Brace yourself for The Unforeseeable Future

 My latest art book, The Unforeseeable Future, will be coming out soon. I haven't selected a passage that will serve as an excerpt, but here's a look at the cover design and blurb:

Success continued to elude me. I had followed my dreams over the edge of a cliff, it seemed.  I knew what I wanted to do, but felt like nobody wanted to pay me to do it. I had begun to feel like nothing had ever worked out in my whole adult life—not working, not getting an education, not promoting myself online, not networking in person. Was life passing me by? Was it too late for me to make a name for myself as an artist and designer? When would my name finally appear on lists of artists you should know about and designers to watch?

After I made a series of thwarted plans and things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse, the COVID-19 pandemic began. The pressure to achieve collided with the urgency of life in survival mode. As the weeks turned into months, and the months into over a year, and my concept of time became distorted beyond recognition, I found myself living in a world that desperately wanted to go back to normal when normal had been so disappointing for me.  Though I had intended for this to be an art book, The Unforeseeable Future contains more essays than artwork, spanning a time when everything I knew was upended by unforeseeable calamities and preventable tragedies. 

I plan to make a big announcement on here when the book is launched, so stay tuned!

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.