By Janet Wight

Atelier Mamako is an art studio established by Minneapolis residents Carmen Elate and Jacques Elate Joss.

These fiber artists make eye-catching wearable art pieces that are meant to be used as patches on clothing.

“There is a lot of layering, a lot of juxtaposition; it is truly a mix of bits and pieces of fabric to form new stories,” Jacques explained. They collaborate to come up with unique designs. “Each piece is a conversation that we have as artists,” he added.

Carmen and Jacques have been collecting fabric from their travels along with donated pieces for three decades. Carmen also designs some of the fabrics. In addition to patches, they also craft these collages into handbound journals, she said, and the patches are also suitable for framing.

They get a great deal of satisfaction when their wearable art pieces and journals travel to different states, or even across the ocean.

“Having collected a lot of material, it’s almost like there was a need to put the material back into the world instead of just gathering it,” Jacques said.

“The patches were a long evolution of other art forms for both of us,” Carmen added.

These collages, ranging in price from $10 to $500 and up, are unique because each is one of a kind and the artists follow their intuition, they explained.

Most of Carmen’s and Jacques’ sales come at art fairs. They also offer their work at local Minneapolis farmers markets and through their website, ateliermamako.com.

Carmen, who grew up on a farm in North Dakota, moved to Minneapolis in 1991. Jacques, a francophone from Cameroon, grew up in both Cameroon and the northern suburbs of Paris. He became an American citizen in 2007. The couple met on the dance floor at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Both Carmen and Jacques have had long careers as educators. They live and create art in their home studio in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis while enjoying the company of their dog, Sunny, a rescue Husky/Labrador mix. The couple, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this year, has three grown children.

Carmen has always considered herself an artist. She was a creative child, decorating mud pies and using her vivid imagination to make up plays, stories and games.

Although Jacques has always embraced his artistic instincts, he did not think of himself as an artist until he started writing poetry. To him, some of the pieces they create are visual poems, since poetry also consists of patterns. He is also a disc jockey and enjoys musical patterns as well.

Carmen’s advice to aspiring artists is to “do what you love, what feels good, and what feels right. Listen to that inner voice.”

Jacques offers similar recommendations. “Growing as an artist is exciting but it is also difficult. Just be yourself and do what drives you.”        

Janet Wight is a regular freelance writer for the Bugle.