Book of Bulmash, chapter 101

Book of Bulmash, chapter 101

Illustration by The Boy, inspired by "Least I Could Do: Beginnings" comic

1. After recovering from her youngest child's latest tomfoolery, the mother cast her thoughts back to a time nearly lost in the mists of memory:
2. To the days in which she parented only one child.
3. Then were the days of tenderness and learning, every milestone a first for mother and babe.
4. The first baby was full of smiles and musical burblings, and he snuggled unto his mother like a champ.
5. Yet the mother found herself seized by anxiety.
6. For she delighted so deeply in her child that she feared she would burden him with her affection, yea, to the point of smothering.
7. The mother and father discussed the possibility of bringing another babe into the home.
8. For it seemed to them that parenting was, all things considered, not THAT hard.
9. Soon the new babe arrived, an infant who soon grew robust in size and noise.
10. Then the parents did learn a hard lesson, that two children are far more challenging than one,
11. And also that a second child may reveal a will strong enough to try the patience of ten adults.
12. So after yet another difficult bedtime, the mother soothed her frayed nerves with the fruit of the vine and the cocoa bean.
13. Suddenly, she found herself thunderstruck with the irony of her children's unconquerable wills, in the face of her futile attempts at discipline.
14. "Verily," the mother murmured, "I have done this thing unto myself."

Last chance: "You're Not From Around Here, Are You?"

The last days of my museum exhibit are upon  us: You're Not From Around Here, Are You? closes in one week!

True, the exhibit closes after April 8th, which is in nine days. But the Northwest African American Museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. So if you've got a day job, or you're a student, realistically you might have only this weekend or next weekend left to visit.

One last reason to go: some of these artworks have been sold to art collectors.

Once the show closes, I'm shipping those pieces off to their new homes. So if you'd thought about buying one yourself...

NOW is the time to speak up for the artwork you love. (And yes, I do installment payment plans.) Let me know: contact me here.

"Figuring History": Artist parent's day out

Took a break from my own work to spend quality time with another artist parent: Valencia Carroll.

Artist Valencia Carroll views Robert Colescott's "A Cruise to Southern Waters"

We usually see each other at Onyx Fine Arts exhibits, but this is the first time we've gotten a chance to hang out. So we ran off to the museum.

What a pleasure to explore "Figuring History" with her... when we take our kids to museums, they always rush us through the exhibits. Dude: it's not a race to the finish line.

Works by Robert Colescott

I guess they're not old enough to appreciate the impact art has in person, as opposed to just seeing it in print or online. (Yes, I see the irony of me posting photos of this experience.) As artists, we want to read a painting for things like symbols, historical references, color choices. We especially appreciated all those elements in the work of Kerry James Marshall.

Works from Kerry James Marshall's "Vignette" series

I'm generally against massive doses of sparkle and glitter, but in the hands of these artists... well. I stand corrected. I watched the light dancing among the rhinestones in pieces by Mickalene Thomas, just floored by the sumptuous color and monumental size. I'd highly recommend seeing these works in person: it's difficult to convey their dimensionality online.

Detail of "Dejeuner sur l'herbe: Les trois femmes noires" by Mickalene Thomas

And who would've thought rhinestones could link 1960s-era James Baldwin and Walter Gadsden to Black Lives Matter in 2017, with such power? Whoa.

"Resist" (full image and inset detail) by Mickalene Thomas

Good day out. Valencia and I should go on more field trips together.