#Flourish30 | My TEDxAgnesScott

 

A few of you may be wondering how my TEDx experience went. For all of us, I kept a journal as the day unfolded. Here is how it all went down:

6:42 am: imposter syndrome attempting to set it at all time high. I can’t find my pants. Comfort zone is pants? Will try on dress I bought a yr ago and idk if it will fit.oddly that’s my biggest concern right now.
That and tornado advisory is it over? It’s def still raining.

6:46 The Dress fits pretty well, actually.
I will find a change of clothes though so I don’t sweat it out and get gross.

7:04 I’m in my backup outfit: white thermal and purple skirt.
Red shoes? Gold shoes?

7:24
Supposed to leave 15 minutes ago. Mom so patient
I’m pulling a Kia. Not at all relaxed

8:00
Mom had me listen to Rance Allen in the car, helped melt away some intensity
We prayed.

8:15
Been on campus 20 minutes. Floundered on social media, then got a sausage biscuit for 1.99. Ms Deb you rock.

8:42
Just spent 30 minutes walking thru Dana; showing thinking is up. I’m reminiscing. I like Nell’s haircut.
I’ve decided to bolt myself on stack 3 in the library to go practice and record and record and record.

11:42
After 20 more minutes chillin on Facebook, I got serious lol
In group study room going over slides again.
I deleted 4 or 5.
I read through and then ran with just slides (19:42) and then a fast pace run (16:02) which is the actual pace I need to go thru this speech!!! Ahh!
Guest net is so much slower than I thought. Maybe stop by ITS and get comp remediated so I can use regular wifi. Or I can go to Starbucks. I’m thinking Starbucks
I stowed my dress and shoes under a chair in Alston. Should prolly find someone to keep stuff safe. Oddly unfazed.
It’s 12. I gotta leave this part of the library. Maybe china in tps?
Will I unwrap my hair? Not before 2pm! I should try to knot it though. My curls are squished, but it’s raining.

11:54
Strange in between urge to sleep and desire to perfect. Lord remove this urge to be perfect and just let me find my strengthens courage in You.
I need to go buy a toothbrush. And grab lunch.
Purple skirt inspires courage.

12:13
Ran into Asha 😁

12:30 get lunch at chickfila with Asha. Cute spunky little girl w/ mucho personality At table next to us. Much needed decompress time + sharing abt the gold mine of opportunities available through social media

1:30 return to campus, run into Brittany Williams (Class of 2014–RedFoxes everywhere!)
1:45 change clothes, see more students
2pm head to Campbell
2-3 try to review, 2:15 edit slides, talk to Kia. I listened to the beginning of my talk over and over, never seemed to make it through the bits on fixed vs growth mindsets.
3:15 Snag some fancy eats from the faculty TGIF in the lobby. (To be fair, we really thought it was for TEDx. The blueberry goat cheese spread was fabulous.)
3:30 Answer calls, texts, tweets about streaming; post new link; find out the audio is out
Meet with friends to decompress.
4:05 Get called to return to give my talk; everyone was wrapping up early! Showtime (WHEEE! “Are you ready?” “No.” “You’ll do great! You got this!” (Thinking, am I the most nervous or just wearing it on my sleeves?) Hugs and votes of confidence from all the other speakers present– thank you all!
Are you ready? No. “To the moon, Alice!” I yelp to Kim, as we lead up to the steps.
She hands me a land mic and tells me to break a leg.

4:10ish I begin. My eyes find Paula Bloom in the second row. I hit my stride and even get a couple giggles from the audience. I finish in 16 minutes and saunter/ power walk off to the left.
How did you do? *dazed face*

“No one knows what you forgot or messed up on but YOU.” Thanks Honi and everyone.

It took me another 2 hours of answering the question, responding to messages, eating more steamed veggies, and having a glass of wine with Halden to leave the heightened state of frenzy and realize That I did well. There is nothing like public speaking, even in how you process it after you conclude.

I decompressed by chatting, explaining my talk to professors still gathered in the lobby, bouncing around Spring Fling fest, and then watching the last couple of talks. We took all the photos, all the poses, including with our infamous onyx rings and then I knew, we just made history.

The recordings will be available after edits, and I’ll be sure to post them here.

All the TEDxASC talks In a nutshell:
#Hashtag
#YesAnd
#Freak
#WhatDidYouJustDoToYourself
#MillennialPower
#Mentors
#VisionOverSight
#Depression

This has been one day in the life. 😉🦄

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#Flourish30| The Dinner Table Comes to ATL!

