The Doll Project is now on Fine Art America

 As I mentioned last month, The Doll Project had to find a new home. Now you can order prints from this series on Fine Art America. 

Unfortunately, the other product selections are limited compared to some other print-on-demand services, but they do make tote bags.

(Also, I want to apologize in advance that some items in my shop don't work with the aspect ratio of the products they're displayed on. They were automatically generated and I don't want them, but I can't get rid of them. Please ignore them.)

I may also see if I can work with a few other print-on-demand sites, and when I do, I will make an announcement here.

Africa Fashion at the Field Museum

 

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to see the Africa Fashion exhibit at the Field Museum. The more inhumane and degrading American culture becomes under the mis-leadership of our current regime, the deeper I want to dive into my African ancestry. I have been going to the Art Institute weekly to revisit the Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica show on the days when admission is free for Chicago residents. I have always been interested in my culture, but the more the powers that be try to deny us access to it, the more I want to immerse myself in it. Who knows how much longer mainstream institutions will be able to fund exhibits like this.

Since the Field Museum focuses on anthropology, the exhibition provides a great deal of historical context, including a timeline showing when African nations freed themselves from colonial oppression.

A few records from the era when many of the nations represented became independence are also on display.

As I learned in my textiles class in design school, fabric is much more complicated than it appears to be on the surface. Fashion is the same way. I appreciate the time the curators have taken to tell the stories of the designers and people they made clothes for. Another admirable aspect of this exhibit is the care taken to display mannequins with cultural hairstyles like Afro puffs, Bantu knots, and cornrows. The artistry and craftmanship of these incredible garments is so inspiring. I've included my favorites below. (Unfortunately I didn't get the names of all the designers.)

Artsi Ifrach

Christie Brown by Aisha Ayensu

Maxhosa Africa by Laduma Ngxokolo

Imane Ayissi

Awa Meité

Kenneth Ize

Lukhanyo Mdingi

Nkwo by Nkwo Onwuka

Lafalaise Dion

Inzuki by Teta Isibo

Photo by James Barnor, Accra, Ghana, 1971

made by dressmaker in Dakar, Senegal

James Barnor

Kofi Ansah

Amine Benriouich

Sindiso Khumalo

Nao Serati

Thebe Amagugu

Imane Ayissi

an Azzedine Alaïa gown that Michelle Obama wore

There is also a related show connecting African fashion to Black designers in Chicago.

Akese Stylelines

They have some beautiful items from African businesses in the gift shop. I picked up this colorful tote bag and some tea from Kenya.

This exhibit is on view until June 29th and Illinois residents get free admission on Wednesdays.

My 5 Year Pandemic Anniversary

Art by Volker Maunz

Today is my birthday. I have only celebrated it twice since 2020. Prior to the pandemic, my greatest frustration this time of year as an introvert living in Chicago was finding a restaurant where I could meet a few close friends and family members for a meal without too many rowdy, drunk St. Patrick's Day revelers interrupting. Now, because of the risk of indoor dining, I have decided to just wait until it's warm enough to eat on a patio. (Not expecting the unseasonably warm weather we're having.)

Sharing meals to celebrate is such a simple thing we all took for granted. So many gatherings have food as the focal point. I keep missing out of them, postponing them, taking a plate home instead, not getting to eat my food when it's hot and freshly made. I can't share a birthday cake with my friends or have them over for a dinner party. I can't serve snacks at my open studios like I used to. No workplace happy hours or ice cream socials for me. I'm eating my lunch outside in the cold, the snow, the rain. Its the price I pay for safety.

A moderator in one of the online groups I'm part of asked us for our personal definitions of what it means to still be taking precautions. It was an earnest question that anticipated a straightforward response. But in my mind, my answer was loneliness, isolation, and alienation. I try to avoid crowded indoor spaces as much as I can, quite a feat when you live in a big city and rely on public transportation because parking is so expensive. I tried requiring masks at my open studios and only showing my work in spaces where masks were required, but I didn't make as much money as I hoped to as a result.

I feel burdened with the knowledge of what could go wrong. Sometimes I almost wish I didn't know what I know. Sometimes I wish I could be blissfully unaware and live in denial. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier. But if people suffering from long COVID can take the time to share their hard-earned knowledge from their sickbeds, the least I can do is heed their warnings.

Still, as a lone masker is many of the places I go, every day feels like a protest. Still, there is no end to this disaster in sight. Last fall, prior to the election, I saw a scientist's estimation that perhaps in 2027 we could finally have a vaccine that would give everyone sterilizing immunity, meaning that we wouldn't have to worry about breakthrough infections and long COVID anymore. Now that the country is being run by misanthropic sociopaths and a pathogenic Health and Human Services secretary, who knows? The research that was being done for numerous diseases has come to a standstill for lack of funding, and Captain Brainworms hates vaccines. I am mentally preparing myself for the possibility of traveling to another country to get their version of the better vaccine, provided they will even let me in.

I'm glad that there's so much awareness about the political crisis that we're in, but frustrated that because of it, the lingering crisis of the ongoing pandemic continues to be ignored. There is discourse online about sacrifice, about giving things up, about boycotting one of the stores I had come to rely on because they bring my orders to my car for no extra charge, as well as the one where I get my KF94 masks. (Do the people calling for these boycotts even wear them?)

We have already lost so much because of COVID, and every day we lose something else to DOGE. I don't want any more austerity, avoidance, or abstinence in my life. I have given up so much. I have sacrificed so much. Don't ask me to cancel, delete, or boycott another thing. I am already boycotting the air.

Related Links:

Death Panel Podcast, "COVID Year Five"

Why Are People Wearing Masks in 2025? A Mental Health Professional’s Perspective

Study: COVID pandemic stole nearly 17 million years of life from adults in 18 European countries

The Long COVID unicorn: How I lost faith in my leftist political party

Julia’s Story – Fallout: Living with Long COVID

Study finds erectile dysfunction for 1 in 5 men even years after Covid infection

How Covid Sickened the National Psyche

Trump takes advantage of our collective COVID amnesia

Why Masks-Required Concerts Still Sell Out in the Bay Area 

When Covid hit Black Americans hard, too many white Americans shrugged

From the Community | Stanford must end its complicity in COVID harms

America Is Sleeping on a Powerful Defense Against Airborne Disease