Gail's contribution into Aziza's Book

This was the beginning of my idea, where I used a combination of printed papers from Monotypes, along with my gel medium transfers. Adding colored paper offered less contrast than white paper, however, the results took on a dimensional appearance that magically merged the two media. While introducing Aziza's theme of "the resilience of weeds" I added some weeds growing in my yard. I dried them and then attached them to the collar.

 I am happy with the way the swirls within the print appeared through the face. The absence of the rest of the face does't bother me either, as it just reminds me of the parts of a persons face that you no longer see due to COVID19.

The nose actually belonged to another mask drawing and the eyes belong to a monotype of a face. The merger was accidental, while playing around with different ideas. The image is reminiscent of Ed Paschke's work, a Polish American painter, but only after the fact, not inspired by. The Cross belonged to my Mother, which was a reminder of her faith in all that was good. The black papers in Aziza's book made the colors pop with lots of drama.

The next page was first inspired by the properties of a popular weed: The Dandelions. With a bit of        research I found the definition of weeds and the ten properties of the dandelion which I included on the open hand on the left page. Contrary to popular belief, dandelions are not just pesky garden weeds. Botanists consider dandelions to be herbs. People use the leaves, stems, flowers and roots for medicinal purposes. They have some healthy benefits which include:

1.   Providing antioxidants

2.   Reducing cholesterol

3.   Regulating blood sugar

4.   Reducing inflammation

5.   Lowering blood pressure

6.   Aiding weight loss

7.   Reducing cancer risk

8.   Boosting the immune system

9.   Aiding digestion

.  Keeping skin healthy

                The amazing resilience of weeds:

There is a strong connection between African Americans in America and weeds that grow in your lawn. Weeds live in turbulent and unstable conditions therefore they develop special characteristics to survive.  Such as absorbing water more rapidly and capturing the sun before the surrounding vegetation. 

We also lived in turbulent and unstable conditions for more that 400 years, therefore we had to develop special characteristic in order to survive.  We endured unspeakable torture and abuse; we were raped and used as genie pigs for medical experiments. We watched our children being sold while our men were emasculated. We nursed white babies while ours went hungry. As a consequence we had to develop ways to keep sane, we first had to learn to communicate with each other, as we came from different countries in Africa, then we had to mask our true feelings in order to endure the pain and hold on to our dignity. Just like a weed we held each other up, found our own ways of survival in spite of the horrors.

 We fought for our freedom and never gave up and continue to do so. Our creativity catapulted our survival and created American culture within the arts all-inclusive.

Continuing on the second page, a hand folds open with the repeated reminder to vote. The quote says:  Our ancestors died so that we could vote: So make sure that you do so! To pull it all together I printed Black Lives Matter to create a border. This is what it looks like with the hands closed.

Thanks Aziza for your inspiration,

-Gail