update!

it has been some time since ive posted any new work or readings or anything here!!!!

it was a long busy summer...but that is no real excuse....

i have moved to a new blog site so i will no longer post here but please visit my new site at:

www.jadeandwele.wordpress.com

have a creatively blessed week!

jade.

Purchasing Afro Puffs Prints

I have a lot of questions about purchasing these prints and have been working on getting the online gallery up but since there is a demand for this I will put up the purchasing link now...

online gallery should be up by next week...

thanks for all the love & support!

Art on display at "Homecoming" 5/2/09

other artists work: Nataki Bhatti, Amber Robles Gordon, Tambra Stevenson

afro puffs

When I did this painting, I did it because I wanted it in my own bedroom...well...I had no clue it would start up a little black girl revolution...that all these people would want her too!

So the great news is more prints are going to be available this week! AND>>>

I am starting to work on the other characters that will be included in this series as well as other items that display these young beautiful characters...

one sista told me at an art show...

"I have to have this for my niece...you know...so she can know that how she looks is beautiful and she can accept herself and her blackness"

YAY!!!!!!!!! black IS beautiful!!!! afro puffs and all!!!!

Picking Love

Picking Love
14x18
Acrylic on Canvas
Jade Andwele 2009

We should always choose to pick love!!!!! Be conscious of what you choose to bring into your life!

Secret 3: Following your Fascinations

Reminder: I am reading Gail McMeekins "12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women" and have joined a book group where we post reflections to each chapter/secret...although I am way behind the group (which has finished the book lol) I am still doing it!!!

I know I am behind on these posts but ive been sick and busy among many things...

now that thats out of the way...lol time to discuss the 3rd chapter...

The first thing that jumped out at me was the Greek meaning of risk:

"to sail around a cliff"

I started to think about the idea of a cliff...what things in my life can be represented by a cliff and how do I sail around them? I do not have the answer yet...I think this will take a lot more time of reflection but when i figure it out ill post!

"To be truly creative, you must be willing to try and fail then get over it!"

this quote stuck out because often times we (or at least I) dwell on how we have failed instead of just shaking off the dust and keep on moving!!! I think it is ok to erase and rip up paper then start over, in the most literal to the most conceptual terms...

from this thought the chapter went on to discuss how it takes courage to admit that we have been on the wrong train and I definitely agree with this. I felt for a long time that getting my Masters degree in sociology was not only a waste of money but a waste of time. And it has always been hard for me to admit this to people. Sure I have another piece of paper to prove my knowledge and research skills but I now feel that I could have better spent two and a half years of my life doing more creative and loving things that I enjoy. The natural me hates this but the spiritual me realizes that it wasn't a waste of time because it put me in a place i had to journey to get to where i am now.

A few questions that popped up in my mind that you can ask yourself and I am asking myself:

? what positive risks are you going to take in your life?
? how will you honor your own belief system?
? What does your belief system look like?
? Who is your creative self and what does she/he look like?

Throughout each chapter in the book there are challenges presented for the reader to engage in. I chose to write about the intuitive messages challenge, which asked:

what messages are you receiving from your intuitive voice? IS your creative self inviting you to try new ventures? Are you ready to follow your fascinations?

My creative self is inviting me to try several new ventures. My intuitive voice is telling me to embark on a creative journey that I never thought I would be on. I am enrolling in classes to get pre-requisites for art therapy and going to apply for a masters in art therapy for Fall 2010 instead of going to get my PhD in something else. I am going to take my first art class next week! I am doing more in art that I never believed I would ever do. I just started painting months ago!!! Sell paintings? Never thought it would be me. I have my work hanging in peoples homes!!! My creative self wants me to let go and allow the energy to simply flow out into the world however it may. My creative self wants me to hone my craft and take time to understand who I am as an artist and a creative healer. I am ready to follow these fascinations and am planning my positive risks while working on being positive about these changes in my life and garnering support from others to continue and feel safe outside of my comfort zone.

-jade.

sista beautiful

a gift piece for one of my beautiful sista...i promised her months ago i would paint something since she didnt have any decorations on the wall in her new spot. so i thought this would be nice especially since she is super involved in her sorority which im sure you can guess which one by the colors lol

The Saartjie Project Homecoming !!!!!

The Saartjie Project Presents...

HOMECOMING

5.2.09 Capitol Hill Arts Workshop545 7th Street, S.E. Washington DC (Eastern Market Metro)

In May 2002, Saartjie (Sara) Baartman's remains were flown back to her homeland, South Africa and laid to rest almost 200 years after she left for Europe in search of a life void of violence. Tragically from 1810 – 1815 Saartjie was paraded around Europe under the show name “Hottentot Venus”. Featured as an oddity and hypersexual African woman, she was adorned in feathers, beads and placed in a cage on display because of her large buttocks. When she died her body was dissected and her remains were on display in a museum in Paris until 1974.

HOMECOMING is a tradition adopted by The Saartjie Project to commemorate the 7th anniversary of Saartjie Baartman’s final return home and raises the question,

“What does it mean to commemorate this day?”

HOMECOMING will feature women and girls boldly using their original art to heal and change communities.

