Black History Month in Tanzania

Myself and Karen Grissette at the U.S. Emabassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Two years ago this month, I had the awesome experience of sharing the history of Black History Month(as celebrated in the U.S.) at the U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Never thought in a million years that my journey would take me to such a place or that such an opportunity would present itself. Originally, was instructed to prepare for a 15 minute presentation(there were others on the program) but after arriving at the embassy in Dar for our initial meeting I found out that I was the presentation and they were asking about my artwork(which I hadn't brought on the trip)....like the deodorant commercial says..."never let them see you sweat".

Marie Cidosa, Director Bagamoyo Living Art Centre

Students from the local university in attendance

With the help of my husband who was so willing to fish through my unorganized computer files and send photos of my artwork and my children who remain my greatest cheerleaders(they gave me a crash course in powerpoint presentations prior to my departure for Tanzania) I was able to create a presentation which not only addressed Black Hiistory Month but my evolvement as an artist as well.

Years ago as a young girl scout I learned that one should always be prepared! You just never know where the next stop on your journey will take you.

Craftsy - January: Slashed Blocks

O.K. so I'm finally transitioning from "mental quilting" to the real deal and I'm so excited. I'll share my blocks as I go along....believe there's two each month. Did I mention that Craftsy.com is offering the course free online? Well, if you've been wanting to quilt or just want to brush up with some new squares come on and join the class! Go to www.Craftsy.com if you're not a member the site will require you to sign up with your email address. Next click on online classes and scroll down to The Craftsy Block of the Month with Amy Gibson(the only one marked FREE).

Asterisk Block

Wonky Pound Sign

By the way did I mention that my seam ripper has become my best friend? Yeah, we really have bonded over the first block and trying to get the darn lines to match up.  For a moment thought I might become an online quilting class "dropout" but I'm glad perseverance won out!

Positve/Negative Designs

"Inside/Out Squares" was the name of the project I first introduced to my young students after reading an article by Jane Dunnewold in a Quilting Arts Magazine some years ago. I was so intrigued by Ms. Dunnewold's designs created from black construction paper(believe it was to help with creative brain block in quilting when trying to think of new designs) that I immediately knew it was worth sharing with my classes.

For my students' sake I called it "inside/out squares" because you're basically cutting out from one side of a square and opening that cut portion like a door, thus inside/out. If you visit Dunnewold's site at www.artclothstudios.com there's a free tutorial titled, "The Expansion of the Square."

Art In the House students share designs

Once students caught on there was no stopping

Even Mr. P enjoys the exercise

Sources of Inspiration

Here's some people and things who inspire me....who or what inspires you? Send me a note I'd love to hear from you.



Me and my great grandmother Julia Jackson

Cookie jar doll circa 1960's created by my grandmother that sits in my studio



My grandmother Luanna Patricia Sykes

1. My Grandmother....Luanna Patricia Sykes
2. The bible....some of the best stories about life and people....best source for life direction
3. My birthplace....Georgetown, Kentucky (especially sitting on Aunt MeMe's front porch) 
4. Gallery and museum visits....always make me run home and get to work creating
5. My mom....Katherine Roberta Sykes Arnold....one of the best story tellers I know
6. The artwork of Romare Bearden, Aminah Robinson, William H. Johnson, Elizabeth Catlett, Betye Saar, Elijah Pierce and Alan Rohan Crite
7. Children....they're always honest and their approach to art is always fresh and untainted
8. My family....such encouragers and so full of love for me
9. The writings of Maya Angelou, Sharon Ewell Foster, Claudia Mair Burney, Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar
10. Travel.....travel.....travel...travel...travel...travel...travel...travel....travel....travel!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas everyone! I've cleaned up the last dish and put away my cookie making "stuff" and yawned way too many times. In a few hours I will get up to prepare for worship at our church this morning...no props to deliver, just helping with mime makeup.

I'm thankful for the words of encouragement, wisdom, and art experiences you all have shared with me this year. Looking forward to the new year which arrives in one week and the continued art journey.

