Introducing The Behavior Book!

Did you always want a book that helps you navigate the perils of misbehaving children? Well look no further than The Behavior Book by John Graham!! This book lets you sit down with your kids and have conversations about when their behavior is not the best. Just in time for the holidays too! Link Below: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NF34Z2M

INKTOBER 2018 IS FINALLY COMPLETED

Whew! Inktober (at least for me) is finally over. October is always a challenge for me because of Inktober. I work so hard on this challenge, but I always feel like I never get any where professionally and all of this work just sits on the internet or in my sketchbook. However, this year is about change for me. I’ve decided to create some prints from my work and an Inktober art zine to sell at my booth. I’m particularly excited about the Art Zine idea because in that format I can share all the cool stuff that I learned about African witchcraft along the way. This is something that I’ve never done before (mostly because I hated showing people my work) but when I sell my art, my artist booth is looking a little sparse with only two coloring books. Feel free to check out my gallery below to see all the pictures in case you missed one on my FB/IG/Twitter pages. Stay tuned for updates!!

INKTOBER 2018 ( CLICK THE PICS TO SEE THEM ALL)

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: JENNIFER HOM

Happy Monday everyone! I’m always one for adding more diversity into everyday life. luckily I came across an article talking about the new Design Manager for Airbnb, Jennifer Hom. She is creating quite a stir apparently because she decided to add a splash of color to the Airbnb marketing campaign. I don’t know if this will help with the inherent racism on Airbnb. People are still going to not rent out their homes to certain races no matter what you do. But a step in the right direction ( even a small step) is better than nothing.

I love her general aesthetic when it comes to her work. You can see the influence of Japanese line art in her drawings. Her line quality and attention to details are fantastic (something that I want to bring to my artwork as well. She was also a doodler for google, a job I’ve always wanted to have! I’ve added some examples of her work so if you like her please follow her on twitter and LinkedIN.

What I Learned About Hoodoo

For Inktober this year I decided to look into African witch lore. Goal was to make 31 ink drawings featuring African inspired witches.  When I started I was more looking at witches and witch doctors in Africa, but then I stumbled across something that shocked me.  African Americans have their own brand of witchcraft lore called Hoodoo right here in the United States!!

“Finding out where all this comes from gives me such a strange feeling of connection to my “blackness” that I can’t really put into words.”

Now let me be clear about this, I do not practice Hoodoo.  I’m from a VERY christian family north of the Mason/Dixon line, so my family never told me about any of this.  But I find it fascinating that our ancestors practiced this type of spirituality right here in the States. Slaves in the U.S. have a remarkable way of combining African and American styles/music/art to create something new for ourselves and Hoodoo is one of those creations.  I learned that there are MANY folk magic practices just like Hoodoo. Many of the slaves that were captured had a mix of religions and spirits that they believed in only to all be thrown together and have Christianity pushed on them.

All of these folk magic practices were used as a way for slaves to keep some sort of identity for themselves.  Many of these practices remind me of modern day black baptists, whether it’s spiritual dancing (happy dancing), possession (speaking in tongues), singing, chanting, or praying to ancestors ( our focus on black history).  Even something as simple as pouring some beverage on the ground “for the ones that passed” ( something that my mother used to do with us) is heavily steeped in these African spiritual traditions. Finding out where all this comes from gives me such a strange feeling of connection to my “blackness” that I can’t really put into words.  I guess I just don’t want this to fade into the background and be something that we forget about ourselves. So read a book, check out the wiki page, and share what you learn about this enchanting part of our history. You might find out you know a lot more witchy black people than you thought lol.

Morning Inspiration - Ramona J. Smith

When I looked into becoming a freelancer, I was told that it would be three years before I would be able to make a reliable income. Based on how things are going they are right (sigh). While my coloring books do sell well and I do get Freelance jobs, it is 1/10th of what I was making in the office. Everyday I keep track of what my husband makes compared to what I make on a dry erase board. Seeing the hard numerical evidence can be so painful. And there are some nights that I wish I could go back to knowing exactly when my paycheck would show up. On those nights I’m going to watch this video. In three years I want to be proud to say to all my friends that yes, I’m still standing.

Inktober is HERE!!

Aw yeah!! Inktober is here and I am here for it! Now for those of you who don’t know, Inktober is an online art challenge where you post one ink drawing every day for the month of October. It’s a contest to motivate and inspire artists to keep drawing everyday. Not to mention that it’s a challenge to see how much you can improve in 31 days! There is a prompt for this that you can reference here (but I never do the prompts). This year, I am doing African American witchcraft inspired drawings. Hoodoo ( not to be confused with Voodoo) is distinctly African American in origin and is a huge part of our history in the south. Now…I come from a family with 3 baptist pastors so I understand why my mother never told me about this part of our history. However I personally find it fascinating and will be giving you some tid bits that I learn along the way with every drawing that I do!