What a beautiful weekend!

This will be a recap of epic proportions, a summary of one evening chock full of elegance, tenacity, and #BlackGirlMagic.

 

A few times in life we encounter some incredible, inspiring people who just attract all sorts of greatness in their lives. We are humbled by their grace and humility. We are encouraged by their resilience. They help spark that desire in us to shoot for the moon and beyond.  We are grateful for having them in our lives, for they nurture growth in us.

I am grateful to say I know several people who fit this bill—particularly, young industrious women of color who think critically, live abundantly, and engage the intellectual and social challenges of our times.

All hail the women of Agnes Scott College! 😀

Yesterday shall go down in the history books, as The Dinner Table Doc came to Atlanta. The brainchild of journalist, director, documentarian Asha K. Boston (@Asha Kay B), The Dinner Table Documentary started as an quest to improve the representation of black women and girls in the media. As you flip through the gamut of “reality” television programming, you’ll notice a lot of petty and backbiting behavior, mean-spiritedness, and fights where one lady throws drinks in another’s face…and the battle is on!

WE are not often shown embracing each other in sister circles, or nurturing, empowering relationships with one another. WE are not often shown our own success stories.

As more platforms arise like Women of Color in Tech, Black Girls Rock, Hey Black Girl, My Black Matters, Redefining HER Movement, Creative Smart Girl, and so many others, The Dinner Table Doc aims to empower, uplift and inspire women of color, through various school workshops on media literacy, exclusive dinner events, and apparel line Can I Live?
I, for one, have been watching the ongoing development of The Dinner Table Doc since it was in seed form, as an inquiry for senior seminar back in 2013—and I’m certainly not the only one amazed at its ever expanding reach within 2 years! Love you, Asha! :3

Based in New York, most of us have seen clips from the dinners and workshops on Instagram, or purchased a Can I Live? crewneck or two, or generally sung the praises of this organization. But now, now was our chance to support full throttle, to come through in formation. And indeed, we did!

We acknowledged the legacy of the first brave Latina, Asian, and Black women to attend and to graduate from Agnes Scott. We saluted those who formed such advocacy groups as Students Against Racism, Students for Black Awareness (renamed Witkaze in 1982), Chimo, and Racism Free Zone (formed as late as 1993). This is in the yearbooks, y’all.

 

In a space where historically, women of color were isolated, mistreated, limited to socializing with custodians and cooks (the only other brown faces), young black women gathered to celebrate and uplift one another.

 

Now, some 20-40 years later, here we were flourishing: alumnae squealing their enthusiastic greetings and exchanging hugs, exclaiming about natural hairstyles and the sheer amount of fabulous style in that room. Current students filing their way in, taking pictures and decompressing. All of us making introductions, sharing our aspirations, our talents, and our wit.

[Did I mention how delicious the food was?! We had buttery yeast rolls, grilled chicken, pasta Pomodoro, spring salad with strawberries and pecans (my favorite), and broccoli with tomatoes. Bon appetite!]

We covered so much during the conversation segment—from assumptions others make about us and our abilities, to body language, to micro-agressions, to white privilege, to being alternative, to networking and meeting people from social media versus real life. I appreciated the space to pour into someone else younger than me, while gaining perspective from other successful women like Noreen “The Science Queen” Raines (ASC ’03), Maricia (@musingsofKrav) and Maura (@maurachanz).

We sang, danced, laughed, and shared. We made plans for coffees, teas, meetups and updates. We confirmed blogs, writings, and other creative works. We exchanged all good vibes. We let each other know, you are more powerful than you know, and you just gotta get out of your own way. #Support #Affirmation #WeGotYourBack

Major takeaways of The Dinner Table:

1. We all belong at the table. There’s no need to feel intimidated, or harbor envy, or compete with your sister, when you can just admire and make connections. It’s all about community, and humility. We all slay all day, no need to eliminate.
2. We can always return to the table. This is where we reunite with loved ones, where common interests intersect, where we hold necessary, courageous conversations, where we negotiate for the very best—no settling.
3. We bless the table. Keep the positivity going! Pay compliments where compliments are due. You never know who is watching you, or listening to you, or who will approach you. Be gracious.

 

We had family roll through from other schools, including Savanna State, Georgia State, and Spelman, as well as some brothers from T Howard Foundation.

Asha made a boatload of acknowledgements, which reminded me just why so many of us love and appreciate what she’s doing. She really lives this stuff; it’s genuine, not rhetoric. And everyone had all the love to give right back; you could feel it reverberate throughout Upper Evans.