God Bless,

Ihumwa village potter

Wendy

Ihumwa Village Potters

 

Ihumwa village potters

 During my 2010  travels as a U.S. State Department delegate for the Women's Arts Exchange with Tanzania(led by Martin Nagy, Director of the Great Lakes Arts Council in Toledo), I had the experience of my life when taken to to meet "some of the best potters in Tanzania." My time with the Ihumwa village potters outside of Dodoma, Tanzania turned out to be my National Geographic moment! I remember sitting on a small stool outside of a traditional mud home with all the women's incredible pottery laid out before us. Two cows were tied up in a pen directly behind me, all the children stood encircling us and through our translator the following incredible story began to unfold.

What an awesome welcome by the women

With my first look at the fruit of these incredible potters I was immediately struck by the perfect symmetry. Initially, our delegation leader thought that a potters wheel must have been used. But after a barrage of questions one of the women indicated that she would demonstrate their pot making process for us. To my amazement in less than fifteen minutes a perfect pot had been formed before our very eyes... what an incredible sight this was!

The demonstration begins

Adding water to dried clay

Tools...corn cob, paper and stone

Building wall of pot

Using corn cob tool

Almost complete...

 

One of the things I learned was that each woman walks eight miles in order to collect the clay from a nearby riverbed. Then each woman would wrap about fifty pounds of clay in their khanga cloth(a popular textile worn by many women in Tanzania as skirts, head wraps and even to carry their babies in) which was then wrapped around their necks so that the weight was evenly distributed across their shoulders. Next the clay would be left to dry completely, sifted of rocks and other impurities and eventually reconstituted with water for pottery building. The pots are fired on top of the ground which accounts for the beautifully blackened patches that dot the surfaces. of the finished pieces.

Finishing the lid

Completed pottery of the village women

 

"Let Loose"

On this season's X Factor which debuts some of the best singing talent around, a young lady by the name of Melanie Amaro has been of great interest to me. It seems all the contestants have had a story to share of their lives...overcoming drug addiction, adoption, raised by single parent, separation from parents, etc.

Melanie Amaro seemed like another talented young woman trying to capture the 5 million dollar recording contract that's been dangled over the contestants heads like a laboratory enhanced carrot. However, a few weeks back something happened that changed Melanie's subsequent performances and made me reassess my approach to my own art. During the episode which escapes me in terms of the specific week, young Melanie was told to "Let loose and be yourself" by celebrity judge Paula Abdul(in terms of her performance). I listened intently as if Paula were speaking directly to me... "Let loose  Wendy and be yourself in relationship to your art."  Hmmn....as I reflected upon the words and what they meant to not only Melanie but myself and the importance of being transparent in one's art. After all isn't art a mere extension of oneself?

By the next episode it was very obvious that Melanie had mulled over the advice and taken it to heart.  So after another perfect performance and while awaiting the judges comments, Melanie asks to speak and reveals a heavy island accent. I could hear everyone's head whirling across America and wondering where the accent came from. You see, it turns out that Melanie had been raised by her grandparents in the Virgin Islands and had learned to hide her accent after coming to the states and being teased by classmates. Ever since Melanie revealed her true self she's never sang more beautifully!

As artists, don't we owe it to ourselves to follow similar advice and "Let loose and be yourself." Maybe you've been holding back on trying a new technique, paint color or subject matter in your work. Maybe you have no problem letting loose in your work and if that's the case I'm happy for you. But for me I look forward to hitting some high notes with my art!

X Factor's Melanie Amaro

Blick's Lesson Plans

Thanks to Blick art for the wonderful lesson plans provided in each of their annual catalogs. For years I didn't pay them much attention and therefore missed some wonderful opportunities to share pre-tested projects with my students. Now when it's time to toss them out each year I gently remove the lesson plan pages, insert them in acetate sleeves and store in my lesson plan binder which holds years of wonderful projects.

Proud artist

This year I began my after school program with "Architectural Letters" which originated from Blick's (by the way the same neat lesson plans are online if you don't receive the catalog). Week after week my budding artists devoted themselves to the construction of these letters. Hey, I love building things as much as my students but was glad when the project finally ended two months later.

No, it didn't take that long to complete but when you have only one hour a week, teacher professional days which means no programming for us and other various scheduling interruptions....simple projects can stretch out. The other reason for extended projects is that I always try to keep the environment very relaxed. As long as the students are happily creating and enjoying what they do...we're good..

Thanks again Blick's for helping me out when I need something new to create!

Not bad for fome-core, paper cups, glue, kraft tape and paint. Actually, the possibilities are endless with this process.

