Hair, Hair, Brand New Hair

So here are some pics of my new coiffure. I decided I needed a drastic change to my outside as my inside is changing too. I have always wanted to dye my hair a bold artistic color. I am by no means a behind the scenes, incognito, shy person. I used to be, especially when I was a little girl. But as I've gotten older, I've realized that I love me, I love the person God made me to be, and there is no reason to be ashamed of her. It is okay to do what I was born to do: STAND OUT.

Here's to a brand new me.

Art Portfolio: Picture #2

The title of this piece is "Playing With Mommy's Hair."

The baby in this picture loves touching her mother's hair, which amuses the mother to no end. The baby's surprised expression shows that not only is she experiencing a little heaven on earth as she feels the senation of her mother's hair in her little fist, but she is pleasantly surprised that someone caught her enjoying herself.

Perhaps one day she will grow up to have beautiful hair like her mommy. But until then she will explore, appreciating her mommy as only she can.

I am thinking that my portfolio will feature women and their glory. Hair is so important to us all - it crowns our queenly nature. So this portfolio will deal exclusively with what it means to be a woman, what we celebrate, the beauty God has given to all of us. We'll see the direction the portfolio will take us in later posts.

Essence of Spirit Artistic Expressions

This is one of my first pictures in my new art portfolio. I am returning to my first loves: art and writing. I have been embracing my call as a writer for a while now, but art kind of got put on the back burner. But, forgetting about how much I used to love drawing as a child and a teenager, how I used to hang my pictures on the wall of my bedroom, how I used to imagine painting, working with clay, and drawing as a way of life, and how I hoped that one day I could represent my name's meaning (Essence of Spirit) to the fullest both in the literary and art worlds would be like forgetting who I am on the inside.

This picture is something I've been working on for a little while. The thing I like the most is the detail in the woman's afro and the look in her eyes. Her stare is so penetrating, makes you wonder what she is thinking, makes you realize that there is so much more to her than what meets the eye. If you look closely you will see words hidden in her hair (the Fruit of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23).

I can only hope I can start doing more art like this on a much broader scale, like my mom's best friend Jo used to do. I also hope to return to painting again and working with clay again.

I went to a art festival a couple weeks ago and when I saw people just like me with a passion for birthing artistic pieces, I knew I could not use excuses anymore as to why I am not producing. I am behind schedule, so it is time to get busy. My plan is to present a portfolio to the artistic director at Studio 1219, a art gallery in Port Huron. I want to start displaying my work instead of keeping it to myself.

Let me know what you think of this piece... The title of this work is "Fruit of the Spirit."

Ten Things I Never Thought Would Happen

I will be 32 in less than a month...imagine that... Time flies when you are having...fun...

In celebration of nearly 32 years of life I would like to compile a list of things I definitely didn't plan on by the time I reached 32.

I never thought...

(10) I'd be THIS chubby. (As one of my older cousins said to herself when she began the BWS - Black Women's Spread - "HAS IT COME TO THIS?") And go figure, I haven't had babies yet. BWS ususally happens AFTER children. Apparently, I am in trouble...apparently I am jumping the gun.

(9) I'd be living with my mother - AGAIN. Her wearing muu-muus around the house are seriously a scary, yet hilarious sight. My next question is, will that be me in another 32 years?

(8) I'd be living in a town lamer than the one I grew up in. I have literally seen tractors being driven down main throughfares and have had to shake my head in disbelief. I also have shaken my head at the number of restaurants that close at 9 on a Saturday night.

(7) I'd be single, not any closer to marriage than I was at 16, and fighting off the advances of married men...some being the husbands of some of my friends (or used-to-be friends). Must have a sign on my forehead or on my t-shirt or on my car's license plate. They are coming out of the woodwork like roaches.

(6) I'd be raising the child of my older brother rather than my own child. I think I may be too tired when it's time for my own hard-headed 16-year-old. Especially if the clothes get littler, skimpier, sexier. My child will be wearing a garbage bag if trends keep going the way they are going.

(5) I'd have to plan for vacations months in advance just to cancel them because the money I had saved for the occasion sprouted wings and took flight. It seemed like when I was younger, money was in unlimited supply...especially when it was somebody else's...

(4) I'd get my hair done every three months or so instead of every weekend (like I had planned). Now, I just make the "do" do what it wants to do. Scary thought, huh? It's mostly combed every day.

(3) I'd beg to go on "What Not to Wear" just so I could replace my wardrobe with a whole new one. Still trying to figure out how to pretend like I would be soooo surprised that one of my (great, wonderful, sensitive, and caring) friends recommended me for the show since technically I can't recomend myself.

(2) I'd no longer be the fun aunt my nieces and nephews used to adore (or at least like to be around). Maybe they were just being kind...maybe I wasn't that fun to begin with...

(1) I'd be so ornery and creaky...like a little old lady...joints popping when I get out of a sitting position or when I climb stairs.


And now, here's the flip side...then things I never imagined I would be doing.

I never thought I would enjoy:

(10) Going to the gym, to get rid of all this...stuff...and there is a lot of...stuff...

(9) Eating salad instead of chocolate.

(8) Telling myself that I would be okay if I wasn't a size six ever again in life.

(7) Dancing to the latest jams using old school moves (like my mom used to do). And how I (my nieces) would laugh at her (me).

(6) Being such a goody-goody. The piercings have closed, the hair is all one color (mostly), and the tight jeans have been shipped off to Goodwill since the tightness uncomfortably squeezes my thick thighs. It's not as fun as it looks, fellas, to smash all this into that.

(5) Listening to jazz instead of hip-hop and rap as my music of choice. Don't get me wrong I do like some bass and bounce in my car but when I am chilling, I love to chillax to the jazz station. Go figure.

(4) Telling stories from "back in my day..."

(3) Going to church more than I enjoy going to a nightclub. Who would have thunk it? The girl that used to hit the floor with her girls on a Friday night now would prefer an open mic night for singles at a church called Revolution?

(2) Going to art shows, poetry readings, and movies alone. I used to invite people to go with me, but the older I get the more I prefer the pleasure of my own company.

(1) Enjoy my relationship with Jesus more than the day before. As a teen I didn't think it could be any more carefree than it was then. But now...