Cabrera, Cozbi A. 1963-

views updated

Cabrera, Cozbi A. 1963-

Personal

Born 1963. Education: Parsons School of Design, B.F.A.

Addresses

Home and office—New York, NY. Office—Cozbi, Inc., 530 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11231. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Dollmaker and illustrator. Former graphic designer and record album packager for Atlantic Records, Sony Music, and Lop Records; Cozbi, Inc. (retailer), Brooklyn, NY, founder and doll maker, 1997—.

Illustrator

PICTURE BOOKS

Laura Pegram, Rainbow Is Our Face, Black Butterfly (New York, NY), 1994.

Laura Pegram, A Windy Day, Black Butterfly (New York, NY), 1994.

Sandra Belton, Beauty, Her Basket, Amistad (New York, NY), 2004.

Nikki Grimes, Thanks a Million: Poems, Amistad (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

Although she developed a successful career as an art designer for several record labels, Cozbi A. Cabrera "felt that she was not fulfilled and that her voice was not being expressed," according to a contributor to Oprah.com. Following her passion, Cabrera turned to sewing, a hobby she had enjoyed since childhood, and transformed it into a new career. Her handmade dolls, works of art that feature tea-dyed or vintage textiles and dressmaker detailing, are retailed through a store that bears her name; they have gained a strong following and even attracted the attention and promotion of talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. "I've always been drawn to things that are done very well and with integrity," Cabrera told Sonia Alleyne in Black Enterprise, adding that she finds great integrity in creating the ethnic dolls she would have enjoyed as a child of color.

Cabrera's creativity extends from dollmaking to her work as an illustrator of picture-book texts such as Sandra Belton's Beauty, Her Basket. Set in the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, Belton's story introduces a young girl as she learns to appreciate her grandmother's traditional craft: making sea grass baskets. Spending a summer with her grandmother, the girl learns how the weaving of each basket represents her family's heritage. Cabrera's illustrations "immerse readers in the locale's earthy exoticism," noted a Publishers Weekly critic, while Terry Glover wrote in Booklist that her "dark, sometime dreamy pastels evoke the island setting." A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that "Cabrera displays rare sensitivity to color and light," while Erica Dolland dubbed the book's artwork "breathtaking" in her Black Issues Book Review appraisal.

Another book featuring Cabrera's illustrations, Thanks a Million: Poems, collects verse by Nikki Grimes that expresses gratitude for life's everyday wonders. The illustrations show simple scenes of thanks and feature a multicultural cast of characters. A Kirkus Reviews contributor felt that Cabrera's "vibrant acrylic paintings … add pop and personality" to the collection, while Mary N. Oluonye wrote in School Library Journal that the images are "distinctive, folksy, and effective."

"In our fast paced world, the items we cherish most and are excited about enjoying for generations are those that are made well, created in love and from heart," Cabrera wrote on her store's Web site. Her artwork, whether in her dollmaking or her illustrations, are done out of love, as she told Lawrence Bilotti for Country Living. "I wanted to feel that if something were to survive as an artifact—25, 50, or 100 years from now—it would be beautifully crafted and a reflection of its maker's skill and pride," she explained.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2004, Terry Glover, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 1192; March 15, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Thanks a Million: Poems, p. 48.

Black Enterprise, October, 2004, Sonia Alleyne, "The Doll Maker: Cozbi Cabrera Breaks the Mold," p. 203.

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2004, Erica Dolland, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 67.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March, 2004, Karen Coats, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 260.

Country Living, October, 2004, Lawrence Bilotti, "Making Muñcas," pp. 75-79.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2003, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 1446; February 15, 2006, review of Thanks a Million, p. 183.

Publishers Weekly, January 12, 2004, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 54.

School Library Journal, June, 2004, Anna DeWind Walls, review of Beauty, Her Basket, p. 96; March, 2006, Mary N. Oluonye, review of Thanks a Million, p. 208.