Latest Exhibition: Making HerStory 6 Kick Off Reception, Friday, March 4 th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

I will be exhibiting work from my Queen Series- Mixed Media dolls on canvas for The ThickArt Collaborative with Authentic Contemporary Art and The Center For Green Urbanism “Making HerStory 6”, the Annual Celebration of Women in the Arts Exhibition. The Making HerStory 6 series will kick off with a Grand Opening Reception Friday, March 4, 2011, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm at the Center for Green Urbanism, 3938 Benning Road, NE, Washington, DC. This event will feature music mixed by female online syndicated radio DJ, DJ Fusion of Fuse Box Radio and refreshments by the female foodies at Art.Food.Life.

This month will be full of various unifying events celebrating women artists in all genres. The celebration will take place at The Center for Green Urbanism, 3938 Benning Road, NE in Washington, DC’s Ward 7, March 1-31, 2011.

Making HerStory celebrates the vast and diverse forms of creativity offered by women artists. With this being the sixth year of Making HerStory, the creators have found a renewed energy among many of the artists in the Making HerStory family. This year’s theme is The Era of Our Dreams, exemplifying a new energy arising from the ashes of the last decade’s struggles, into a new era. Making HerStory 6 is about collaboration, growth, and sustainability.

Here are the artists participating in Herstory 6:

Jade Andwele
Prudence Bonds
Karen Buster
Anne Cherubim
Zandra Chestnut
Sandra Davis
Carla Jupiter
Bonnie MacAllisterr
Elsa Gebreyesus
Suzanne Nejir Tutu
Anike Robinson
Ann Thompson
Sherry Ways
Shawn Yancy
Heather Schmaedeke

For more information about Making HerStory 6, Please visit the website at http://makingherstoryartseries.blogspot.com/

The Doll Blogs: Sankofa Studio Doll Pin Featured in New Book

Ms. Debbie Behan Garrett has a new book out about black dolls and her love for them. The new electronic book, The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen is her third doll publication. In this book, dolls, both old and new, blog their experiences over a two-year period.

One of my doll pins is featured in this unique electronic book!

If you love dolls, possess a vivid imagination, and enjoy combining the two, you will derive great pleasure reading The Doll Blogs. Ms. Garrett takes the reader on an imaginative voyage in doll-collecting world where she meets and greets new dolls, reacquaints herself with old ones, and continues the passion for all as a doll whisperer, allowing the dolls to speak through her. This first book devoted to dolls that speak in blog form is masterfully engaging, a sure delight.

To purchase click here

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: January 7th Reception

Greetings all! It has been some time since I posted. The wintry weather, power outages, etc., really had me going this January. However, before the month is over, I wanted to share with you the photos from the January 7th reception of the art exhibit "The Shape of Things to Come" at the Sandy Spring Museum running through March 27th.

I was happy that I sold one of my dolls "Full Bloom" during the opening reception to the Chair of the Board of Museum. In addition the event got coverage in the Montgomery County Gazette on January 26th.

I have some small dolls, pins and doll cards on sale at the Sandy Spring Museum in celebration of the exhibit. Stop by the museum gift shop.

There is talk that we may take the exhibit on the road. I certainly hope so. It has been a true honor to show my dolls at this wonderful exhibit. Do plan to make a trip out to Sandy Spring Maryland to experience it.

THE ULTIMATE ARTIST: Lady Tee Transitioned at 54

Since I was 12 years old I was captivated by this Caucasian soul singer protege of the late Funkster Rick James. Teena Marie died in her sleep on December 26th at her home in Pasadena at the age of 54. She was found by her beloved daughter Alia Rose.

In case you did not know, the first several songs you hear on my blog is none other than Lady Teena Marie. I have saved my favorites. They are pick me ups for me whenever I enter this Sankofa Doll Journal Blog.

You know in 1989 I owned every recording she had ever done? I am not sure what it is about her music that I loved so much. She was an avid reader and a lover of words. I feel like I just lost one of my best friends...

Several reports say that she had a massive seizure about a month ago. I did not know. One report says she may have died of a heart attack in her sleep. However, Alia and her family are keeping the cause tight and I don't them. My heart and soul goes out to her daughter and her family and friends.

