Echoes of Silver Whisper 2

 Echoes of Silver Whisper 2 is the spiritual successor to Silver Whisper and Echoes of Silver Whisper. 

It has elements of both. The outer layer is made with recycled sheets of foam packing material. The surface of its canvas gets its texture from the dried acrylic medium that remains after I pulled off the crumbling latex glove assemblage that it used to be. Like the other pieces I've made recently, it measures 8" x 10".

At the time of this post,  Echoes of Silver Whisper 2 is available for purchase on Etsy. But if you happen upon this post after it's been sold, don't despair. I can make a similar custom painting for you. Click here to learn more about my commissioned art process.

Raising awareness and some of my prices

 

Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day. The last time I observed it on here was in 2019—August of 2019. Meaning that the progress we had been making has been reversed, thanks to the pandemic. In the past, this has been the day when I've announced price increases. Those price increases, like so many other things, are something I deliberately put on hold because of the pandemic. I know people are still struggling. I don't want to price gouge like so many companies are doing. But I have to be intentional about my prices and do what's fair to me. Today is a reminder of that.

So this is the part where I make the announcement. From now on, artwork sold in art shows outside of my studio will cost more than when you purchase it from me directly. Think of it as a studio discount. For over a decade, my prices were the same no matter the venue. Not anymore. The prices for my interior design services, custom artwork, illustration services, and handmade jewelry will remain the same for now. I appreciate your continued support and understanding.

Enter the Mirror at the MCA: a show about looking at what we don't want to see

The Enter the Mirror exhibit at the MCA is all about looking at the things we don't want to see. Sometimes it feels like it's just easier to try to ignore or avoid the unpleasant things in life. We want to hide. We want to look away. We want to pretend it's not happening. We want to act like everything's fine. We try to distance ourselves, aesthetically, emotionally, physically. The art in Enter the Mirror is a confrontation with the viewer.

Upon entering the gallery, you can hear Adrian Piper speaking softly but directly from a TV in the corner about race, racism, and identity. Her installation, Cornered, is an invitation to sit, listen, learn something.

These are only a few of the millions of names inscribed in Chris Burden's The Other Vietnam Memorial.

Standing at the Grave of Emmett Till, day of exhumation, June 1st, 2005 (Alsip, IL) by Jason Lazarus captures a moment in the aftermath of a lynching that went unpunished.

Off and Gone by Melvin Edwards is a sculpture reminiscent of the implements of lynching.

Doris Salcedo's Disremembered III is a shroud of burnt sewing needles, evoking the pain of grief over the still-unresolved issue of gun violence.

Erika Rothenberg's America's Joyous Future sums up our dominant culture's preference for denial.

One of my favorite writers, Toni Cade Bambara, asked “what are we pretending not to know today?” The work in this show demands that we stop pretending. It implores us to know. I see the work that I shared in this post as necessary interventions for a country that paints on a smile and boasts about its wealth, success, and exceptionalism while refusing to address its problems. Considering the fact that President Biden declared the pandemic over with no evidence of that this past Sunday, Enter the Mirror is a very timely show. 

It can be painful to confront these things, but Anne Collier's Woman With a Camera says don't look away.