Welcome
Oktavi Allison primary focus is poetry. She is currently finalizing a new collection entitled “Collage.” The collection highlights many of her works from 1994 through 2008. Ms. Allison is starting a new collection of spiritual poems called “Dianoigo” (Thoroughly Open). Oktavi has performed as a featured reader in Los Angeles, CA and Raleigh/Durham, NC. She has performed as a guest poet on the radio broadcast, Spoken Work Express on KPFK. She participated in the California Arts Council, Artist-in-Communities Residency program. While in California, Ms. Allison was one of the founding members of the womens writing group Motley Cabal and founding editor of Teen View, a Los Angeles newsletter for young writers. She is a member of the Carolina African-American Writers’ Collective. Oktavi has published two collections of poems “Restoration and Amandla.” Her poetry has been published in numerous anthologies. She also writes short stories, and she is particularly interested in the genre known as the "Short-Short" and has written other small articles.
Angel Maker
Oktavi made her first angel in 1998 while she was living in the canyons of Topanga, California. An “Abaca Angel” form caught her attention in a San Fernando Valley craft store. She started her usual process of experimenting with scraps of fabric, feathers, and trim. Now nearly ten years later, hundreds of her one-of-a-kind angels grace homes, offices, bedside tables, and sacred spaces.
Sewing, Quilting, and Knitting
Oktavi has been making “special order” lap and crib size quilts for over fourteen years. Ms. Allison specializes in purses, jackets, and small accessories. She fell in love with the magic of the sewing machine in her first home economics class, when she attended Brentwood Jr. High School in Log Island, New York. Her mother saw her excitement and purchased her first sewing machine. Her mastery was developed on her own. Oktavi's Aunt 
Martha introduced her to knitting when she was a young girl. The art of felting has become so popular craft, she uses it now to indulge in one of her favorite delights, purse making.