To say I’ve been grinding since the beginning of the new year is an understatement. Hustle harder vibes have me I’m feeling extra spicy and on edge.
Leaving the Calm app behind for beach breezes, the sound of the waves and the chirping birds as my morning wake up call in St. Croix is the restorative respite I need.
The assignment…
Picking mangoes, avocados and soursop
Breakfast on the beach
Swim with turtles
Blue Mountain hiking trail right out back
Farmers market soca party
Sailing to Buck Island
St. Croix Yacht Club hang
Farm to table dinners
Instal outdoor kitchen at Sky Garden Retreat
Point Udall Sunrise and Sunsets from Cane Bay
Christiansted HarborSky Garden Tree HouseCane Bay Sun SetCane Bay BreakfastSt. Croix Digital Collage
Despite a growing commitment to racial equity, the day-to-day experiences of women of color are not improving. Women of color face similar types and frequencies of disrespectful and “othering” behavior as they did two years ago before the Black Lives Matter movement galvanized worldwide.
Most days, I feel like I am scrambling to the top of Chutes and Ladders’, board game. For each step forward, take two steps back. Land on good deeds of allyship to climb ladders, but watch out for the haters, their passive aggressive chutes are a doozy and will send you tumbling down the ladder, to start the climb all over, again.
On view at Art150 studio #231, 2nd floor 150 Bay Street. Enter at 1st Street and Provost and ride the elevator up to the 2nd floor. My studio is on the Bay Street side of the building.
Chutes and Ladders is on display though the end of June and is a featured event for JCFridays Friday June 3rd from 6:00-9:00pm.
Chutes and Ladders
Vintage Gi Joe action figures, black metallic yarn, handmade eyelash yarn, black and brown cotton/rayon poly blend fabric, African printed fabric, vintage African fabric wrapped on recycled polyurethane spliced jungle gym rope netting.
Those familiar with my work, see the clear inspiration from Nick Cave. YES, I am all about reimagining found materials to create a post racial future. AND it goes deeper than that. I too share the belief that “beauty is optimism.”
From a recent interview with This Is Colossal…
This IsColossal : How do the materials that you use—relate to the more conceptual aspects of your practice? I know sometimes they help draw people in because they’re so visually striking, but how are you thinking about that as you’re working?
Nick: I have to think about the journey and how I get your willingness to explore and go with me. I’m always thinking about ways into the work. Once you’re in, then I tell you what is the root of the work, where is it grounded. At that moment, you have to make that decision. Do I shy away from that and consume myself with the beauty? Beauty for me is optimism. It is the future. It’s me colliding these two forces together and challenging myself, as well as the viewer, to start to dissect, to start to expand on the narrative, to talk about what they’re emotionally feeling and connecting with. At the end of the day, it’s compassion. We need more compassion in the world.
I need to make my way back to Chicago to see Cave’s career retrospective Forothermore at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Even the show statement speaks directly to my core.
Nick Cave: Forothermore is an ode to those who, whether due to racism, homophobia, or other forms of bigotry, live their lives as the “other”—and a celebration of the way art, music, fashion, and performance can help us envision a more just future.
I recently Zoomed Kent State University museum’s excellent research in history, fashion, art, and visual culture to reassess the “hair story” of peoples of African descent with KSU Museum with co-curators, Joseph L. Underwood, assistant professor of art history at KSU and Tameka Ellington, associate professor at the School of Fashion at KSU.
To say, I felt seen during the webinar would be a massive understatement.
The talk explored topics such as the preferential treatment of straight hair, the social hierarchies of skin, and the power and politics of display.
Black hair has long been an visual signifier that has been leveraged, disdained, celebrated, and scrutinized for centuries.
I have been studying exhibition photos on the website. The shape of the combs, product packaging, and masterworks from artists including Sonya Clark, Lorna Simpson, Mary Sibande and Lina Iris Viktor have left me truly inspired to dig out some unfinished rope hair pieces I stashed away at the beginning of the Pandemic.
ArtCrawl Harlem along with other local arts and culture programs returns to Governors Island to offer programs and residencies within the historical homes on Nolan Park and Colonels Row as well as welcome the public in for art exhibits, open studios, art talks and more.
This Summer, I am presenting “Free Your Mind” and “Personal Baggage” two Interactive Art Installations as part of ArtCrawl Harlem’s House at 406B Colonels Row, Governors Island, NYC. On view for the public Friday through Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00PM.
You are invited to work with me on an Emotional Baggage Cart in progress on Governors Island on these dates June 11, June 25, July 2, July 16, August 6 and August 20 from 11:00am – 2:00pm on each day.
To all my California people, the last chance to see my works “Thunderdome” and ” in Roseville CA is coming up.
The Closing Reception is May 21, 4:00 – 8:00pm
Exhibition Dates: April 1 – May 28, 2022
Location: Blue Lines Arts: 405 Vernon Street Suite 100, Roseville, CA
Craft Nouveau is Blue Line Arts‘ biennial juried fine craft competition, open to artists internationally. The exhibition seeks to spark dialogue on traditional delineations between fine craft and art, and highlight mediums and processes typically associated with craft.
Recycled commercial fishing net, ribbon, and paracord
64 x 12 x 6 in
September 2020
Exhibiting Artists: Janelle Abbott, Lexi Arrietta, Stacy Bogdonoff, Emily Budd, Rebekah Burgess, Malina Busch, Matt Cohen, Cathy Cooper, Rhonda Donovan, Rosalyn Driscoll, Vincent Frimpong, Kim Garcia, Gina Herrera, Eric Hines, Yasmine Iskander, Bonam Kim, Catherine Mellinger, Clara Nulty, Mari Renwick, Morgane Richer La Fleche, Sarah Rieser, Olga Rudenko, Theda Sandiford, Lauren Dana Smith, Maria Vasconcelos
