Tribal Designs, RBG

"Tribal Designs, RBG", 15 x 22, ink, 2007.

In the spring of 2007, I was a junior in high school and the only Black male in a nearly all-white class, where I was harrassed day after day for not contributing to the classroom culture they had created. It would've been best for me to just get myself out of a hostile environment such as this, but at the time I didn't know anything about following my own desire and was easily influenced by others. I was often told by teachers and classmates that the best way to change these types of situations for the better was to not say anything when being verbally assaulted and ride it out with my dignity - whatever was left of it, anyway.

So being the only Black male in the class and the only Black person who had any pride in their Blackness (the only other Black people besides me in the class were two girls who were content with the class culture established by their white peers) led me to want to depict Black people and our culture in my work. Printmaking was the classroom assignment for the semester and I already had came up with a set of organic designs for my first piece and I had started looking through the classroom pile of old magazines for African art that I could use for my next design. However, not a single piece of African art was featured in any of the magazines, whch upset me.

Then one day while looking in a trade magazine from the pile, I came across a square with what looked like African designs. I read the description to see if they were actually African, but to my dismay once again, they weren't and it said that they were Native American. I went ahead and used the designs for my next printmaking piece since they were the closest to looking African that I could find and they did appeal to me a little since I happened to also have Native American in my family.

My "Deconstructed" Collages

During my last semester in AP art class at high school, my teacher introduced the class to "deconstructed" collages. He showed the class samples of deconstructed collages from his former AP students, which consisted of photos altered into the artists' vision by erasing out parts of the image.

He then broke down - get it? - the process of "deconstructing" a collage. The first step was creating a photo collage onto a cardboard sheet. The next step was to use glue drawings over the collage on a flat surface that would prevent the glue from dripping down and leaving trails on the piece. The third step was to let the glue fully dry. The fourth step was to apply a chemical liquid, which I can't remember the name of, on a rag towel and rub it around the glue drawings to erase the surrounding pictures and create the "deconstructed" effect. The dried glue drawings on the other hand, would help protect the underlying pictures from being erased by the chemical fluid. My teacher advised the class to avoid rubbing the glue drawings with the chemical since it might cause them to peel off and erase the underlying images.

When it was time to start building our collages, I was hesitant. I wasn't sure if my work would turn out good due to the fact that I had never made a color photo collage before, let alone a "deconstructed" one. However, I realized that the main important thing was to have fun with the project. I went ahead and got started searching for pictures in the large pile of old popular magazine titles my art teacher kept reserved for classroom projects, which consisted mostly of Ebony, National Geographic, and People catalogs. I was fortunate to find enough decent pictures for my collage, which was a task in itself because the magazines already had a lot of good pictures cut out of them by my classmates along with students from my art teacher's other classes - plus his former students over the years.

I then went and pulled one of the larger cardboard sheets from the stack of cardboard in the classroom and began assembling my collage on it, strategically placing my picture cutouts to create a dynamic composition. After putting my collage together, I played around with glue drawings that I thought would make each picture stand out individually as well as compliment the piece as a whole. When my glue drawings had all finally dried, I poured a small amount of the chemical fluid into the worn rag cloth I got from the classroom supply and began carefully wiping around the dried glue drawings. I watched as the surrounding images gradually disappeared with each wipe and my glue drawings slowly come alive with the remaining pictures still preserved underneath them.

The end result was something I was very pleased with and the piece ended up becoming my favorite collage. Here it is below.

Deconstructed Collage No. 1, 20 x 30, mixed media, 2008.

Some of the parts I like most about it are:

The deconstructed cluster of red plates and hot dog.

The woman on the bottom left deconstructed into squares.

And last but not least, the lion about to bite off the guy's head.

I would make two other deconstructed collages that semester. At the time, I was a Christian and so I incorporated Christian scriptures into these pieces.

Deconstructed Collage No. 2, 22 x 32, mixed media, 2008.

Deconstructed Collage No. 3, 34 x 21, mixed media, 2008.

A Cool Auntie Card Cover

Artist Statement of Custom Greeting Cards and Portraits

My portraits are intended to be a visual affirmation of self-worth for people because I believe that everyone has a desire to feel valued for who they are, and I believe that portraits help people feel a sense of recognition for who they are as an individual as a result of seeing an image showing that a great amount of attention was given to their defining physical and non-physical characteristics.

Welcome to My Blog Page!

_{Hello all,}

_{I want to take the time to say thanks to everyone who visited my Facebook page and my website, and I also greatly appreciate those who gave me their feedback on the works they've seen. In my first post, I'd like to talk a little bit about some of my biggest influences in what I do.} 

_{A few years ago, I was in a network marketing company and my mentor told me that the process of promoting my company's products was like finding a wife. When I was in high school, I was telling my classmates in art about how great Christianity was, which they didn't receive very openly. After class ended for lunch, I had a discussion with my art teacher about Christianity and he told me that Christians shouldn't repress their beliefs and he encouraged the idea of sharing their faith with others while at the same time not forcing their beliefs on anyone.}

_{Fast forward to this year. After a long hiatus from making art, I started making art once again and while I was trying to figure out how to make my work seen, my mentor's and art teacher's sayings came back to mind and interestingly, so did a couple of Bible scriptures in connection to them. One was Matthew 7:7, which says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Another scripture was Matthew 10:27, which says, “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”}

_{Reflecting back now in my present journey, these sayings make much more sense to me. What I got from them was that whatever one has to offer that they seriously believe can make a difference in the world, it needs to be shared with people. Much like in a search for a mate, you approach those who interest you and share with them what you have to offer as their potential partner. The same with spiritual beliefs that you believe will change humanity for the better, you openly share with others the good your faith has done for you and what it can do for others. Sharing what you have to offer with the world also applies even to job hunting. You send out a description of your abilities skills in an application and/or resume and/or cover letter to available job postings and you later arrange to meet with employers to tell them how you can benefit their company.}

_{As I type this, another distant memory comes to mind of an episode of "That's So Raven", when Raven is encouraged by her friends to use her psychic abilities as source of revenue. Her friend Eddie mentions how Michael Jackson wasn't just "doing the moonwalk around his pool" and how Jennifer Lopez "didn't hide 'it' in her pants." So what I hope to leave with you in this post is that whatever you have to offer, whether it's a skill, service, or the next best product, don't hesitate to share your gift with others because what you have to offer may very well be just what the world needs. You never know whose life or lives it can change for the better. I'll end this post with yet another quote, this one being a famous line from Marianne Williamson.}

_{"Your playing small does not serve the world."}

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