I say mission accomplished. If you didn’t attend The Dinner Table: ATL, be sure not to miss the next one!

#TuesdayTea| Getting Your Voice OnStage

When you are asked to speak on an action provoking idea at your alma mater, you don’t really say, Nah.

When that speaking engagement is your alma mater’s inaugural TEDx event, you definitely accept and gear up to do your best! 🙂

 

Speaking engagements can be terrifying even for the most experienced and eloquent among us.
Everyone gets nervous, no matter how much expertise they have, or years of being before an audience. This includes the motivational speakers, preachers, life coaches, comedians, actors and actresses, comic con panelists–we all get a bit pale before the limelight.

How do you master a fit of nerves? I have a couple tips:

1. Relieve yourself. I’m serious. Anxiety registers in the endocrine and digestive system. The last thing you need to do is run to the bathroom because you’re nauseated…or worse.
2. Clear your mind of everything, except fine dining and breathing.
   Lol that went horribly for Spongebob, but the principle still sticks. Rule out all irrelevant thoughts and information, aside from your subject, (your name), and breathing. Emphasis  on breathing, deeply and calmly.
3. Stay ready, and you won’t ever have to get ready.
   Keep in mind that preparation is the majority of the work.  Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, in the shower, in the mirror, recorded by friends and family, in front of all kinds of audiences. If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it enough. (Einstein is credited with that, I believe.)
4. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid.
   I have a tendency to analyze something down to atoms, and to insert far too many details. Remember #2.
5. Exude confidence with a big, comfortable smile.
   Just play funny Vine clips or Condescending Wonka memes in your head.
   Focus above your audience’s head.

I will keep all of these in mind as I get ready:

As mentioned in my previous post, I will be speaking at TEDx Agnes Scott College on Friday, April 1st, 2016, in Campbell Auditorium.

The event runs from 3 p.m. EST to 7:30 p.m.

You can catch a sneak peek here.

I’ll be presenting “Happy Place: The Art of the Outlet:”

Consider this: How often do we unplug from all the stimuli around us? How often do we focus on becoming versus doing?
What overactive minds need way more of is community and space, to breathe, to decompress, to fall apart, to collect their broken pieces and fit them back together, to heal. This is so essential to their mental health.
The keys? Consistency. Conciseness. Connections. A Channel for Creative Inspiration.

Snazzy, am I right?

Should you happen to be in Atlanta, I hope to see you there. More details shall emerge soon!

#Flourish30 Day 2: Time Travel & Sacred Space

Today’s Task: figure out optimal schedule time to post on social media….different strokes for different folks.

Lesson learned: Each network has its own set of “rules” based on users’ habits: Twitter users are engaged during commutes; Wednesday is terrible for everyone except Google +, LinkedIn for Tuesdays and Thursdays 1pm-4pm and work hrs; IG on Mondays after dinner?
I will post according to when I get the most engagement. Late afternoon tea, anyone? 😀

***********************************************************************

Take a trip with me to one of my favorite places: a museum.

The High Museuem of Art has really stepped up its programming in the last couple of years to show more inclusive, exciting exhibitions, from the Frida Kahlo show in 2013, to the SPRAWL showcasing local artists’ drawings, to the car show last summer, to the Habsberg show this past November. The more recent exhibitions have proved to be iconic in mre ways than one, as it hosted the first fashion exhibit of the designer Iris Van Herpen’s 3D printed intricate designs, the interaction between nature, art and technology.
There’s the new Lucinda Bunnen photography wing, an elliptical enclosing of prints from top wielders of the camera. In this month’s show, Home, different contemporary artists explore what home means to them. Newer additions to the High’s expanding permanent collection include over 40 works to the African collection on lower level, Wieland Pavillion, and a folk art section in the modern art floor.