It was always my dream to meet her in person and talk to her and though that never happened I still feel very close to her. In my mind, I never thought she would leave so soon!

My favorite of her recordings, of course was the monumental LP "It Must Be Magic." Her lyrics to songs dug so deep within me and I was honored to attend several of her concerts in later years.

One of my favorite liner notes appeared on one of her earlier LPs:

"I have always known there was a purpose in pain as well as joy... for the fine lines of my face remind me of the people who put them there."

I have come to embrace the friendship of so many of her friends on Facebook and I am honored that they have embraced me as their colleague as well.

There is a movement to get her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I hope NOW that she will be recognized for the contributions to art and music that she so surely deserves. I hope now this happens.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: A Creative Collaboration

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for The Shape of Things to Come: A Creative Collaboration, an art exhibition featuring artists Sharon Keyser- Jackson, Cynthia Farrell Johnson, Desiree Sterbini, Sherry Burton Ways, Lezetta Moyer, Betty Farrell opening January 5, 2011 at the Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring, MD. Please join us for the Opening Reception on Sunday, January 9, 2011 from 2PM to 4PM.

Inducted on PeaceXPeace Board of Directors!

Hello All! I know it has been a while since I blogged. However, I just wanted you to know that I have been recently inducted as the newest member into the Board of Peace x Peace. The mission of Peace x Peace, a Washington, DC based, non –profit organization, is to advocate for effective ,sustained policies and programs that support the advancement of women. The organization “Acts as the connection point, which facilitates dialogue and exchange between women in the Arab and Muslim countries and the Western world. It helps reduce misunderstandings and stereotypes”. Created in 2002 by Patricia Smith Melton and six other woman rights advocates, Peace x Peace was established to help bring harmony to women internationally through social networking and other forms of media.

As the newest board member, I will contribute my leadership expertise, help generate new fundraising activities, and use her marketing acumen to bring increased awareness and donations to the organization. My interest in international affairs was generated through my experience working under President Bill Clinton’s women and girls focused Africa education initiative.

Through this organization, I plan to contribute my artwork and build my dollmaking around peace for women all over the world. I hope you join me in this endeavor!


For more information about Peace x Peace, go to www.peacexpeace.org.

SAVE THE DATE: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME EXHIBITION JANUARY 5 -MARCH 27 2011

Hello world! Just wanted to let you know I will be in another exhibition at the start of the new year at the Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring, Maryland! It is entitled The Shape of Things to Come. I am honored to be the doll artist among some extremely talented women artists of the Washington, DC area.

A Creative Collaboration

It all started when Cynthia Farrell Johnson, a painter, met Sharon Keyser Jackson, a fiber artist. Each admired the work of the other. They mused about the possibility of doing a joint project some day. A little over a year after that initial conversation, they hit upon an idea. Johnson would create four designs and Sharon would interpret them as tapestries. Johnson invited longtime friend and an extraordinary quilter, Lezetta Moyer, Johnson to join the group. The next artist drawn into the project was Johnson’s sister, Betty Farrell, an accomplished knitter who has collaborated with her sister in the past. When Desiree Sterbini, who does exquisite oil pastels, heard about the project, she wanted to join. Wanting to find a way to bring a three-dimensional artist into the mix, and remembering a doll exhibition they had seen at Sandy Spring Museum, the group invited Sherry Burton Ways to join. Altogether their work celebrates the many ways that artists express themselves. The titles from each of Johnson’s original paintings form the common thread.

They are:

--Out of Kilter

--Balm in Gilead

--In Full Bloom

--Hearts and Minds.

These titles hold a different meaning for each person. The goal was not to copy Johnson's initial design, but rather to express the meaning each one held for the artists. The titles, colors, and moods inspired these artists’ derivative works in unique ways.

This is the shape of things to come. If we are to create something new, we form creative collaborations. It is the best way forward.

Here are the particulars:

Exhibition Dates: January 5- March 27, 2011
Opening Reception: January 9, 2011

Location:
Sandy Spring Museum
17901 Bentley Road
Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860

More to come!