On the Road to Spring

Well it has been tough going over here.  I was in shock for quite a while but am on to making work and thinking about the future.  In the world of art lots of good things have been happening.  The Neighborhoods Coming Together Project that I curated for African American Quilt Guild of Oakland is now exhibiting at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.

This is a link to their video about the project.  I also spoke on local public radio.  The project has provided lots of learning for me and members of the guild.

National Quilt Guild of Oakland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWNHGETwn48

On a personal note, I also had the quilt I made about the Gwendolyn Brooks poem, Annie Allen exhibit at the Alper Jewish Community Center Gallery from the the first week of January until the first week of February.  Interpreting Annie made its exhibition premier at the US Consulate in Jerusalem in 2013 and was there for 2 years.  The poem and quilt tell the story of a woman's life from childhood until older age.  I don't say old age because as I get older the dates keep changing.  There is a companion quilt about the poem called Annie's Life that is touring with the And Still We Rise exhibit, that is presently at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI.  It will be there until June 4th.

Of course I am equally excited about a new piece I made for the Prince exhibit at the Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN that opened on March 9th.  Here are a few photos.

All the Pretty Women:  One Last Party speaks to the women in Prince's life and the parties he enjoyed giving.

See you next time.

Happy New Year and what is there to be happy about?

As we move forward in this new year, I am thankful for family, friends and that I live in California.  There are many challenges in the days, weeks and months ahead and I feel confident that we are up to the task.  Activism and advocacy are becoming increasingly important to me and I ponder ways to make art that positively addresses my concerns for our nation.

In the meantime I will continue by throwback tour of art in the Obama years.  These are from the 2009 Quilt Week Yokohama exhibit about Journey of Hope.

Remembering

During the holiday season we celebrate family and friends, our togetherness, our sharing and our caring for our past and our future.  We are in the midst of turbulence and new forces that effect our hopes and dreams.  I personally am thinking of my role in holding back the tide of intolerance and inequality.  As a child of Jim Crow I know all too well the effects of being different. So I am going to look back on what was accomplished during the last eight years even in the face of obstruction.  I am happy I had a chance to see the first African American elected President of the United States, even though we are experiencing the anger and backlash of that event.

Loretta Hoard, Sandy Nelson and I ventured from Baltimore via train to Washington to see the events.  Loretta was the only one lucky enough to get a ticket to the Mall for the inauguration.  Sandy and I got caught in the masses and actually had to watch it on TV but it was wonderful to be there.

So what was accomplished?  A sense of hope, excitement and acknowledgement for the African American presence in America.

Remember for yourself what life was like for you during the last eight years.  Drop me a note and friend me on Facebook if you haven't already.

We visited the exhibit of the Quilts for Obama and my piece Winds for Change was in the exhibition.

We had good weather the day before the inauguration but it was way cold on the special day.

This is as close I was able to get!  

Fire!

 We East Bay residents are filled with sadness over the horrific fire that occurred this weekend in Oakland.  We fear for our children and the general safety of the public when social events can take place in unsafe places. This year I have been talking about another terrible fire in Oakland and now this. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families effected by this terrible fire.

These are two previous fire quilts that I made.  Firestorm is about the 1991 firestorm in the Oakland/Berkeley hills and Houses on Fire is about the housing fires in Hayward in the 1960s.

 Houses on Fire is in the collection of the Hayward Historical Society Museum

Firestorm is presently exhibiting at the California Humanities Gallery in Oakland.  The exhibit ends on December 31, 2016.

With all of these events we are looking at loss of life and property and the ramifications of loss of housing or in some case insufficient, affordable housing.  

I don't want to leave out the families and institutions that have been effected by the fires in southern states.  We send them our thoughts and prayers also.  So very quickly things change for so many.

Exploring Public Art

As early as 10 years ago I never really thought about public art.  A fellow artist introduced me to the concept and I am very grateful since public art is now a very important part of my art practice.  I cannot travel anyplace without looking for the work of artists.  I aspire to get my work in as many different places as possible.   Right now I would love to be creative enough to get work in a major airport.  I keep applying, but so far no go.  But I know from personal experience that persistence is required for all of my successes.

I remember traveling to Japan and seeing such usual work.  I often watch European programming and I continually look for innovative ideas that will inspire me to take my work to the next step.  Some art is absolutely fabulous.  At other times I wonder how the artist got the job.  But art is very subjective.

But today I am sharing examples of my work and the work of others.  The Hunter's Point Public Art Project in San Francisco helped me learn about new materials.  This is the unveiling of Visions of the Past, Vision for the Future.  It is still a hard hat area with construction around the area.  I eagerly await he completion of the project when it will be landscaped.

 Visions of the Past/Visions of the Future Outdoor Panels in Hunters Point Public Art Project

 Almost a year later and awaiting landscaping because there is construction near the left of the art installation.  It looks good but will look much better when the grounds are prepared.

 Community Center where original quilts are framed and on display.    The outdoor panels are up the hill to the right of this building.

  Interior of the Community Center with art on the wall in conference area.

These public public art murals in the Mission District of San Francisco.  I took them when I was visiting KQED Studios earlier this year for an interview about the Neighborhoods Coming Together project that I curated.

 These photos were taken during a walk in Oakland, CA Chinatown.

These are images of the West Contra Costa Health Center where my work is featured at all of the 8 health stations and at both ends of the building.  Three of my quilts were translated into large scale industrial fiber.

See you next week.  If you are reading this on a Sunday, Happy Headwrap Day. I am on to making my new party girl series.  Go listen to your music and dance.

 Got to put a bit of humor in life.