Project 2020

ME  the coffee-- Here's my finished piece for Julee's book.  I've been thinking about how tough the past few years have been and how resilient and flexible I've had to be.  I loved the story about how the hotter the water the stronger the coffee.  I'm a tea, rather than coffee drinker--I like my tea black, no sugar, no milk--the concept is the same.  So, I approached this as a woodcut self-portrait with ME the coffee.  Coffee, like Black women, comes in many flavors, tints, and shades from expresso to mocha,  cappuccino to cafe au lait--each with its own strength.  Pam

       After the magical meet-up at Lilian T. Burwell's home---I cradled Julee's book in my arms as I made the short walk down the hill to my home in Venice Beach.  It sat in my studio/office until Labor Day---when I knew I'd have time to really reflect on the creative innovation of Julee's box book inspired by the short story, 'be the coffee.'  I love that the book is all black and white---as a printmaker, I feel most comfortable with black and white imagery.  The idea for my response didn't take long, as I knew I wanted to create a woodcut for the book.  I found a block that had been given to me 25 years ago that I set aside for the right project.  Well, this is it.  I decided to create a self-portrait as part of my response---you'll have to wait for the finished product to see how I connect my portrait to the concept---but here's my in-process work. Pam