In today’s conversation, Dario sits  with fiber artist and storyteller Bisa Butler. Bisa tells the stories of African heritage and American home through an artistry and craft we all know as quilts. Her use of vibrant color and fine fibers reminds us that intentionality, textile, and choice allows our spirits to be known and rendered as portraits suspended in time and stories never forgotten. 
In this episode we explore themes of investing in your artistry, the universal human spirit, how a successful artist stays grounded, and Dario’s and Bisa’s 90s R&B/Hip Hop inspired handmade teen wardrobe 
Things we mention
Time as a function (and an illusion) of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar (gregorian calendar)
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/negritude/ (Negritude) movement and who are we when ‘universal’ seems to naturally mean white 
http://kalamu.com/neogriot/2017/05/25/info-the-doom-and-glory-of-knowing-who-you-are-james-baldwin/ (James Baldwin, Doom and Glory of Knowing Who You are, Dostoevsky)
Bisa’s time studying https://art.howard.edu/ (art at Howard University )included investigating the works and lives of 
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/alma-thomas-4778 (Alma Thomas)
https://www.elizabethcatlettart.com/bio (Eizabeth Catlett )
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jacob-lawrence-2828 (Jacob Lawrence) 
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/henry-ossawa-tanner-4742 (Henry Tanner )
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/edmonia-lewis-2914 (Edmonia Lewis )
https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/ (Gordon Parks )
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/james-vanderzee-6593 (James VanDerZee)
The beauty and genius of https://jackshainman.com/artists/el_anatsui (El Anatsui) 
Episode Playlist and Film List 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O01knIMTEpY (A short film (aka video) about time travel as it appeared on Yo! MTV Raps: Here Comes the Hammer by MC Hammer )
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110186/ (Jason’s Lyric )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL-pm-xRb40 (I’m so Into you by SWV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIh07c_P4hc (Ordinary People by John legend) 
https://www.instagram.com/bisabutler/ (Bisa Butler on Instagram)
All the latest news about Bisa can be found on https://linktr.ee/bisabutler (Bisa’s Linktree )
This conversation was recorded on Jan 6, 2022
Host https://www.instagram.com/dario.studio/ (Dario Calmese) 
Producer https://www.instagram.com/carmendharris/ (Carmen D. Harris)  
Visual Art Direction and Designs: 
http://riverwildmen.com/ (River Wildmen), https://www.instagram.com/afrovisualism/ (AfroVisualism), https://www.instagram.com/stlab/?hl=en (Stephane Lab)
Original Music composed by http://www.dariocalmese.com/ (Dario Calmese) 
Visit us at https://www.blackimagination.com/oral-history (blackimagination.com )