I will NOT be posting my inktober portfolio on the blog until it is completely finished. Checkout my FB/IG/TUMBLR pages to see the pictures as they are completed throughout the month.

Happy Inking!!

Buy Local. Buy Multicultural. Buy Books

Not too long ago, one of my first clients (Naturally Niecy) launched their natural hair care product line in Kokomo Indiana. I love promoting independent businesses, especially when my art is on their labels he he.  When I found out about her launch I just had to check it out, so I made the 1 ½ hour drive to Kokomo Indiana to support her. In the process I stumbled upon a treasure hiding in the form of Beyond Barcodes Bookstore or BBB.

As a person that loves to read, I am always willing to stop and browse with any Independent bookseller.  I love the environment that it inspires (something that starbucks made popular). I love the light jazz music ( or silence), the smell of paper, the taste of tea, and of course the sight of people reading.  Going out and seeing people educating themselves or getting lost in world of fiction outside of a college campus feels so rare to me now. I miss that a lot actually.

I think that’s what I like so much about BBB, it makes me remember when I was kid wanting to live in the downtown library.  When you look on their Facebook Page, you see simply that they are “A Multicultural Bookstore selling a variety of books and learning materials.  Fair Trade books are also available.” This book store is so much more than that. BBB sells local art, jewelry, and now hair care products. I just love that there are a host of books on prominent display that would normally be hidden on a shelf in any other store.  From poetry and fiction, to non-fiction, to even children’s books, all the literature is diverse in its own way. The space is also large enough to hold events and a cafe.

DeAndra Beard, the owner of the bookstore, uses her bookstore as a space in inspire her local community.  Not only does she run multiple book clubs including a “Read Around the World Book Club” where people gather around to read books translated into English, she also holds events for local authors and recently hosted a movie night addressing mental health in the African American community.  Her bookstore is a local spot for school field trips and is a spot for the local chess club. Basically, her space is what I’ve dreamed of making “my spot” when it comes to just hanging out. I wish that there was a spot like hers in my local area. Tea’s Me Cafe ( another local shop that I might write about later) comes close, but they don’t have shelves of books for me to go (sigh).

And if the books, environment and Cafe don’t entice you to come in, DeAndra surely will!  I only got to meet her for a short time during the First Friday this month, but she seems like just a ray of sunshine!  This bookstore has been around now for around two years and it seems to be going strong. I hope DeAndra all the success in the world.    

Beyond Borders Bookstore is located at 108 N. Main Street, Kokomo IN

"AU NATURALE!" IS FOR SALE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE!

Indy Reads Books is located on 911 Massachusetts Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46202

Au Naturale!  Is now for sale at your local Book Store!  Indy Reads Books is an Independent book store, one of the few in the downtown Indianapolis Area ( and within walking distance of my house ha ha).  They love to support local Authors and now that Edify is finally finished I can finally do my first Author show there!  Stay tuned for more info!  

WAKANDACON - I'M NOT MISSING IT NEXT YEAR

“Wakandacon started as a tentative, nerdy idea: how can black people make Wakanda, the utopian advanced African nation where Black Panther takes place, real?”

— Devon Maloney, writer for THE VERGE

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At the beginning of this month a new convention started called WAKANDACON and I am so mad I missed it!  WAKANDACON is a convention inspired by the Black Panther movie that came out in February of this year. The idea for a convention of this sort started when a group of black millennials came together and asked the question “How can we make Wakanda real?”  That is, how can we created a afrocentric community right here in the United States? This is not the first time that I’ve heard of diverse conventions. BLERDCON is very similar in scope except it focuses more on geek culture and not black culture as a whole.  I always wanted to go to BLERDCON...but it is hosted in DC. I usually prefer to save up my travel dollars for something involving sandy beaches and tropical drinks and not sweaty people on cosplay. Not to mention that to get a booth at these conventions would cost me upwards of $300.  Just to break even I would have to sell at least 20 coloring books and that does not include the traveling costs. So sadly, I never went to BLERDCON, instead making due with GENCON, WHOSYOURCON, TOYFEST, and the INDYPENDENT SHOW. All conventions that are within the Indianapolis area. But I might have a chance to do WAKANDACON.  It is hosted in Chicago ( only a 3 hour drive away). Conventions like this make me happy because...African Americans have a dark spot in our history that we are still feeling the affects from. Our ancestors were brought from Africa, but we are not African. We are American, but (ironically) as a race feel that we are not welcome in America.  So what do we do? I think that the creators of WAKANDACON have gave us a very good answer.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my art blog!   Here you will find news about my upcoming events, sketchbook tours, tutorials, project updates, contest entries, or anything that is interesting to me that compels me to write.  This is going to get weird and random, but then again so am I!