Makers gonna make... at a slower pace

For the first time in maybe two years, I have only one project to work on: collage portraits for the Liberty Bank Building. 

I enjoyed people-ing at the "Locally Sourced" reception, and sharing my butterflies with everyone.

But my brain craves alone-time, preferably in the studio.

So I took a week or two not doing much of anything, as the experts suggest you do after a big project. It's been a welcome change not to finish something in a week, or schedule events that won't happen for months in the future. Still a few deadlines, but they're not within days of each other. 

It might take a few more months of this: my brain refuses to attempt more abstract things like goal-setting. So I intend to keep things low-key (ha!) for the summer, but I'm not making any promises.

Coming soon: "Locally Sourced"

If you've never been to the Pacific Northwest, this "Portlandia" sketch will give you a (slightly exaggerated) taste of the obsession over 'local origins.'

What -- and who -- qualifies as "local?" That's the Big Question behind our exhibit at the Columbia City Gallery.

All four contributing artists are women of color who've lived here for a long time: Carletta Carrington Wilson, Bernadette Merikle, Susan Ringstad Emery and me. I think of us all as local, as familiar as coffee in Seattle. But you know how people talk about coffee here: like it's some rare, exotic thing seen only once in a blue moon. 

Not surprising, then, that a coffee-related marketing blurb encapsulated that paradox, which I wanted to convey in my collages: "Rare & Exquisite."

Each of us artists has a different take on being local. Carletta's textile work speaks to migrations through time and space. Bernadette imagines her ancestors deciding the question of local origins. And Susan, who calls herself an urban Iñupiat, considers Native (and "native") Seattle icons. Come see for yourself: the opening reception for "Locally Sourced" is May 19th at 5pm PST. Hope to see you in a few hours!

New work: "Rare & Exquisite"

I'm not usually a huge fan of butterflies; maybe I've seen too many of them printed in pink and slapped on products for girls. Also, they're flying bugs. But I am fascinated by some of the associations and cultural baggage they carry.

Some time ago, I heard a local radio story about how a military base also provides a refuge for endangered animals, including butterflies.

Credit: Sentinel Landscape program (USDA, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Interior)

Environmental protection -- yay! -- but the irony of the program was even better. I was intrigued by the idea that a native species was safer among soldiers and artillery.

Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (photo credit: US Dept. of Defense)

Native, local and vulnerable... hmm. As an artist, I explored the vulnerability of black bodies in my recent solo museum exhibit. And I've heard so many conversations calling black people 'an endangered species' since the 1980s. So I fused the two ideas in these collages.

I combined images from my family photo archive with photos of endangered butterflies from four regions of the United States.

As a kid, I remembered being mildly curious about the Victorian hobby of "collecting" butterflies. Then I learned the brutal reality. So as I sketched out my collage idea, I drew on that violent history.

The result is four large, dimensional collages I've titled "Rare & Exquisite." When you see them hung in a grid, they'll measure roughly six feet high by eight feet wide at the "Locally Sourced" exhibit. Want to hear more? Please join us at the reception on May 19th, at the Columbia City Gallery.