A while back I directed a photo shoot (in the form of a visual story) with some really cool individuals for TRACE magazine online. I must say, the experience was fresh. Further more, it was effortlessly fresh! I wrote a piece to accompany the photographs, and I advise everyone to check it out. Homage to Her is a tribute to all the ladies that take full ownership of their hustle an grind. If you don’t know what that is, then…take the chance to read up on it. And if you do know what it is, still take the chance to read up on it, and celebrate all that you have become.
“Although you won’t run into a girl like Beyonce, Halle Berry, or Oprah Winfrey twice in one week, there are hundreds of “dim-light” females that embody the same female hustle mentality. In fact, Her hustle is not validated by the amount of recognition she receives, but by her growth that she can only achieve when…” -excerpt from Homage to Her.
Sometimes I feel I want to hide away forever.
Run into nature and live there peacefully.
Away from them, away from you.
We are so different that it scares me.
But…somehow…we’re just, alike.
So whenever I write I confront you in my words.
And in my dreams. I’m much bolder there.
I wonder why you never say hello.
We stare while passing…a smile we share.
A common understanding.
A kind of love that is unspoken.
A hood classic. The first ghetto epic.
The novel for the future young people.
We know who we are to each other.
I’m you’re fantasy.
You’re my inspiration.
As I dress in the morning…
In every executive decision…
Inside of every smile…
There you are at the foundation of it all.
So when we’ll meet face to face again.
I’ll play it cool, just to smile at you.
is quite enough.
Trapped inside the crib and suffering from a repulsive illness, I am forced to sit in front of Mac until the sniffling wears off. Oh, btw, during this difficult time, my Cable decides to stop working, so yeah that means no more Cosby’s on Tivo. Just a quiet apartment…two cats…and a Mac. I must admit, the silence is grand; it allows more space for my mind to be free. So my mind begins to wander off on fall fashion, what I need to bring to the fore-front of my wardrobe…what style changes am I going to make, so it will coincide with my current lifestyle. That’s when I remembered I had these images on my desk top.
I pinned these images to my visionary board. I love this look! Sweaters, sweaters, and more sweaters. The energy is sovereign, yet approachable. Warm and comfy -self-sufficient. Hmm, coincidentally it describes my current emotions about life. Looking forward to the Autumn House Warming Party!
We Need 2 Smile | "The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." -Maya Angelou
A few days ago I had the pleasure to pen a few words for a visual project titled, We Need 2 Smile (The Freedom Project) by Ray Kairos. Already stoked, I requested to see images of the collection (for inspiration) and was blown away by the images and what they signify. “We Need 2 Smile” is a powerful statement and in most cases the medicine to life’s problems. I also realized that a smile is a decision for freedom. Hmm… I’ll repeat, a smile is a decision for freedom… That said, I back this project 100%. Dedicated to African-American females everywhere, make sure you find time to smile today…
“When the world wants me to frown I choose to smile. It is a stipulation for my ultimate freedom. Accountable for my contribution to you, I refuse to scowl under the invisible impediments placed before me…They want me to rage; they want me to suffer. But, I bring them back to life. With just one smile. It is my weapon of mass re-construction.”
-An excerpt from “Our Choice” by Toni Burke for We Need 2 Smile.
I love art.
It is the only thing that can hold
my attention for a long period of time.
The complexity and endless possibilities of it’s meaning,
Forces me to acknowledge it.
I wish most people were more like art.
Gosh darn…
[Boo Noises Here] I know, I know. And it is friggin’ pitiful. When I went to Europe, things were a lot different. I was forced to eat fish and vegetarian dishes, because the meat out there just isn’t the same. And I tried to maintain that custom once I got back to the States -with a little faults here and there- but overall I was doing friggin’ well. Until…
I went AWOL. I mean terribly. Just eating meat left to right without consideration. My aunt cooked a ham, and did I not go in?! I went in so much that two weeks later, I helped her prepare the delicious remains in a tasty soup (how frugal was that? give me points for frugality here). And a few weeks ago, I won’t front…I devoured some baby back, baby back, baby back ribs. (C’mon my aunt made them. Didn’t want to let her down!) And let’s not forget the late night trip to chicken spot. (I mean it wasn’t all that, but tipsy rhymes with crispy). I’m a pitiful failure…lol. But now I will right my wrongs by revealing to you what I discovered, which is my new found reason to NOT EAT MEAT.
8/19 Dear Dairy,
Her mother will never know
What she has in store for the world.
Mother will try to guess.
But the secret lies within the truth.
Lines that form what we are.
It’s all familiar.
It’s all relative.
She calls on the wind to follows her wherever she goes.
Humans inside of Nature
There is always something to learn.
Are you willing?
Short lived like Cherry Blossoms.
It’s either today or todie.
She aspires to be many things: on earth.
But overall she aspires to evolve into a new life.
Not just an artist.
Not just a philanthropist.
Not just a mother, sister, and best-friend.
But a new level of being that will
supersede the present concept of living.
Pushing the boundaries of capability.
Fighting to keep all forms of love alive.
An advocate, even if you don’t believe.
And besides…
Isn’t this such a dope illustration?I love watercolor.So cute, would love this to be in my (future) daughter’s bedroom.
*The classic clawfoot tub.
*The ceiling fan.
*The flickering lamp.
*Walk in closet (clothes not included).
*Flowers everywhere.
*The wall paper.
*The outback with the vintage bike.
*The bed with the matching bed sheets
*The “creekiness” of it all.
Fresh…
Someone should smack you on your bum.
The things you do is unspeakable.
Smokes and mirrors,
Into the 4th demension.
Pop!
All over the place.
Washed up on the shore.
Sand in my ass.
Drizzle, drizzle, slow like molasses.
Sweet enough…on my Watermelon with a margarita to chase you down.
A straw hat in the W of the shade by the tree.
On a barren beach.
I’m the nucleus of our compass.
Shoes are N.
Dress is E.
Swimsuit went S.
Spread across the orbit,
I’ll help you find your way.
Refuge.
Sticky, better when it’s warm.
Golden, better when it’s raw.
Fresh, better when it’s on my sugarcane.
Sweet.
A while back I directed a photo shoot (in the form of a visual story) with some really cool individuals for TRACE magazine online. I must say, the experience was fresh. Further more, it was effortlessly fresh! I wrote a piece to accompany the photographs, and I advise everyone to check it out. Homage to Her is a tribute to all the ladies that take full ownership of their hustle an grind. If you don’t know what that is, then…take the chance to read up on it. And if you do know what it is, still take the chance to read up on it, and celebrate all that you have become.
make federelli.
seek balance.
protect hustle.
i’ve been getting emails with images like these attached.