"I'm Thankful"

"Each day I rise and thank God for the opportunity to make more art!" is what I found myself writing on a painted picture frame I'd prepared before class recently. Since 2008 I've been blessed to teach youngsters in grades K-6 in an after school arts program called Art in the House (AIH).



Budding artists

I'm thankful for the students I've been able to share my passion of teaching and creating art with all these years. I'm thankful for one of the best groups of kids I've ever worked with in my years of teaching, who have taught me so much and keep me working hard to deliver my "A game" each week. I'm thankful for the students who attend our weekly classes expecting that I'll be there to guide them on another creative one hour journey. I'm thankful to be able to witness the individual growth of my students, the awesome work and ideas they continue to generate each week. I'm thankful for my personal growth as a teaching artist as witnessed by the fact  I now enjoy working with teens just as much as younger children. Can't begin to explain my initial reluctance to work with teens....and my thoughts that they'd "eat me alive." Now I wonder what I was so afraid of...their great to work with! I'm thankful for the recent hiring of a former (AIH) student as my apprentice artist. I'm thankful for the supportive staff of St. Stephen's Community House (my host site) and the warm greetings received each day that I enter the building....they give me a sense of belonging that's more valuable than gold. I'm thankful for the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC), all funders and especially Tim, Jim and Oulanje who continue to believe in me as a teaching artist and make it possible to share my passion each week. I'm thankful for the support of my family and their willingness to join in my tendency to "save everything" because I can use it with my kids in (AIH). I'm thankful for the extra hours of studio time available since our children are now grown and the house is empty for the first time in my married life.
Yes, "Each day I rise and thank God for the opportunity to make more art!"



Something for everyone to enjoy!




Recycled leather bracelet

Painting picture frames

  



"IT'S TIME TO SHARE"

Well, was beginning to think that if I didn't start writing soon I would need to hang up my keyboard and shut down the old blog site. But the fact that I'm here pounding the keys means it's time to share my journey.

In January of 2010 I was blessed to travel to East Africa as a member of the 3rd U.S. delegation participating in an incredible exchange program with Tanzania. "ARTS EXCHANGES ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES FOR TANZANIA"
was funded by the U.S. Department of State Cultural Program Division of the Office of Citizen Exchanges, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, organized by the Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development(GLC) in cooperation with Arts Council Lake Erie West and GLC Alumni partners in Tanzania. The goal of the program was to bring together emerging Tanzanian and Northwest Ohio professional female artists to address common issues facing women.

The photo above shows two incredible wood sculptors, Harrieth and Neema who live in Bagamoya and are part of the Bagamoya Womens Art Network(BWAN).

Had the pleasure of first meeting them in a workshop I led at the Ohio Craft Museum, while they were visiting the U.S. as members of the Tanzanian artists exchange.

My journey took me primarily along the coast of Tanzania, which is bordered by the Indian Ocean with it's amazingly beautiful beaches and abundance of fishermen.

I look forward to sharing more photos and stories of my time inTanzania and the wonderful people and culture.

God Bless,

Wendy

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!!!

Tanzanian Artists Workshop

Well, it's been some time since I was able to write on the ole' blog. There's tons of things to talk about, but will first address an awesome teaching experience.

On October 15, 2009, it was my pleasure to teach a workshop on "Fabric and Words" at the Ohio Craft Museum here in town. This was a special class held exclusively for 14 women artists delegates from Tanzania, visiting the U.S. More on this later. It was exciting when ten minutes into the class the room became filled with these pure in sound voices as the women broke into spontaneous song in order to "get in the mood to create". We ended up painting on carpentry aprons from Lowes hardware(they were inexpensive and provided a good surface for the acrylics we used). I'm always looking for my tools and pencils while working in the studio and often wear a full apron with pockets. When I saw these gems I immediately knew that their 78 cents price tag was perfect.
The room was filled with an "artists hum" as the women exchanged ideas and kept up with the ususal chatter we're good for.

An awesome exchange it was indeed, for several reasons. One how many opportunities do you get to sit and make art with women from another country/culture, right in your own backyard? Secondly,the women taught me the importance of addressing issues of concern through their created pieces, which led to the third point. The important issues that had been swirling in my mind and heart for some time needed to be released and allowed to take form through my art. Here I stood again, thinking it was about me pouring into them but I truly received just as much from my sisters from Tanzania...and I was glad to be able to share that with them!