Project 2020

The Process When I began working on Francine's book, I had a different idea in my head, but once I actually had the book in my hands I decided to let the materials I had guide me.  I really want my participation in this project to push me into using mediums I don't usually use.  I don't want each page I create to be a 'signature' Pam piece. I have a lot of stuff from teaching and from print work.  I knew I wanted to use the happy little girl template Francine provided.  I have a lot of small leather samples and used one of those to create the body for the girl.  I then used material samples and some 'hair-like' blue yarn I had.  As I began to think about the story my pages would tell --given 2020 was dubbed the "year of the woman" in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 21st Amendment, giving (most) women the right to vote and the historic election of our first woman/ BIPOC Vice President--I decided to focus on positive messages for women an...

I decided to make a monoprint of a crocodile for Gail's book, with an emphasis on the eye. I learned that the crocodile has a highly evolved eye, that can see in both water and in the dark.

This mask represents the "metaphoric mask" that my ancestors had to wear to disguise their feelings and disappointment while negotiating through a racist American society.  However, through further research it is also a fact that they had to disguise how smart they were as it relates to knowing how to read and speak proper English. Literacy threatened the major justification of slavery--that black people were"less than human". Therefore, it was to the slave's advantage to express "bad English" to whites because, as Fredrick Douglass (1817-1895) said, "Ignorance is a high virtue in a human chattel; and as the master studies to deepen the slave's ignorance, the slave is cunning enough to make the master think he succeeds." (Paulette Brown-Hinds, Black English during Slavery). In Kamala's book, half of the mask opens to reveal the inside of the page. There, you will find the shape of Africa with a sampling of names of different languages...

This is a follow-up on the remake of my book that was lost in the mail early on in the project.       At Pyramid Atlantic Printmaking Workshop, I had fun revisiting and solidifying my knowledge   of this process. I am using a letterpress machine to print out the statement that flows throughout my book. The statement: The crocodile lives in the water, yet breathes in the air... represents resilience, which is directly connected to the survival of African Americans in America against all odds.   Back to the drawing board! Here I am re-constructing the box that will house my book. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the same papers and fabrics that was used previously, so It will look a bit different from the original one. Actually, it only took one day to build the   structure and another day to embellish. Below are the different materials and fabrics used   along with the letterpress statement that will be attached to the back of each contribution....

Pam's book entitled "Retablo of Resistance"challenged me to complete eight signatures, which consist of two pages folded in half using all sides. After selecting my center page from an assortment of pre-made papers supplied, the journey began. Her theme was very close to mine in that resistance and resilience takes you to the same place, survival! The page I selected was about the freedom and the necessity to vote, so apropos leading up to the November 3rd 2020 election. I printed BLACK LIVES MATTER on black paper and collaged it diagonally across the page.  I also added 2020, VOTE, and WOKE with adhesive black letters and VOILA! done. The cover and back pages were much more complicated. Using another transparent gel medium mask, I superimposed fragments of mono prints, metallic papers and Adinkra symbols. The symbols were cut away from the mono print paper with an exacto-knife, leaving an empty space, while creating a relief affect. This technique has become a new way of...

"Say their Name" is the title of Adjoa's book, which inspired me to create this page. It was a challenging experience because I had to design it to withstand an origami fold. Working with collage made the paper too thick to fold, therefore I had to leave spaces on the fold lines so that it could fold easily. Hopefully, my measurements were correct. The mask is a gel medium transparent print of a drawing. The transparency print allowed me to add colored shapes behind it while still being able to see through it. On the sides of the face I reversed the process by collaging colored paper on the top of the image. I strategically intersected parts of the face with "BLACK LIVES MATTER" because Say Their Name is almost synonymous with that mantra. At the bottom of the face under the mouth is a list of people who have been wrongfully killed by the police. The request to "Say Their Name" is to ensure that they aren't forgotten and to understand that they des...

A chance to experiment with the figure! I had a linoleum block that I had begun but was incomplete. I decided to cut back into it and print it using black ink on a translucent Japanese paper. Once the ink was dry, I cut sections of the white paper away,  I made textured papers by painting on them with acrylic paints. Some of the papers were printed using acrylic paint on linoleum blocks with patters cut into them.  I cut the shapes of  adinkra symbols  from the papers to give an additional layer of context http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra_index.htm. Using a white pencil, I drew the mask and adinkra symbol for a wind house on the back of the woman's shirt. A wind house is a Ghanaian architectural structure made to resist winds. I see my people as  people that have a powerful ability to resist adversity. Both the COVID-19 and the American political/social climate have been tremendously challenging. We Survive.  The title of this piece is FORWARD! Painted...

 Julie asked us to work in black and white for her book. Having spent the last twenty years with color as a important element in my work, her request called me to pause. I decided to put the emphasis on texture, and worked segments of the piece with black on black. If it was the blackness of coffee that gave it it's strength, mine would have Black on Black sections. Looking ahead, strength was going to be needed by all...plenty of it.  Returning to the aesthetic of my Etude Series, the  perimeter being  pushed out by rhytematic forms. Another page is completed. Julee's book is three dimensional, and I can't wait to see the final book.  

  A friend of mine said of these times, "adapt or die." Harsh, yes, but indeed, for too many, it is a sober reality, as COVID has swept through the country and the world. On the front page left the purple image is that of an adinkra symbol from Ghana for, "adapt". Within the purple form, the paper has the repeated image of an Ankh,  an Egyptian symbol for Life. On the right the adinkra symbol in green and red-orange speaks to the sanctity of mother earth.   The dots and dashes form an abstracted S.O.S. in Morse Code. Do you see more adinkra symbols? To learn more see http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra_index.htm     There are more adinkra symbols, and the Patterned shapes form  symbols http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra_index.htm     Dandelions have been a symbol of tenacity and resilience in my work for many years and continue to make their appearance. I enjoy percussive imagery, syncopated in pattern and color.