The Anna Stent Family wing is one of my favorite to explore, as new shows transform the space every few months. In honor of black history month, the wall opposite the gallery space where Gerhard Richter, Julie Mehretu, and Alex Katz occupy space, pays homage to ancestry in a memorial space to Thornton Dial, assemblage works by Radcliffe Bailey and Rashid Johnson, and of course, an almost sacred, square space with paintings by  Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Off to the left, in an installation titled, Black is the Color by Paul Stephen Benjamin, a dark room full of salvaged stereo televisions plays Nina Simone on segmented loop, singing Black is the Color of my Lovers Hair.
Standing in the middle of this square of relic and plastery expressionism, I felt myself vibrating, the low notes of Nina’s tune recalling spirituals, everyday rituals like getting my hair combed and plaited, or stirring cornbread batter, or laying still and quiet in the dark while thunderstorms raged through a Sunday afternoon….A young lady danced meditatively, gracefully in the center of this same space, and I dared not disturb her. Instead, I sauntered over to Bailey’s fireplace, to the flickering candles, to the life size bookshelves with ships embedded in spraypainted Plexiglass panes. There is something lyrical and haunting, the litany of a blues chord, the cackle of a thousand dying embers in a bonfire. I felt as I saw, and smelled as I heard.

The spaces I enjoy the most evoke synesthesia, the feeling of two senses simultaneously, like to see music notes as color, or to taste numbers…

F.A.M.E!

I wanna liiiiive forever, I wanna learn how to flyyy…

ahem. Enough clowning.

I was privileged to be a participant in the 2012 Fine Arts Music Extravaganza presented by the Stone Mountain-Lithonia Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. (what a mouthful.) It was both a public event and a scholarship competition:

The Stone Mountain-Lithonia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is sponsoring a competition targeted to Art/Art Education students.  The competition is open to Art students currently enrolled in your institution who are classified as freshman, sophomore or juniors.  Participants are required to submit one (1) piece of artwork (painting, sculpture, etc.) that must have been created solely by the artist (team art projects do not qualify).  The artwork must be accompanied by an index card that is no larger than 5”x 8” and includes the Title/Name of the piece and the name of the artist.  The participants will have their submissions showcased during our Chapter’s Arts & Letter’s event entitled, F.A.M.E. (Fine Arts Music Extravaganza) scheduled May 6^th, 2012, from 5:00PM-7:00PM at The Greater Travelers Rest Church, located at 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway Decatur, Georgia 30034.

The stakes? 1st place: $300, 2nd place: $200, and 3rd place: $100, awarded to the student’s account at an accredited institution of higher learning.

The show itself featured a series of dance and song performances, pretty run-of-the-mill. The emcee was a tad annoying, making pitiful, winded attempts at comedy interrupted frequently by her own peals of laughter and random anecdotes. I couldn’t really follow the program, plus I really just wanted to know who won what.

Surprise, surprise! I was in competition with Gala Cude from my art classes at Agnes! It was pleasant surprise to see her there…

Contestant number one was a guy named Taurus Tucker, from AIU, who “painted” on a 15″x 19″ canvas with invisible solid deodorant, M&Ms candy, and a number 2 pencil! The finished product looked nice enough, but the oddity of his media was what everyone really marveled about!

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Conscious Collective: Picture This!

What a fun night! I got invited to be a part of a live art competition and spoken word showcase by Georgia State University’s Conscious Collective!

Greetings! I Need Visual Artists To Participate In The Event “Picture This Poetry” Feb. 2nd In The Speaker’s Auditorium At Georgia State University. The Event Is Hosted By Conscious Collective. The Program Is From 7 PM – 9 PM.

The event pretty much followed its itinerary  to a T:

The 1st Hour Will Consist Of Different People Just Having The Opportunity To Freely Sketch/Draw/Paint Original Pieces & Present Them To The Group At The End Of The 1st Hour.

In The 2nd Hour, Three Visual Artists Will Be Competing Against Each Other During The Event. Each Visual Artist Will Be Assigned To A Group Of Three Poets Who They Will Need In Order To Complete The Painting. Each Group Is Assigned A Theme. The Poets Will Express The Selected Theme Through The Poem & The Visual Artist Must Visually Depict The Same Theme Within A 15-Minute Time Frame. The Visual Artist Who Does The Best Depicting The Theme Of Their Poetic Counterparts Will Win A Special Prize. This Will Be From 8 PM – 9 PM.

I was sooo nervous! Note: I had never done live art before. Always wanted to try it though, ever since I saw that one scene in Madea’s Family Reunion. You know, where Brian the bus driver takes Erica on a date to a spoken word jazz spot and while she recites her poem, he creates this fantastic portrait of her in MINUTES?! yeah, dope. Now I had the opportunity to do the same thing!!

There were 3 themes to choose from, upon which 3 poets would be speaking for about 3 minutes each: diversity, sisterhood, and religion. As I attend Agnes Scott and not Georgia State, I did not find out my theme until 30 minutes before the contest began: I was assigned religion and then diversity.

