Spotlight: Darese King, Author of The Dress Goddess
Hello and welcome to the 2017 Soulful Chicago Book Fair’s official blog. As we approach the day of the fair, July 16th, we wanted to create a space to speak a bit about just a handful of the amazing authors who will be at the event. To get the ball rolling, we're going to start with Darese King, author of the newly released coloring book, The Dress Goddess.
Darese King is a fashion designer in the Chicago-land area who has been working professionally for the last five years. In this time she has created clothing for over 500 clients. This work is where King got her inspiration for her stunning coloring book, which focuses on formal wear, particularly dresses. She created this book for the purpose of fostering a love of art and attention to detail and beauty in both children and adults, while also viewing the book as a method of stress relief.
I was able to converse with King for a moment regarding her connection to the mission of the SCBF and she had this to say, "Being African American I believe it is very important to utilize our minds and talents to encourage more of our youth and community members that look like us to know that anything is possible and to explore their own talents." The spirit of The Dress Goddess is both graceful and playful at the same time and behind it are the intentions of a Black artist creating a venue to inspire Black people in the community to become creators of art as well. If you'd like to know more about the book, make sure you make it out to the event where King will be bringing her book.
