is a multiple ribbon winner in the masters category at the Dallas Quilt Show, and her quilts have been exhibited at the American Quilt Week and International Quilt Week. She has been the subject of a CBS human-interest story and has been featured in a documentary created by the University of North Texas Radio and Film department.