There were spoken word performances, singing, and a bot of standup comedy–super entertaining. All of the poetry itself was pretty amazing. The limitations in terms of time and space were a tad exasperating, but essence of the experience. Lessons learned:

1. BRING EVERYTHING.  All of your art supplies, even that one obscure chalk pastel set you haven’t used since tenth grade. Even something as mundane as plastic cups for water, or paintbrushes, or newsprint, and DEFINITELY rag paper! You never know what your hosts are going to have readily available for you (or not). Oh and ALWAYS carry one of your best works from your portfolio to display, just in case.
2. Choose your materials wisely. Depending on how much time and space you have to work in, you need to choose what materials you work with best and most quickly under pressure, or in regards to how large a space needs be covered in a short amount of time. Given a time limit of about 10 minutes maximum, I choose to use charcoal and chalk pastels on strathmore paper.
3. Stand up and stand out. While of course you want to stick to your theme for clarity’s sake, the whole point of the contest is to create an original piece based on the poems you hear. You ARE presenting yourself to the world, making a testament to your skill/experience level and exposure to materials &methods. So, select your fave portable materials; pick out KEY words from the poems and scale them by importance.
4. Pace yourself carefully. And thoughtfully. You only have until the poets stop reciting to work–a bit infuriating if their particular style is either quiet or super speedy [or both, as in my case. The first guy finshed a 2 page poem in 2 minutes or less!! I caught “homeless guy” out of the whole thing] In the midst of this type of exercise, its okay to not be such a perfectionist! I had started over halfway through the 2nd poem because I didnt like what I’d had thus far…
5. Practice does make perfect. If it isn’t your turn to perform (for this IS performance art), you can always sketch ideas on your sketchpad. I made several doodles in marker while I watched the rest of the show.

Up first was sisterhood. I personally found myself drawn in by the first artist’s style. She worked in mixed media: some tempura, some watercolor, oil pastel, charcoal, and Sharpie on 11″x 14″ canvas that she’d brought with her. Her piece featured a clock face, a fierce, phoenix-esque figurine, and vibrant colors. She later revealed to me that she’d been able to hear her poems beforehand at CC meetings (that’s the ticket!!)

Next was religion. It was really clear that this artist already had a plan in her mind of what she’d depict regardless of the words in the poems. Her piece was a somber, simple crucifix with shades of violet, red, brown and black, oils on Strathmore paper. Her reduction of all that was said in honor of Christianity, uncertainty and prodigal son behavior down to a silhouette of Christ was so effective! and Moving!

I was last on the roster, diversity. And boy did I get a variety of perspectives on it, discussing class differences, being multilingual, the concept of multiculturalism centered around food, oneness…I enjoyed listening and zeroing in on what mattered to me from each poem. But first! To cover such a large surface in a short time so the final product could appear completed! Key to getting my piece done was intertwining representational with abstract more directly than ever–in fact, my piece resembled a series of symbols placed around a page! Both of the other women were stiff competition.

That being said, imagine my suprise when they announced I WAS THE WINNER!!

“It was really oh so close, all of the pieces were good and we thank all of our participants tonight. Each piece was judged on grounds of consistency with the theme, use of materials, and creativity. We selected the winning piece based on originality. And the winner is….DIVERSITY!!”

I was definitely betting on Religion to win, because her oil painting was so well-executed and marketable! My jaw dropped!

So I receive a $50 giftcard to Utrecht for art supplies!

Out in the fresh air, all the guys circled up for a good old-fashioned cypher, the improv nurseries of classic hiphop. A good night.

 

Kilgore Cafe: PreShow Jitters

So I’m super excited and tired and NOT sleeping!! Thanks to Chaina Dobbs (affiliated with Spelman, the AUC, Ill Lyterati), I have an opportunity to display and sell my art at Kilgore Cafe at Morehouse College tonight (Jan 19th)!  I’m only supposed to bring 10 pieces with me at the most, but of course I’m trying to get as close to 20 sellable works as humanly possible in one night/morning/day.

