Featured Artist - Ken Ellis

The Threatening Ronin

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

42 x 34"

SOLD

Kusemono

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

50 x 38"

Genkuro Yoshitsune and Musashiboo Benkei

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

54 x 38"

Ogun

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with chains and beads

25 x 30"

Chango

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

25 x 30"

Elegua

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with feathers

25 x 30"

Orula

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with chains and beads

25 x 30"

Ochun

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with feathers, chains and beads

25 x 30"

Fela & Wives

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

44 x 60"

Yemaya

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with beads

25 x 30"

SOLD

Obatala

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

30 x 40"

I and I

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

25 x 20"

Aladdin's Castle

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted with beads

51 x 43"

Cardinal Tells a Tale

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

20 x 28"

SOLD

Elves

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

12 x 19"

SOLD

Honey and the Bee

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

11 x 12"

SOLD

Rain Catcher

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

12 x 15"

SOLD

The Education of a Dwarf

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

29 x 20"

SOLD

Billy Boop

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

6 x 8"

SOLD

Grampy

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

6 x 10"

SOLD

Bimbo

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

6 x 8"

SOLD

Out of the Inkwell

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted w/ beads

10 x 11"

SOLD

Stokey Carmichael / Kwane Ture

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

17 x 22"

SOLD

Roy Wilkins

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

23 x 17"

Whitney Young

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

15 x 17"

SOLD

H. Rap Brown / Jamil Al Amin

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

16 x 28"

Ella Baker

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

22 x 18"

SOLD

Diane Nash

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

16 x 20"

SOLD

Bayard Rustin

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

17 x 19"

Fred Hampton

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

20 x 18"

SOLD

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted

22 x 20"

SOLD

THE BARTENDER SERIES

Cato & Co. - Behind the Stick, Behind the Veil


Paddy Bauler Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	R.R. Bowie Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	John Dabney Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD

Harry Craddock Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	"Professor" Jerry Thomas Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	Joe Saltis aka Polock Joe Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD

Cato Alexander Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	Harry Johnson Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23"	E.B. Edelin Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23"

Ada Coleman Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	Orsamus Willard Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23" SOLD	Tom Bullock Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 18 x 23"

	Hinky Dink Kenna and Bathhouse John Coughlin Fabric Dye on Canvas, Hand-Quilted 32 x 25" SOLD

(Oct 30, 1954 � ) Ken is a native of Chicago and credits his interest in art to his father who taught him to sew. Taken from news images and stories, Ken's creations have ranged from shocking historical scenes of the life of black and native Americans to Haitian voodoo, crime figures, Chicago's punk rock scene, Asian art and children's nursery rhymes.

Having worked as a professional bartender in Chicago, Ken's recent works are dear to his heart and feature historically lessor-known actual working bartenders, going back prior to the Prohibition period, shining a light on their colorful past.

Ken's work is exhibited around the country and was featured in Anatomically Correct's exhibition Sewing the Seeds A Look at Violence in American History and Fairy Tale Friends in Chicago. Ken's Bonnie & Clyde quilt from the Sewing the Seeds exhibition can be seen on the cover of Dr. Dog's "Fate" album released on July 22, 2008 http://www.myspace.com/drdog.

"I am Chicago born, bred & educated, made my debut at Cook County Hospital. My early childhood was in BronzeVille, one of my earliest memories is drawing on the blank pages of a set Biblical storybooks my Ma had bought me. In 1960 my family moved to the near north side, my Pop took a job as a building's engineer/ janitor in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the corner of Scott & Astor. I spent my formative, teenage & early adult years living at 52 E. Scott , the people who lived in the building throughout the period were all wonderful & quite a influence on nurturing the Artist in me. Over the years several different moved in & out of the building among them were the Drakes, Dr.&Mrs. Coogan , the Weese's, the Rovner's . I attended Ogden Elementary from 1961 to 1968 , Lane Tech 1968 to 1972 taking the Comm. Art course, I attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Art from 1973 to 1975 studying Cartooning, Animation & Film Making, The School of the Art Institute in 1975/76 studying Animation, Columbia College 1976/77 studying Writing, Television Production & Intro. into Television. In 1976 my Pop pasted & I took over his job while still doing the school it lasted about a year I in the interim had discovered Punk Rock & the Bar La Mere Vipere & I had come to a crossroad & I been in the Bar business since. I have been drawing & painting as long as I can remember I originally painted in oils & was introduced to this medium by my x-wife Marilyn. We would use the dyes to make hand painted Tee's , pillows, & baby blankets, Marilyn had some painting she had done w/ the dye which she quilted by adding a batting to the back of the painting which gives the piece a quilted/ relief effect. Working with the fabric dyes, needle & thread I feel as though I'm working WITH the piece as oppose to working ON a piece with paint, this makes me feel more at one with the piece ( I have been known to sign in blood on some piece's" quite by accident ") For most of my early pieces I did them late at night after coming home from working at the club, I found painting & sewing soothing after a night of filling the glasses of the masses. Most of my early pieces are portraits of historical figures, both known & obscure. Themes I've incorporated in the early pieces gangsters, musicians, black western, native Americans, freaks. Since the late 90's I've began to use different drawing styles & adding beadwork & objects to my pieces & some of the recent themes have been Haitian Voodoo, African- American Northern Migration, Lost in History on my lighter side I also have done a series of Fairy Tale & Nursery Rhymes and pieces based on Japanese prints."

Ken's artwork can be seen in the film " High Fidelity" & you can read about it in the book "Wild Chicago" and he appeared on a WTTW television episode.

Several of his quilts are featured in the International Review of African American Art - vol.17 #1- The Black- Indian Connection in American Art.

His quilts have been exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center - Chicago, Bona Fide Gallery - Chi. IL- Dynamite Gallery- Grand Rapids Mi.- Thirteen moons Gallery- Santa Fe NM.- Two Rivers Gallery- Minn. Mn. - Wendy Cooper Gallery- Chi. Il.- Heaven Gallery- Chi. Il. and Rainbo Club in Chicago.

Ken was also featured in the film, You Weren't There, a history of the Chicago Punk Rock scene from 1977-1984.