Baltimore Sonnets

What a joy to watch my niece, Jasaiya, give a compelling talk at the 31st Ezra Pound International Conference at Brunnenburg Castle, Italy. It was her first academic talk, and she discussed her research on American poet Ezra Pound and her future work analyzing his complex cantos. Jasaiya inside Ezra Pound's study at Brunnenburg Castle, Italy

Palazzo Esposizioni Roma What a beautiful exhibition in the heart of Rome. The marriage of art, fashion, and innovative vision by designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Dolce&Gabbana's Exhibition, Dal Cuore Alle Mani ( From the Heart to the Hands ), 14 May - 13 August 2025.

 A day in Florence, buying paints and taking a moment to enjoy the view.

Passion 

2024 was a productive year.  I created several different book series of embroidered and embellished books during my 1.5 years as a Folger Institute Fellow.   These three flower books are in response to Shakespeare's Sonnet 54.  During my artist talk at the Folger on 16 November 2024, I mentioned the power of flowers.   "The act of giving flowers is a timeless gesture of deep appreciation, love, or praise. Beyond their symbolic value, flowers serve as visually striking design elements, drawing the eye and creating inviting focal points. Even after a fresh bouquet fades, the memory of the gesture endures, lending a poignant resonance to these artistic choices." /Suzanne Coley, 'Coded Threads,' November 2024  

This month I celebrated my 23rd year creating original imagery and art for theaters by taking my mom and husband to a local production of Eric Overmyer's play On The Verge or The Geography of Yearning . On The Verge was the first play that I created illustrations and art for the production's posters and the theater's exhibition gallery.  It was great to see this play more than two decades later. A bit of trivia: On The Verge premiered in Baltimore in 1985 at Baltimore Center Stage Theater. Working on this play and Aristophanes Clouds in Italy, are two of my all time favorites. Photo: Fells Point Corner Theatre Production, Baltimore, MD 2024

So excited to be printing in a new space!   I will be expanding the ongoing series of textile books, Love Sonnets From Shakespeare to Baltimore. My long-term goal is to make a unique book inspired by each of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets.   The new books will continue to combine relief printmaking (wood and linoleum) with silk screen printing on textiles. Why use the silk screen process for printing text and designs on fabric?  Even though it is multi-step process to create a silk screen, especially when making screens from scratch, I love the final look. This form of printmaking allows me to print Shakespeare's sonnets on textiles in interesting ways.  Each print is custom made, allowing the "reading" of text and imagery to incorporate multiple perspectives.

After researching the history of embroidery, needlework, textiles, printmaking, and Shakespeare, I am ready to make new books.   Vintage painted embroidery canvas by Royal School of Needlework, 2024 I am especially excited to find this lovely vintage painted canvas by Royal School of Needlework .  I wasn't able to find the year it was printed (or another one like it), so if anyone reading this knows, please put information in comments. 

So wonderful to see Sonia Delaunay's textiles, paintings, books, fashions, and tapestries in person at Bard Graduate Center, NYC.    The exhibition consists of almost 200 objects created over Delaunay's decades-long career.   There are four floors of objects, and each floor captures an aspect of her creative spirit, artistic practice, and marketing methods.   On view at Bard Grad Center until July 7, 2024.

What a wonderful week of literature and art!  Thank you Barnard College and Columbia Univ. for having me.   Intern Jasaiya, on the left, talking with students. Students viewing the handmade textile book Measure For Measure. It was a pleasure to share my work on Shakespeare's Sonnets and Measure for Measure project. Oh, the drama of Shakespeare's Sonnet 13 Visiting Barnard's Design Center Wising all continued success with their studies and exciting new chapters.

What a joy to spend a day at the Met with artist and educator Noah Jamison and see his painting "Black Valhalla" currently on view at the museum. Black Valhalla by Noah Jamison About Noah: After receiving his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1974, Noah moved to NYC and began teaching and exhibiting.  He exhibited his work at JAM or Just Above Midtown, a gallery and experimental space open from 1974 to 1986 where Black artists were free to explore various forms of art and push their creative boundaries. Noah's painting of "Black Valhalla" shows his mastery of encaustic, a technique in which paint is mixed with molten wax.  The painting was purchased by the Met museum in 1977.  I was impressed with the large fields of color that form the two silhouettes.  When you stand close to the painting, the numerous and meticulously applied pigmented layers needed to achieve the bold forms becomes evident.   Created in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War, the paint...

 What a magnificent exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Girl in Pink Dress by Laura Wheeler Waring, ca. 1927 Featuring 160 works of art - paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, and various types of ephemera - this exhibit spans the rich cross-disciplinary artistic and cultural period of African-American life.  Through these vast and varied works of art, visitors can explore the myriad of ways Black artists depicted modern life in the 1920s-40s in NYC's Harlem and nationwide. Langston Hughes by Winold Reiss, 1925    Girls in a Green Cap by Laura Wheeler Waring, 1930 Dr. Murrell, the curator of the exhibition was present during my visit. It was a pleasure to meet her and to hear about the vast research that went into making the exhibit successful.  I was excited to see the inclusion of the beautiful paintings by artist Laura Wheeler Waring and the intricate sculpture "Lift Every Voice (The Harp)" by Augusta Savage.  Although women writers, da...

 Do research at the university's wonderful library!   UGA Collections Libraries Give a class presentation. UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art