Background
Cummings grew up in Los Angeles, California, and earned a Bachelor in American Art History at Empire College.
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Michael Cummings
Edit ProfileCareer
He moved to New York in the early 1970s to take a position with the Department of Cultural Affairs and spent his early artistic career as a part-time collage and paint artist. After a work project to create a cloth banner for an exhibition in 1973, Cummings discovered his love for working with fabric and taught himself to quilt by studying the works of local quilters and how-to quilt magazines and books Cummings quilts in the narrative, story-telling tradition and is one of a few nationally known male quiltmakers.
His work often features bright, colorful African themes and African American historical themes.
Major quilt series include the "African Jazz Series" (1990), the "Haitian Mermaid Series" (1996), and the "Josephine Baker series" (2000). The United States. State Department has posted several of Cummings’ quilts in its embassies through its "Arts in Embassy" program
In addition, brands such as Absolut Vodka and Home Box Office have commissioned his work, and his quilts appear in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Designs in New New York Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Cosby collect Cummings’ quilts.
Membership
Cummings is a founding member of the founded by Carolyn L. Mazloomi.
