Visionary Art
My work illustrates my vision and life's purpose to design and create spaces, experiences and communities that cultivate healing, sustainability, holistic lifestyles, and wellness.
Significance of the Lotus Flower
The lotus flower is an aquatic plant that grows under deep, muddy waters without sunlight. Every night it reburies itself, then blooms with the sunrise to reveal unwithered and unstained petals.
In ancient Kemetic culture, buddhism and hinduism it holds powerful meanings such as rebirth, purity, resilience, spiritual ascension, and spiritual awakening.
I fell in love with the story of how the lotus flower grows and the many meanings it holds. It inspired me to go within and evaluate my own life journey, which led to a new level of creativity. Now, I use the majestic plant in my work to celebrate the resilience of those within my community, honor my spiritual and personal growth and promote the importance of balance, growth, and purposeful living.
Untitled (2019)
mixed media on canvas
30”x 40”
After spending hours looking through and attempting to compose photos that would depict the trauma of chattel slavery and racism in America, I became overwhelmed, saddened and fatigued. The mental weight of trying to make something so heavy into something beautiful provoked an urge to just create with no thought. I began to freely adhere the photos to the canvas without worrying about composition. The process became a release and I created what I felt in that moment.As I layered on paint I reflected on all the things we’ve been able to accomplish despite the hardships we’ve faced. The weariness I felt became admiration and joy. The final result was a celebration of our ability to remain determined,inspired, creative, adaptable and resilient.
Rise (2019)
mixed media on canvas, 36”x 48”
Offering New Beginnings: Community (2019)
mixed media on canvas, 36”x 48”
Offering New Beginnings: Living Spaces (2019)
mixed media on canvas, 36”x 48”
Hold On (2021)
mixed media on canvas, 36”x 48”
Joy (2021)
mixed media on canvas, 36”x 48”
In these works of art, the lotus symbolizes the resilience and resourcefulness of the formerly enslaved Blacks that migrated to Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado to escape the violence they faced during the reconstruction period. The garments adorned with Andinkra symbols celebrates the faith, self-determination, wisdom, unity, bravery and steadfastness they embodied while building a new beginning in black townships, such as Nicodemus, which is featured in the collaged images. The lifting of the sacred flower compels us resurrect and revere the spirit of those principals in order to defeat our contemporary muddy waters and attain liberation.
A New Migration (2022)
mixed media on canvas
36”x 48”
This piece is an adaptation of Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series Panel No. 3. Adapting a piece that documents the Great Migration highlights that we are, in a sense, still on the same journey because there remains oppressive obstacles that we need to escape. It also depicts my vision of achieving liberation through a new migration to rural land where we can build our own communities founded on sustainability, mental wellness, spiritual balance and healthy food sources. The photo collaged cityscape highlights contemporary hardships such as militarized policing, an unhealthy food industry, industrialization, pollution, consumerism and poverty. winged Blackbirds have many symbolic meanings. The meanings present in this piece are a dawning of a new beginning, a new awakening and protection .
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