Maya and Mucha

In the video below I talk about a poster I created in response to black beauty and Maya Angelou. Though this video is about black beauty the overall theme is that all people need to love themselves for who they are.

Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Maya Angelou
I completely understand and believe that confidence and beauty issues apply to all people regardless of gender, class, size, and race and I talk about beauty in general a bit.

This specific post talks about black beauty and my art. I will link to a blog post about why I think black beauty is important.

Phenomenal Woman Blog Post

Blog post about a controversial black reality in America

What is A Goji Berry?

Well, I am not sure what a Goji berry is but they sure do smell fabulous!

For those of you who don't know I am a BzzAgent. This means that I get free or discounted products to sample for companies and then I share what I think about the product. 

 You really should check out the site especially if you like freebies.

My new Sister Locs and #TheLilyPadProject

Sadly, I received the product for the first campaign too late. You may or my not know that I just decided to loc my hair which means no more conditioner, or lathering shampoo. I am also only using organic hair products at least while they loc.

Art In Haiti

Me sharing a a Paper Bead Lesson

Here is a post from my religion blog. I talk about my experience teaching art in Haiti leading art lessons. I will edit the post a bit. To see the original and more about the religions of Haiti and my spiritual experience check out my SckRlgn Blog.

As many of you know I was fortunate to be able to take a trip to Haiti last summer (2011). The goal of our group was to build a chicken coupe in a small village community while spreading the Good News.

One of the cultural differences led to the Haitian males taking away most of the American women’s jobs while working on the chicken house (polaye in Creole). Though frustrating for some of the ladies in our group, this was a good thing for two reasons. First, I strongly believe that it was our job to equip people rather than do for them. And second (third, fourth and fifth), this dynamic led to me being surrounded by tons of kids, and the opportunities to lead art lessons, learn some Creole, and having the chance to spend quality time with one of the older girls. One-on-one time with a role model of some sort is a major need for many young women in Haiti. In fact if I go again I plan to take nail polish to share with the young women (probably women of all ages).

The photo above is me teaching some of the order girls and young boys how to make paper beads. You can read more about the Upcycled paper beads in my tutorial. I also took around 60 friendship bracelet kits (just cut string ready to be braided or knotted) Using art to connect with people was a unique and beautiful experience. I went in with no Creole and some of the older kids knew how to count to 5 in English and say Miami. The art lessons allowed me to make friends with one of the families as well as some other kids and leaders in the community. Using art allowed us to teach each other basic language skills but also forces us to use sign language (actually having sign language experience was more beneficial than my Spanish) and other forms of communication such as body language and sounds.

I would love the opportunity to go back to the small village again, to show the kids that it was not a one-time event, but rather a sincere investment in their lives. I also have a small amount of money to take back from selling my art in response to the first trip.

Brown Girls Dream Come True

Michelle Obama

"Thank you for being a brown girls dream come true, something tangible to look up to."
 ~Jasmine Mans



I love this poem.  I think it is beautiful for those of us who do not share the physical characteristics of many past American leaders to be able to relate to someone in power in a way we have never before been able to.

I am not posting this post to tell you to vote for Obama this election. I think that there can be wisdom behind any vote.  I simply wanted to honor an inspirational First Lady who has made a significant impact in the lives of many young ladies out there.  I know that the African Community (Mexican American, and Native American communities as well) all need some more strong positive and beautiful role models for our children.

Reguardless of the outcome of the 2012 election I do not want this amazing woman to be forgotten.

Social Justice Today (and This Week)

Trayvon and his father

In the past two weeks I have had two sets of parents come talk to me about race and how it impacts their young children. One is the mother to an adopted son from Africa who had to watch her little preschooler come home and try to scrub his blackness off because he was told he was dirty and wasn’t allowed to play with the other kids at school. Anther, the father of a young girl, who had to deal with his daughter coming home crying and saying “I want blue eyes.” In addition was also a major event (The murder of Trayvon, a 17 year old boy) that made many people rethink the race situation in America.

The mom with the preschooler is now dreading telling her son that just because he looks a certain way, he will need to be careful in certain neighborhoods, he will not be able to wear certain colors or certain clothes. Even if he is on the honor roll and gets into a good school, people will assume it was affirmative action because he couldn’t possibly do it on his own.

Noose

The father with the girl gets to explain to his daughter that she is beautiful even though everyone she studies in school, everyone she is surrounded by, models she sees, and the majority of people in power do not have the same skin tone, eye color, or hair texture as she does. She will need to learn to love her own beauty in a world that does not call her beautiful but rather exotic or ethnic.

I am reminded of a story I was told about two police officers sitting in a bar across from one of my friends talking about profiling Native Americans just for fun.

I am reminded of the time(s) I have been profiled, followed through stores, or stereotyped simply because of the color of my skin. I am reminded of family members murdered because of their race (and their successes in a white neighborhood) and I am reminded of violence toward myself and my friends because of my dark skin.  I have been told what it is like to be black in America by many white folks and I am here to tell you what it is really like.

People ask why I chose to use nooses in my artwork.  This is why.  People need to see that, though better, things are still a mess. We are not beyond racism. Racism is learned and we have not adequately taught our preschoolers to accept others. We, ourselves, have not learned to fully accept others. We have not acknowledged these problems, nor have we decided to actively fight against them. 

The nooses not only force us to think about racism in its present day form, but allow us to remember those who have been murdered because of their race or other forms of prejudice and hate such as sexuality, or gender, even modern day slavery.  We are still fighting this battle...

Some helpful links

Black is Beautiful Pin Board - This is an excellent way to help focus on images of people that look like you.  Also turn off the television

Tips to help your child see themselves as beautiful even when people at school do not

My Black is Beautiful - Celebrating African American women

More of my Artwork

Body Image
Native American
Human Trafficking

Hot Combs

I drew these hot combs while I was debating whether I wanted to go with African American religious culture or beauty for an overarching theme for my exhibition.  I went with religious culture but do still have some work focusing on beauty issues both from the "Make it Plain" exhibition and other work. 

See more of My Artwork

Body Image or Black is Beautiful
Make it Plain - my art exhibition

Black Hair

Startling but true.

When you look at the price of weaves, relaxers and wigs you will understand where these numbers come from.  If you look at the history of black hair in America this statistics takes on another meaning.  Black hair is a social justice topic that is important just like any other topic dealing with self-love, self-worth and beauty issues.

Phenomenal Woman

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Maya Angelou

Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?

Although King and Malcolm had their differences (theological and social) I would like to share a poster I created featuring the famous Malcolm quote "who taught you to hate yourself" in honor of Martin Luther King day.  Malcolm and King were both extremely important leaders in the African American community and the Civil Rights movement and both deserve to be honored.  The goal of my art exhibition was to create dialog about race, religion and the significance of African American history.  King and Malcolm both succeed in pushing this same conversation forward.

The famous "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself" speech by Malcolm X.

Below is an example of how young children have been taught to hate themselves through the images they see and what they are told.

Another video on the topic (great for parrents)

Tweet

Make it Plain: Malcolm X Documentary

My Exhibition was named Make it Plain in honor of Malcolm X.  Here is the documentary on Malcolm with the same name.  I chose the name because I wanted to make the history plain to people.  I didn't want to sugar coat reality just as Malcolm didn't.  He said what many black people had been thinking for some time.

Part 1

Some great Quotes
"When many were begging to be let into the house of the oppressor, he said to build your own house."

Malcolm and I have something in common...both of our biological fathers were murdered by the KKK because they didn't give in (and my adoptive father had his car bombed, arguably because he was white)...We both grew up in white neighborhoods with mostly white kids.