Project 2020

 Hey sisters. It was a wonderful day, loved the interaction and loved meeting Pamela. We got to see four of the nine books. Very inspiring!. Missed you Adjoa. - Julee

Adjoa was nice enough to deliver her package by hand. Very exciting! In it are carefully packaged folders with papers instructions and two small mock-ups of her final book. Made of cardboard, the book  has a rustic look to it and I love the band she made to hold it secure. Opening the book is a joy, as it cascades into beautiful folded paper. Each of the squares will hold our images, and she even included a few images so we can see how a finished page would appear in the completed book. Adjoa's theme is names, their meaning, the memory encased in them, the reinforcement of a name's power when it is uttered.  Thank you so much Adjoa:  )   I began with some sketches, and a couple of phone calls to Adjoa for needed information. I wanted permission to go off the edge of the page (got to stay boundless!) and Adjoa was kind enough to grant it.       Tracing paper helped me to block in where all the folds would be. This helped me to keep the collage ...

Artists Kamala Subramanian, Julee Dickerson Thompson, Pamela Harris Lawton, and Francine Haskins met in Highland Beach, MD, August 26 to share their books and ideas. Julee points to the four illustrations Kamala created for her book.  Only one illustration can be used.  Lilian watches as Francine shows Pamela her book. Kamala (left) looks at Adjoa's sculptural book that Francine unfolds. Francine has already started designing her page.  Francine and Pamela (on right) look at the illustration Aziza created for Adjoa's book.  

We shared Aziza's, Julee's, Adjoa's, and Michele's books at the exchange in Highland Beach on August 26, hosted by Lilian Burwell. Then Julee, Francine, and I each shared our 'spin offs' artwork that were inspired by the project. For me, I made 4 test paintings and selected my favorite to complete working on for Julee's book. Then, I kept going creating art inspired by our sharing photos, etc. in anticipation of the future books to come. - Kamala My spin-off artworks inspired by the project. Illustration chosen for Julee's book.

Michele's detailed illustration and her book cover was shared at the Meet up and book exchange in Highland Beach on August 26. Her book now goes to Kamala to add her page.  Michelle's illustration (left) for her book. Her book's cover appears on right.  Julee's design for Michelle's book

Lilian  Thomas Burwell (seated) and Francine Haskins Our Thursday, August 27 four Project 2020 artists, Kamala Subramanian, Julee Dickerson Thompson, Pamela Harris Lawton, and Francine Haskins met in Highland Beach, MD at the home of 93 year-old sculptor and painter Lilian Thomas Burwell. Lilian, along with her aunt Hilda Wilkinson Brown were recently celebrated in a documentary "Kindred Spirits" by filmmaker Cintia Cabib. The book exchange was wonderful and just the jolt of creative energy I needed,"Kamala exclaimed. She added, "I loved the 'show and tell' moments, and the ideas were flowing as we admired everyone's imaginative approaches to their book pages. Great lesson plan Aziza and Adjoa!!" Francine remarked, "It was a wonderful day and loved the interaction and meeting Pamela. We got to see four of the nine books. Very inspiring!" Afterwards, Kamala wrote, "We need to work this into a monthly thing! It was awesome. I would high...

Hi everybody, This is my page for Gail's book. I continued with her mask concept and used the late Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayon as my source. Belkis Ayon's major theme in her work was "Imposed  silence" She used the mask as imagery and there are no mouths in her Masks drawings or collographs There is a quote "Silence is the most powerful scream" At this point in my life I have to embrace  silence and the gifts it gives, such as removing oneself from the chaos of the world so I can be with peace with myself. Silence promotes listening and patience which is something I feel I need to as a developing artist, especially in my twilight years.  Gloria Patton 2020 project 

It was quite a creative journey working on the eight pages for Pam's altered book. I eagerly accepted each challenge. I ended up painting a watercolor portrait and landscape; drew a portrait using graphite and engineered a pop-up to make it stand; painted the cover in acrylic; made a gelatin print for the back page; used a recycled etching; and wrote a poem. All my explorations were to make sure I gave Pam's book Retablos of Resistance, the justice it deserved. In her directions, she urged us to create visual and written narratives about "strength in challenging times." I decided to focus on African American women and their role in the suffragist movement. Looking through the choices she provided to get us started, I immediately chose the spread with the words Highland Beach on it because of its historical significance, and because of my experience living there from 2009 - 2012. The pages also contained a letter-pressed quote from Frederick Douglass, who was a strong ...

Dear Sista Artists--- I just completed my first page for Kamala's book.  So far 2020 has been filled with challenges and crises, but one positive story stood out---celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment (giving some women the right to vote).  My page was inspired by this and the many articles and documentaries I've seen about the role BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) women played in getting the amendment passed---despite being treated like step-sisters by their white counterparts.  I knew about some of these women, like Mary Church Terrell, Sojourner Truth, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and Anna J. Cooper previously, but I did not know about the Native American (Sitkála-Sá), Mexican-American (Jovita Idar), Chinese-American (Mabel Ping-Hua Lee) and many, many other BIPOC women who took an active part in the suffragette movement---even though many knew the vote would not apply to them. My page honors all these women (Say their names!!  VOTE!!...

Collage. Three different papers: Linoleum printed Paint + spray paint Acrylic paint Measured, cut, pasted Will do more tomorrow :) I hope Adjoa likes it when it's complete. - Aziza

          This was the beginning of my idea for Francine's book. After receiving her book I had to go sit down and take it all in. That's when I knew it was time to roll up my sleeves and get to work, as my first book challenge has begun. She started her book with an amazing fabric collage in the theme of Black Lives Matter. So in keeping with that theme I used a previous BLM design from a recent drawing of mine and superimposed a gel medium image of a mask from a series of mask drawings created last summer.    On this page I was trying to figure out the layout. I decided to glue the transparencies together first with, you guest it! gel medium. I think at this point I could do a commercial for Liquitex matte medium. If anyone knows how to get this stuff off of your fingers let me know, even when I think it's off, its not. On the second page I was inspired to use the silhouette of a girl swinging, supplied by Francine. I was quite familiar with the silh...

Hi Artists, Please use this blog to document and share your content and creative process.   Feel free to create posts and interact with each other via this blog and the shared email account.  Looking forward to seeing everybody's work! Best,  Gail Shaw-Clemons