New Albany Showcasing African-American Women Artists

Ms. Bettye Stull, Curator, "Evolution of the Girl Child" at the McCoy Center


Well the New Year is certainly starting off with a blast! Sistahs of the Arts collaborative is the focus of an exhibit titled, "Evolution of the Girl Child" which recently opened(January 17) in New Albany, Ohio at the beautiful McCoy Community Arts Center. There are several things that make this exhibit so special and unique. First, it's an exhibit that's done completely by African American women artists. Secondly, we are all local artists featured in the show. Third, represents the joining of two separate galleries(the King Arts Complex and the McCoy Center) showcasing women's art.

The original exhibit was shown at the King Arts Complex last year in May and ran through the summer. The fact that nine of the original artists works are now at the McCoy Center means that it's a travelling show. There's no sound effects button that I can insert here for some whistling...so just imagine it!

Special thanks to Ms. Bettye Stull, of the King Arts Complex, for curating the show. And a big thanks to the Executive Director of the McCoy Center, Ted DeDee and Julie Kriss, Director of Constituent Relationships.


Click the site below to view a video clip featured on the Channel 10(WBNS-TV) news yesterday evening(1/18/10).

New Albany Showcasing African-American Women Artists

"Urban Warriors" Exhibit at Columbus State

Told you I would try and recap some highlights from 2009, well one stand out for me was the November exhibit at Columbus State Community College.

Here's an excerpt from my artist statement, "...there are Urban Warriors fighting on behalf of others who are in need. The needs are all different and the battle is daily. Some battle to keep our children off the streets, while others care for elderly parents, raise grand kids, visit the sick and tutor to name just a few things. The Urban Warriors exhibition was created as a means of addressing and thanking those individuals who give tirelessly of themselves throughout the year but seldom are recognized. These warriors are not celebrities but everyday people who never receive news coverage or medals. They do what they do because it's their hearts desire and they see a need which they quietly fill".

--- Wendy Kendrick

Evolution of the Girl Child

Last May represented a major coupe for the local art collaborative, Sistahs of the Arts. This was a big step for us because it was our first major show and the fact that the funding was provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts out of New York City, was all the more reason to give a shout.

In addressing the theme as an individual artist, the inward search and sharing of what factors have contributed to me being where I am today as a creative soul proved to be more of a purging than anything else. My initial vision for my entries were to revisit my birthplace and the summers spent there with my first creative mentors...my grandmother and two aunts, lovingly known as Big Mama, Aunt Near and Aunt MeMe. Memories of barefoot, carefree summers, sticky hands holding dripping Popsicles, dresses sewn by my Big Mama and Aunt MeMe with beautiful smocking...but that didn't happen. Instead, I was catapulted into my college years at Dartmouth College where in my junior year a visiting professor publicly skewered me during class, questioning out loud my abilities as an art student and my misguided hopes to ever become an artist. This painful life changing experience would at first cause me to make an inner vow to never make art again(which sadly, I tried to uphold for the next ten years)and later in life would serve as the catalyst for my embracing a teaching and lifestyle in which encouragement of dreams is crucial. Some might say I took the lemon and made lemonade!

As you view the sideshow, please note the first image(which didn't appear in the show) titled, "The Vow" followed by three faces which are appropriately titled, "Angst,Awareness and Acceptance". The larger pieces(24 1/4" x 48 3/4")are titled "Submission"(young girl on her knees with arms reaching up to the heavens) and "Dream Keeper"(in the foreground the present day me carrying out that dream,secretly thanking the inner child for not letting go of that precious part of her. In the upper left is the four year old me sitting with a dream of one day becoming an artist).










Now at the beginning of this new year I'm heading off to Tanzania to not only share the benefits of working together as women artists, but the all important message of keeping and nurturing our dreams until they become our reality. Oh, and let me mention I'm sipping on a tall, cool glass of lemonade!!!

New Year Adventure!!!

Happy New Year to everyone! 2009 was such a whirlwind but hope to recap some highlights here soon. Hard to believe that we've actually crossed the threshold over into 2010. When I was a little girl and in my "science fiction" reading phase, the year would have struck me as "far in the future", maybe even unreal.

Well, the New Year is starting off with an adventure for me...on January, 26th I will leave for Tanzania in East Africa for 26 days. This is an opportunity of a lifetime as I will be involved in working with other women artists there. This time last year I couldn't walk without crutches because of the hard cast on my leg. Now, a year later I'm about to walk on a soil in a different land and share experiences with other artists who won't necessarily speak English but they'll speak the universal language of art! How awesome is that...God has been awfully good to me!!!