LOOK: Artist Creates Stunning, Quilted Portraits From Old Family Fabrics

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — New Jersey artist Bisa Butler's breakthrough moment, she told BRIC TV in recent interview, was when she realized as an art student at Howard University that she could completely switch over to textiles.

"I don't need a canvas, I don't need a board, I don't need paint," she said in the video interview (embedded above). "I don't need any of those things that are making me sick. I can just sew within the comfort of my home, and my little girl can be right next to me. I don't have to be afraid that she's going to have her little fingers and hands and toes in all kinds of toxic materials."

Butler's quilted portraits of everyday folks — sewn from old family fabrics, and some new ones from Africa — have since grown into an art form all their own.

"People who you see every day... are like royalty," Butler said. "You can be sitting on the bus, and you see somebody across from you, and you're amazed that this person is so beautiful, this person has a heart of gold, but they're not really recognized as that. And so I wanted to be down with that."

A collection of Butler's portraits showed in the Richard Beavers Gallery in Bed-Stuy from February through the end of March.

"The response has been overwhelming," Beavers told BRIC. "I had a woman come in here and actually break down in tears because one of the quilts spoke to her that strongly."

Watch the full mini-doc above, or browse some of Butler's quilts below. And if you're dying to see her work in person, a few of her quilts will be on display at the Bruce Museum in Connecticut until April 24.