My art is an invitation to investigate your own emotional baggage.
My work is…
Isn’t This The Most…
14C Juried Show!
I’m so excited that my emotional baggage carts were juried into the 14C Juried Show.
During the pandemic I picked up weaving again. I had not weaved since I was a child. To refresh, I took a virtual weaving workshop with Textile Arts Center (NYC) and then fell down a rabbit hole of recommended videos on YouTube University.
In the process of relearning these laten skills, I came face to face with many frustrations and triggers connected to the emotional baggage I have been squirrelling away for years. Guilt, resentment, judgement, colorism, fear, insecurity…
With these works I am exorcising these demons. Sharing these works is both liberating and anxiety inducing at the same time. I am still processing emotionally and artistically.
Mini Emotional Baggage Carts
If you do not have space for a full size emotional baggage cart, you might try on a mini baggage cart for size instead.
These will be available for sale during JCFriday …
- Sept 10th, 2021, 6:00-9:00pm
- 150 Bay Street, PH9 Jersey City NJ
Inspiration
Shopping sightings carts in the wild, make my imagination wander…
Getting Rid Of Emotional Baggage
We all carry emotional baggage. This manifests differently for each of us. My Emotional Baggage Carts are vessels to dispose of racial trauma and grant access to grace.
My Emotional Baggage Carts are designed to draw people to look within and recognize and dispose of the emotional baggage they themselves are carrying too.
What emotional baggage are you carrying around that you wish to dispose of?
Bottle caps, neon yellow 550 paracord, 200′ neon yellow camo 850 paracord, hollow braided polyurethane rope, solar LED rope lights, recycled Fresh Direct bag and commercial fishing net, zip ties, gold spray paint on recovered shopping cart. Photo by April Tracey 
Bottle caps, yellow 550 paracord, hollow braided polyurethane rope, solar LED lights, recycled commercial fishing net, zip ties, gold spray paint on recovered shopping cart. Photo by April Tracey 
I Can’t Breathe, night view
Mind Over Matter
Being alive means having the capacity to carry past experiences and learn from them. But there is a point when this emotional baggage becomes too much. Carrying too much emotional baggage can literally stop us from being open to new experiences and growth.
How we choose to handle our baggage makes a difference. We have the choice to let it define us or to let it go and move forward.
With it’s festive pom poms and colorful African print fabric, Mind Over Matter is meant as a reminder that racial bias does not define me. It is a celebration of identity.
Wide Load
I started calling this cart Wide Load before I was even conscious of how much of my emotional baggage is tied to the food I eat.
Don’t even think of visiting my Mom without her feeding you and taking a plate home. I can still smell , vivid memories of Father punishing me for not finishing my dinner plate and reminding of the starving children in Africa at the same time. A double whammy of eat your food and feel guilty about eating your food. I could go on and on…
Redistricting
When the lines between redistricting and gerrymandering are blurry…
At night the sculpture lights up…
Purple Fiesta
When I am not invited to the party, I’ll just throw a little fiesta for myself…