Prepping for Kilgore defines burning the candle at both ends; I haven’t been so busy with multiple art projects since AP Studio senior year of high school! It definitely means no sleep! I am doing touchups and/or complete re-dos of projects I pulled from my portfolio in the last four years, mostly high school. A lot of the assignments in Art 160: Visual Thinking were rough studies; finished works were mostly done on Lennox paper (more fragile than rag papers like BFK and thus in need of framing to sell). As for Liquid Media, well, Nell is still holding onto my midterm birdcage and my purple mononchrome head from last semester!! 😀

Here is my task list after various retouches:

• Size the paintings and drawings. Jot down their dimensions.
• Make brief descriptions for each, including size, media, possibly where inspiration came from
• Price and then create small price tags added to the bottom corner of the work

It’s the LAST  part that’ll be the kicker! What am I to use for price tags, adhesive labels? Printed out tags? Old’fashioned pentagans tied with string and stapled on the piece? When will I have time to get this done when I have to be finished with everything before 4 p.m tomorrow—and I HAVE CLASS AT 3:30??!!

My estimated time of arrival must come before 7:30 p.m., so as to have time for set up–and getting lost, accidents, traffic, incidentals–everything must be wrapped up no lter than 5 p.m.! I have the strongest inclination to attempt to make maybe 1 or 2 more paintings tonite…

Spelhouse Adventure

FIELD TRIP!! WOOT WOOT!!! Prompted by our general discussions in class, Nell invited members of our class to an art talk being held at Spelman College Museum of High Art, at 15×15: The 15th Anniversary Acquisitions Exhibition. So, after much searching in attempts to gather us all together, Erica, Vy, Nell, Belinda and her ball of sunshine Olivia, Ellie and Victoria, and me were off to West End!!

There was hilarity all night between getting lost and tons of inside jokes, great food and of course GREAT ART!! The exhibition featured artwork created by or about Africana women; common themes were historical objectification, embracing their beauty, position within the working class, and traditional roles within the community. An English professor at Spelman was having a discussion on that last subject, linking the artworks surrounding us with the book and the film entitled, “The Help,” and her research into the backgrounds of  Africana women who worked as domestics in post-WWI America.

We perused the exhibit after the talk was over:

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I was inspired!! Looking around at all those various paintings, mixed media, sculptures, photographs, silkscreens, digital imaging, I found the subject of my art paper, which accompanies our third painting:

I am interested in you doing some deep looking
at the works to see the way these artists use color as planes to structure
the work. Specifically, write about the idea of SUGGESTION vs. (&?)
DESCRIPTION.

Part 1: INVESTIGATE: As you look at the work consider the
following questions: What sort of color palette is used? Are the colors
bright or muted? Primary or tertiary? What is going on with value? Is there
strong or limited contrast? What is the flow or navigation of your eye
across the page? Can you describe the visual hierarchy or “pieces” of the
painting? Is the way you navigate the page the same as the subject
depicted? For example, does your eye stop and stay contained when you come
across literal objects? If there is a boat, for instance, what is the
relationship of color and value where the edge of the boat (or whatever
object) to the ground that meets it? Is there a variation in the color and
value of the object from one place to another or is it all the same? What
would you say the unifying formal principles of the work are? Is there a
relationship between how the artist is using color, texture, value, light,
line and space to the literal subject he/she is depicting? For example,
does a dark or low contrast value palette inform the visual experience of a
figure with her head bowed? If so, how? “formal”=Form

Part 2: WRITE: Write a paragraph about the idea of suggestion vs description in your painting.
[depending on the conclusions you reach, the word “versus” may become
words like: or/and/but/with] Use your investigative material evidence to
come to a thesis about how these two words interact in your work.

I chose “Out of My Blues” by Lucille Malkia Roberts to be the subject of my paper…I also decided that the topic of  my Africana studies paper would revolve around these women artists’ experiences and how those aspects of life impacted their work: art imitates life=missing voices from American history..so yeah, lightbulbs flicking on all over the place.

 

College Night at the High!!

OHHHHH YEAHHHH!!!

It. Has happened. Once a semester, the High Museum of Art in metro Atlanta opens its doors for college students to hang out for $7 admission, beautiful art, great crafting, awesome free concerts/step shows, and general socializing, from 7 to midnight.

Did I mention FREE CONCERTS?! Of course, you’ve paid admission, but this scene is definitely for you if you have eclectic taste in music, particularly underground, independent artists who perform live.

Based on the featured exhibition, Radcliffe Bailey: Memory as Medicine, we made memory boxes from genuine wooden/metal cigar cartons!! I mean the real deal, handmade in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and decorated with various paints, magazine cutouts, feathers and fabrics…SO!!  Introducing my Swag box. aptly named for the company plaque on the mahogany box:

Oh yeah. this is Hot Art

boldness speaks for itself. Cool compliments my Swag 😀

ebony tall and proud

“”‘NOBLE ANCESTRY’ is a key source of prestige in the contemporary struggle for political power”