It is a wintery gray outside. So naturally, the colors of these recovered fibers is giving me of warm sunsets at the beach vibes. I can’t wait until I return to St. Croix USVI.
Call For Materials
If you purging and are willing to part with any rope, fishing net, yarn and old old sheets, jeans, ties and colored t-shirts please let know.
I am currently sourcing for old clothes to be transformed into yarn for use in my upcoming projects.
Sunset Colors 
GI Josephine
Im feeling inspired to make dresses for these vintage GI Joes and pose them for photographs with mini shopping carts as a collaborative project with Donna Bassin.
What do you think?
My 2022 Calendar .. so far
If you are a planner like me, here are some soft art dates to hold. Looking forward to seeing and art outing with you this coming year.
Signature Show
Exhibition Dates: January 16 2022 – February 27 2022, at Art 150 located 150 Bay Street, Jersey City. Enter at Provost and 1st Street.
The opening reception is Sunday January 16, opening reception from 2:00pm – 4:00pm.
Visions & Voices
Exhibition Dates: February 4, 2022 – May 21, 2022 at The Biggs Museum of American Art, 406 Federal St Dover DE 19901
JC Friday
Date: Friday Mar 4, 2022 at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
Expo Chicago
The International Exposition Of Contemporary & Modern Art. Exhibition Dates: April 7- April 10, 2022 at the Navy Pier Chicago.
Spring Art Supply Swap
Date: Saturday April 9, 2022 from 12:00-3:00pm at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City.
Joyful Resistance Solo Show at The Contemporary Art Center
Exhibition Dates: April 22 – June 4th, 2022 at The Center for Contemporary Art , 2020 Burnt Mills Road, Bedminster, NJ
International Sculpture Day
Date: April 30, 2022 from 12:00-3:00pm at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City.
World Collage Day
Date: May 14, 2022, from 12:00-3:00pm at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
JC Friday
Date: Friday June 3, 2022 at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
JC Friday
Date: Friday September 9, 2022 at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
Solo Show Ivy Brown Gallery
Exhibition Dates September 8 – September 29 Location: 675 Hudson St, New York, NY
JCAST: Jersey City Art & Studio Tour
Dates September 29- October 2, 2022 at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
Holiday Card Making
Sunday November 13, 2022, from 12:00-3:00pm at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
JC Friday
Date: Friday December 2, 2022 at Sky Garden Gallery, Jersey City
2021 Year In Review
I began the year pouring over Anti-Racism learning resources and developed two microaggressions curatorial concepts.
Curated Privilege, Power and Everyday Life and gave a virtual talk about Microaggressions for Studio Montclair.
I extended this work into a self-directed social justice art project, Free Your Mind. Participants are invited to write a statement about implicit bias or a microaggression they have experienced onto a ribbon and then tie the ribbon onto a net to remove this story from their personal narrative. Free Your Mind displayed at Bridge Art Gallery in Bayonne in September, ArtHouse Productions JCFriday at Art 150 in Jersey City and at a Miami Art Week pop up in December.
Imagine the healing possible if people released their trauma. I’m currently looking for other locations to share and collect story ribbons. You are also welcome to drop off any luggage on the virtual page, HERE.
I welcome your suggestions and contribution to this work.
I also delved deeply into my own emotional baggage triggered by racial trauma and created of a new body of work, weaving onto recovered shopping carts.
My Emotional Baggage Carts serve… to separate myself from the daily experience of microaggressions and create a new possibility for myself, free from these constraints.
So far, I have made 19 full size emotional baggage carts, exploring a range of emotions, triggers and impacts from invisibility to the expression of joy as an act of resistance. Given the challenges of moving around my fleet of shopping carts. I miniaturized the concept and have been making mini desktop emotional baggage carts. Get yours here.
As you can imagine, a fleet of emotional baggage carts can take up considerable space. They have taken over Sky Garden Gallery both inside and on the roof and my studio. And they have found temporary homes as public art installations in Summit NJ and NY Governors Island.
The public art installation of “The Baggage We Carry” features three emotional baggage carts on display in Summit NJ from April 2021-April 2022.
MoCADA house public art installation of the “Wide Load” emotional baggage cart was a favorite at Governors Island, NY this Summer. I also enjoyed a yearlong virtual solo show, Hidden in Plain Sight, at MoCADA in Brooklyn NY and look forward to the opening of the new museum space next year.
This Spring, I secured gallery representation with Ivy Brown Gallery and couldn’t be happier with the partnership and guidance she is giving me to curate my art career on my own terms. Thank you Ivy Brown.
I displayed my large scale weaving “You Are So Articulate” and lead a virtual artist talk at NJAA Revision & Respond at the Newark Museum of Art. Take a peek at the show catalog
I was deeply honored to have had my work included in a show amongst so many artists whose works I admire greatly, “Wonder Women Tapestry” in “The Social Fabric: Black Artistry in Fiber Arts, An Exhibition in Homage to Viki Craig at the Morris Museum got a fantastic write up.
I even hosted my city councilman, James Solomon at I am My Hair– yarn wrapping session during the first in person JC Friday open studio since the beginning of the pandemic.
Sunset Colors 
James Solomon 
I Am My Hair Cypher
And my “Ponytails and Door Knockers” rope sculptures were used in a collaborative dance work, People, Place, Disruption with NIMBUS, Jersey City performed at NJPAC and at Nimbus, Jersey City. I was completely blown away by the thoughtful use of my fiber work in this dance. Gorgeous.
I opened my Art 150 studio during JCAST for the community art project Bottle Cap Pearls and displayed “Middle Passage” emotional baggage cart installation during Newark Arts Festival and was juried into Art Fair 14C Juried show for a second time.
This month during Miami Art Week, Free Your Mind collected microaggression story ribbons at Ed Varie’s Sunsets Party at The Standard. And my fiber rope work and Mind Over Matter emotional baggage cart were showcased with Ndr Nw Mgmt (Under New Management) at Untitled Art Fair.
Who knows what 2022 will bring, I look forward to finding out….
I’ve had these Mannequins…
for a minute. This week I randomly picked up fabric left over from a marathon mini emotional baggage cart making and this happened in one afternoon.
In progress 
First Two layers complete
Art150 Studio #231 Peek-a-Boo
In Studio Vibes
Studio #231 at will be closed for Dec 3rd JC Friday, so i’m sharing these in studio photos for your virtual viewing pleasure instead.
Free Your Mind: Public Social Justice Art Project at Art 150
Microaggressions are subtle, everyday interactions or behaviors that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial messages or assumptions toward historically marginalized groups.
The weight of these daily interactions has very real consequences… stress, anger, frustration, self-doubt and ultimately feelings of powerlessness and invisibility.
LOCATION: Art150 at 150 Bay Street, Downtown Jersey City. Enter the building on the corner of 1st Street and Provost and ride the elevator up to the second floor.
ON VIEW: Now through January 8th 2022
Walk towards studio #231 and you will find the Free Your Mind installation.
Where you can write a statement about implicit bias or a microaggression you have experienced on a ribbon and then tie your ribbon onto the net to release this story from your personal narrative.
Or you can share your story virtually here.
Later, I will weave your ribbon into a protective blanket.
Orange You Glad To See Me
zip tie and entrails close up view…
