You work in acrylics, but your paintings are so cleanly rendered that they appear to be digital. How did you develop such a distinctive style?
There has been a lot of trial and error in my process over the years. In my early days, I was inspired by fantasy and surrealist artists of the late ’60s and early ’70s, such as Salvador Dali, Ernie Barnes, and H.R. Giger. Their work was finely detailed, meticulous, and captivating. It has always been my goal to incorporate these attributes into my own work. I feel that I have made some good progress in my career, but it is only now that I am beginning to truly understand the art of patience.
Your work centers around Black women with wise, serene expressions, who you’ve said are inspired by your ancestors. How does ancestor reverence impact your artwork and your life as a whole?
In 2011, I started working on my first series, which was inspired by Afro-Caribbean folklore. I loved the work that I was doing prior to that, but I had reached a point where I wanted my art to be a part of something much bigger than myself. After many conversations with my family and friends, I began the journey of exploring my ancestry. I was quickly inspired by the folktales, music, and traditions that had been passed down from generation to generation through the ancient art of storytelling.
This story is from the Sep/Oct 2023 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Sep/Oct 2023 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ONE WORD TO BEAT WINTER BLUES: BIOMIMICRY
CREATURELY REFLECTIONS
THINKING ABOUT RESTITUTION
THE HEART OF HAPPINESS
WAITING IN LINE
OUR WALK IN THE WORLD
ENTER THE SAUNA
Journalist Emily O’Kelly shares some uplifting research on the benefits of sweat bathing, a global healing practice not just limited to Northern climes.
the trail of ATONEMENT
One Ashkenazi Jewish family escaped pogroms in Russia and then flourished in South Dakota, but the “free land” of their new homestead had been unfairly taken from the Lakota by the United States. Generations later, a celebrated investigative journalist set out to tell the truth of the Lakota and her family, calculate The Cost of Free Land—and pay it back.
STALKING YOUR Mind
Stalking the Mind is part of an ancient Indigenous American Medicine Way to tame your guilt, fears, and shame. What we’re “stalking” are our thought patterns and beliefs that seem to create the opposite of happiness and wellbeing. It’s a powerful psychotherapeutic journey of healing without the diagnosis or labels.
LEAVING MESA VERDE
After 21 years of service at Mesa Verde National Park, RANGER DAVID FRANKS recently guided his last tour of the pueblos and cliff dwellings. He says he was fortunate to assist the archeologists with a variety of work and never lost his amazement with their ability to figure out how and when things happened. The question he still wrestles with is much deeper: Why they left?
BECOMING YOUR OWN LEAD RESEARCHER IN HEALTHCARE
PEGGY LA CERRA, PHD, downloaded a health app to aggregate her medical records and was stunned to see the phrase \"aortic atherosclerosis.\" What she did next is a helpful model for all of us.
ARCHETYPAL ASTROLOGY
\"Is astrology true?\" is the wrong question, writes RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO. He suggests that the truth is out there, but out there is really in here.
WELLNESS IN THE WILD
Spa aficionado MARY BEMIS takes the [cold] plunge at Mohonk Mountain House.