Bye 2010, Hello 2011

What a fantastic year it has been! Highlights include my trip to The Netherlands in March for The Boekids Children's Literature Festival; multiple art residencies with the John F. Kennedy Center and Class Acts Arts; Destiny's Gift - the children's book by Natasha Tarpley that I illustrated was published in paperback; and coming on board with the non-profit Arts on the Block working with gifted teens on commissioned mosaic tile work. I am thankful and blessed!

The Life of an Artist

I showed my picture books and mixed media fine art during my artist talk to young apprentices at Arts on The Block. I talked about some of the challenges artists face in making a career for themselves in the arts. It's all about maintaining balance in one's life and honoring one's gifts.

Centronia Silent Auction

Took one of my collages to DC today. It will be apart of a silent auction to benefit Centronia school in DC.

Clip, Cut, Paste

A sixth grade student views my display of books and illustrations

I started my new student centered residency today through the Kennedy Center's DC Partnership Schools Initiative. The residency I created called "Clip, Cut, Paste: Piecing Our Stories Together" was designed to explore the art of collage, bookmaking and creative writing. 3rd and 6th graders will work with me over a period of 10 weeks.

American Library Association in D.C.

 

 I signed my children's books at my publisher Lee and Low Books booth, during The American Library Associations Annual Conference and Exhibition held in D.C.'s Convention Center. Over 19,000 persons attended and there were over 6,500 book exhibitions.The ALA is the oldest and largest library association in the world.

Masking It

 

As my residency at Waxter draws to an end, I allowed youth the chance to paint one more time. They created  3D masks from heavy card stock and used cut paper to form features.

I'm Back!

Just returned from a week long trip to the Netherlands. I was invited to present an arts workshop at the 11th annual Boekids Children's Literature Festival in The Hague at the Council of Justice. My collage workshop was exciting as the 8-12 year olds cut and paste images of their grandparents on paper. My workshop, I was told, filled up first in enrollment. This was the first time an American was invited to present. What an awesome trip it was. I met artists and writers from Sweden, Wales, London, Surinam, Africa and all over Europe.

The Art of Reading

DATE: Saturday, September 19, 2009
TIME: Kids at Pyramid Atlantic: 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Art & Wine Reception: 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.
LOCATION: Pyramid Atlantic's ArtSpring Store,
8519 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD

Kids at Pyramid Atlantic: Read-alouds and art projects for the kids are scheduled for 2:15, 3:15 and 4:15, with Maryland Delegate Shirley Hixson, Sharon H. Philippart of PBS, The Great Zucchini and Gillian Clark, chef at The General Store.

The Art & Wine Reception features artists Adjoa Burrowes, Anthony Dortch, Marsha Gallo, Tony Gallo, Liz Macklin, Anita Merina, Ruse and Dave Scavone. A portion of the proceeds from art sales will be donated to The Reading Connection (TRC). Imagination Blooms, art by TRC kids honoring Eric Carle, will be on exhibit.

In Search of a Quiet Place

While moving artwork to a storage place this summer, I found a lithograph I created while an undergraduate art student at Howard University called "In Search of a Quiet Place". I remember working in the printmaking studio and the effort it took to grind the thick limestone down. Back then it was a very physical process. Nobody uses stones anymore, but litho plates. Surprisingly the print still looks fresh to me and the sentiment underlying its creation is still alive today, decades later.

Pictured here is the artwork being photographed by Black Artists of DC (BADC) Liberian American Photographer, Desepe DeVargas.

Serengeti On This Side

I'll be presenting some of my new digital prints at "Meet Your Printmaker" exhibition on September 19 at Serengeti Gallery, 7919 Central Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD. joined by artists Liani Foster, William Harris, Wayland House and George Shomari-Smith. http://www.galleryserengeti.com/exhibitions.html

Telling Your Story Through Art

This fall I'm on the Class Acts Arts roster for the first time. Class Acts Arts, Inc. is a non-profit arts outreach and presenting organization dedicated to bringing high quality and culturally diverse performances, workshops and artist residencies to schools and communities, at-risk youth, seniors, and special needs populations throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.

