Richela Fabian Morgan

I am a mixed media artist and fine crafter specializing in tape, paper, and found objects. I love to create art with familiar, everyday materials.

I primarily create two types of art: mixed media birds and narrative book sculptures. My birds are made with duct tape, paper tape, food packaging cardboard, magazines, old books, glue, wood, and acrylic paint. Each bird is tactile and colorful. I love to make bird art because people are very much like birds and can relate to them; I relate to birds. They come in all shapes and sizes. They tend to live in flocks and can be territorial. They all have different languages, but seem to know that they are all the same. When I make new bird, I feel like I'm getting to know another culture, and the world becomes a smaller place.

I love to make book sculptures because it is a way to show how words inspire my imagination. Books used to be such revered objects. I believe that books as objects still have meaning beyond the printed words on its pages. I can help it tell another story by turning it into a book sculpture. I create a new story from the receptacle of an old one. Each of my book sculptures depicts an imagined moment, and often relate to one another in a series. 

By sharing my art, I hope to inspire and instruct others to tell their personal narratives through art. And because I use familiar, everyday materials, the very idea of making art feels accessible. 

In addition to mix media art workshops, I love to run crafting workshops with specific projects. All my workshops utilize up cycled or recycled materials. In addition to reducing the cost of materials, it removes any preconceived labels that may be associated with crafting and supports a universal environment of simply making.

I have been a crafter since birth, a published writer since 2007, an instructor since 2009, and an artist since 2016. After receiving a BA in History from NYU, I worked in the production department of several big publishing companies. During this time, I became interested in prescriptive nonfiction writing, specifically crafting. I have published 3 crafting books with Barron's Educational Series, 1 crafting book with Clarkson Potter, and contributed to several other crafting/making books. I've written a total of 7 books. These books became the curriculum for all the craft workshops I taught.

My interest in creating art blossomed after watching the documentary "Handmade Nation" (2008/Faythe Levine) and I studied studio art at Hunter College. I then realized that I could use all my crafting skills to express whatever lived inside me, and in 2016 I started to exhibit my art. Around that time  I began to broaden the scope of my craft workshops, allowing for more individual creativity. 

2014 - present, Instructor, The Rye Arts Center

2018 - present, Workshop Instructor, Eastchester Public Library

2018   Volunteer Workshop Instructor, Westchester Children’s Museum

2014 - 2018, Workshop Instructor, AI Friedman

2017   Workshop Instructor, Somers Library

2013 - 2017 Workshop Instructor, Larchmont Public Library

2013   Workshop Instructor, Boston Public Library (several branches)

2013 - Workshop Instructor, The Friends of Cos Cob Library