June Was A Blur

Hello Dreamscape Explorers and Happy July!

Crazy that we are already half way through the year. So little and so much time has passed. But maybe I feel that way cause its been busy over here.

In the month of June I happened upon a poster art opportunity for the city of Pflugerville for their Juneteenth festivities. For the event I made an original piece that was turned into mini prints, and then the original piece was auctioned off. The pieces name is “I Am My Ancestors”

And here is her statement…

June 19, 1865 was when the last Black enslaved person was told they were free. This day is now referred to as Juneteeth. This holiday is often represented with not only one flag, but two flags. The first flag was designed by Ben Haith and is red, white, and blue. The second flag was created by a group known as the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities Leagues, and this flag is the Pan African flag that is black, green, red, and sometimes also yellow. I've created the piece “I Am My Ancestors” to be an amalgamation of both of these flags to celebrate the spirit of sovereignty, and that is what has informed my colour choices. The red, white, and blue is an ode to the ancestors from the original flag; as it communicated that the American Slaves, and their descendants were all Americans. Black for the strength it took to fight for liberation. Green to symbolize the abundant natural wealth of the motherland. Yellow signifies hope, justice, and equality. I have also added various shades of brown to the colour palette to represent black bodies. “I Am My Ancestors” is a reimagining of symbols of freedom within my own artist style.

I am incredibly happy with how this piece turned out. I love getting to experiment and play with in a piece. And I love even more when the experiments work. I learned some things while making this one and some of that new information will definitely be applied to new work in the future. If you would like one of the prints from this event I have a limited amount available. Here is a link to grab your copy for $7.50 (just for shipping). Since there is a limited amount it is first come first severed until gone. If you miss it this time don’t worry I’ll do something like this again in the future.

Now as for the things coming up. I don't have much scheduled for July in preparation for needing more time to create for myself, and get ready for the studio tours. Every year it feels like the East Studio Tours sneak up on me but this time I am making a very conscious effort to steadily work up to a busy fall season. I even got my very own printer so I can now make prints in house. And I’m so excited to be able to offer more prints and be able to provide a variety of sizes too. This means that will also be available on my website soon! Then for the personal work I am currently making to manifest my next solo show. I am so happy with the pieces that I have made so far. I think the values are pushing the works as a whole further. There is so much more depth in these new works that I am really loving. What do you guys think? Does the work in progress speak to you, what is she saying? What do you notice?

Excited to hear your thoughts. Ok, well thats all for this letter. Hope you have a great July and that the summer is treating you well. Make sure to hydrate, have fun, and be safe. I appreciate you!

Til Next Time,

Bye!

Houston, Fort Worth, And El Paso. OH MY!