On my directory page, it urges teachers to infuse their curriculum with captivating workshops and residencies exploring multi-media collage, paper decorating, bookmaking and creative writing through my programs Telling Your Story Through Art. These are some of my offerings. Create cut paper collage installations celebrating family in the Family Ties workshop using my book Grandma's Purple Flowers as a guide. Examine cultural identity creating visual narratives in Our Wide Wide World workshop that links history, geography and social studies. Explore science and the natural world in the unique bookmaking and collage workshop called Seasons of Hope, Seasons of Change. As an illustrator of over a dozen books for children, I like to lead students in creative explorations that aid in self discovery and esteem. For more information: http://www.classactsarts.org/index.php/artists/roster?artist=53

I'm In It Deep

It's been two months since my residency ended at Pyramid Atlantic. Yesterday I delivered a print I created digitally at Pyramid during that time entitled "Bye-Ku: I'm In It Deep". As a resident artist, the print will be included in their archives. As I finished stitching the hem of the silk cloth at painter Marsha Gallo's studio in DC, I couldn't help but feel excited about the new directions I want to take with my Bye-Ku series. I definately want to include more work on cloth, introduce more stitching and printing also.

Showcasing Do's and Don'ts

Today I attended a lively quarterly meeting on Showcasing hosted by Maryland's Teaching Artist Institute (TAI) held at Kumari restaurant in Baltimore. It was great meeting not only other teaching artists (Gail Danley, and Julie Kurzava); individuals that represent teaching artists (Liz Wheeler from Class acts Arts) and representatives from various educational and cultural institutions (ie. Maryland State Arts Council and Young Audiences). Facilitator, Pat Cruz (TAI Co-Director) skillfully orchestrated the exchange of information and responses from the informal panel about "Do's and Don'ts of Showcasing" and the later discussion about "Designing the Dream Showcase". The meeting concluded with a discussion on formats and possible alternative structures and a draft of a Plan of Action. For artists like myself who are new to showcasing, this meeting was invaluable.

Your Art Legacy

Do you ever wonder what will become of your art when you are no longer around. If you consider your art your legacy, I have learned that documenting your art is critical. You can begin by photographing everything you create and keeping good records that include when the art was produced and techniques used to create it. To encourage this notion, Black Artists of DC (BADC) scheduled an afternoon session in late August where photographer Desepe DeVargas was available to shoot members artwork. BADC founder Aziza Claudia Gibson Hunter will offer a seminar on documentation on September 24, 6 - 8:00 pm at Utrecht on 13th and Eye Streets NW, D.C.

Back In The Studio

This week I started working at painter Marsha Gallo's studio on New York Avenue to finish up work for the Serengeti show coming up. I worked on some of the digital prints I created during my residency at Pyramid and added collaged elements to them and some stamping.

Of pain and loss, mourning and redemption...

I ended my 5-month artist residency at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on Thursday, June 25 with an artist talk. Drawing upon my experience as a visual storyteller, collage artist and designer, I excitedly shared my new work in the series called "Bye-Ku" that explores loss and abandonment in personal relationships. The word "Bye-Ku" is a play on the word Haiku, which is a compact Japanese form of poetry that focuses on nature.

Utilizing African American culture and blues tradition as a basis, I used a variety of traditional media including printmaking, collage, and letterpress as
well as more exploratory digital media, to create visual narratives
that speak of pain and loss, mourning and redemption.

I shared the earliest exploration of this new series with my audience and look forward to an expansion of the Bye-Ku series soon as I make artists books, more prints and collage.

See more photos on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Spring-MD/Pyramid-Atlantic-Art-Center/60111648320#/album.php?aid=84774&id=60111648320

Residencies with the Kennedy Center

Today I presented in front of a group of teachers at the Kennedy Center who were interested in learning more about the student centered residency programs that I offer. Each dancer, theater artist or visual artist only had 10 minutes to show what they were working with. It was invigorating.

Paste Paper's Promise

Many of my art works begin with paper. Paste paper holds a lot of intrigue for me. There's something about working through the pigment with tools like combs and creating linear patterns. The process is very accessible. Simple enough to teach to kids, yet complex enough for incorporation into collages and other mixed media work.

My First Ever Altered Book

I worked on my first altered book from magazines using collaged elements to demonstrate the technique to a class I was teaching to middle school students. I love the sculptural effect you can achieve by twirling and weaving and rolling and cutting the pages.

Art Residency at Pyramid in Full Swing

I started work on my art residency at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center this week in Silver Spring. Pyramid is an internationally renown arts institution. I'll be creating a whole new body of fine art prints, artists books and digital prints for the next 5 months. I was awarded the Keyholder Residency along with two other artists in December. Pyramid Atlantic offers fully equipped studios for papermaking, etching, lithography, relief, screen-printing, letterpress, and digital printing. They are enriched by the supportive, creative community comprised of artist-staff, interns, other visiting artists, and the public.