Original performances by:

Princess of Controversy (http://www.princessofcontroversy.net/)

Dee Stone (http://www.deestonemusic.com/)

LEA (http://www.thisislea.com/)

Chaquis Maliq (http://www.myspace.com/chaquis)

Mahoganee (http://www.divamilitia.com/)

Jade Foster (http://www.myspace.com/blackchurchmaraca)

Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project (http://www.youngwomendrum.org/)

Elen Awalom

members of The Saartjie Project ...and more!

Original Visual Art by:

Kameelah Rasheed (http://www.kameelahwrites.com/)

Amber Robles-Gordon (http://aroblesgordonart.blogspot.com/)

Nataki McNeal Bhatti (http://www.myspace.com/natakimcnealbhatti)

Jade Andwele (me!)

This is not a night to miss!

Purchase tix at http://www.thesaartjieproject.org/

Your donation helps support The Saartjie Project as we scale our production, community-based programs & sojourn to Minneapolis for the 2009 Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed International Conference. We are a volunteer-run organization for the people sustained by the people.

Joyism May 1st!!!!!

My dear sista is having a wonderful show at the Capital Hill Arts Workshop on Friday May 1st BE THERE!!!!!!

www.osadance.blogspot.com

Ch. 2: Honoring your Inspirations

Im late. hehehe. been super busy. but going to get back at these blog posts

After reading this chapter I learned that I need to push myself more to create time for inspiration and to begin using creative rituals. More meditation. More time to just sit and let creativity come instead of just doing something because I feel like I have to do it.

One of the challenges in the chapter asked "what activates and drains our creativity"

My activators are: music (esp. sista badu!), magazines, concersations, dreams, creative energy and love from others, sunny days

drainers: rainy days, lazy days, low energy overall, feeling overwhelmed/anxious/depressed

In honoring my inspirations, I have to focus more on understand exactly who Jade is and build strategies to understand how my creativity works and how to allow it to work better. I constantly carry around a notebook or sketchbook and colored pencils to record whatever comes to mind whenever.

The chapter also discussed creating a creative sanctuary, which is my room overall lol I have beautiful colors of orange, purple, fuschia, different types of lighting, a large desk, areas to paint, green plants and colorful flowers (LIVE lol not fake), several bookshelves and creative cabinent. I will post pics of my room/creative sanctuary later.

how will you honor your creative inspirations?

at the nursing home

Last week I assisted an art therapy session at a nursing home in hampton. it was a rainy day and i didnt know what to expect. but i went. excited. open. soul feeling like the scent of the fresh rain.

i walked in the building and was led into the dining room area.
there were several 'seasoned' sistas and brothas in wheelchairs with nurses and volunteers helping them with their work. I was paired with an 80 year old brotha named Jesse.
Strong black brotha. He was focused on his work. He took an entire hour working on a bird he wanted to paint. I helped him with the watercolors. He laughed at me. I looked around at the others. Nurses were drawing the pictures and painting them for their patients, but me?

I let Jesse go on and do his thing.

What is creativity if I force myself on to someone else's process? Although some of the people were limited in their ability to draw and paint so what!!!! Let them have autonomy and the gift of doing whatever they want!!! From time to time Jesse asked me to move the paper around for him and clean his brushes. I was his assistant because he only had one arm.

When he finally finished his piece, he had the best out of everyone. It was an amazing watercolor on paper of a bird on a tree stump. He blended blues and greens, reds and browns to create something amazing. Everyone else made easter baskets lol

So when he finished I said, "you want to paint something for easter?"
he laughed, "I cant. I dont know what easter look like!"

He used the power of his own mind to paint and take time to create what he envisioned, not what someone else had. If i learned anything from this session, I know that as a therapist and creative encourager, I dont want to force. I want to beckon. I want to faciliate. Gently knead. Softly call for the creative energy that exists in every patient, client, sista, and brotha. And allow them to surface in their own time.

and this is a lesson for all parts of life...we should all ask ourselves, do we tend to force our ideas and our ways upon others? or create an environment where all can exist and grow?

Acknowledging your creative self

This first chapter begins with these words...

"yes you are a creative woman!!!!"

which led me to pick up some pastels and my sketchbook and create this quick drawing. She is a creative woman. Her entire body is a vibration of creative love and energy and she is constantly emitting and reflecting. Something I plan to later paint. Then I thought about creating a children's book. well a book full of illustrations not just for kids but for grown women too. Don't you like to look at pictures? I do. This is something I hadn't thought of before, but that is what acknowledging your creative self is about, reaching out and honoring all of the crazy amazing creative ideas that you have in your mind that you never really thought about moving on...why not? if you dreamed it then it is attainable!!!

What I found interesting is that the authors story is similar to mine. She became sick and in the process of healing and changing her life, she reached out for art and creative expression in order to create a fulfilling life. I never thought I would want to be an art therapist or open a healing center of creativity or write a memoir looking at my journey from depression to now. who knew?! I believe that my sickness was a divine intervention. while it sucked, it also slowed me down and allowed me to make necessary changes in my life. sweep out the old dust and make room for newness for light for love for energy and infinite possibilities.

A quote from the chapter:

"We continue to be stifled by a host of factors that cause us to censor our inner voices and follow someone else's dream"

Have we not all been here? I have lived 23 years listening to what other people think I should do with my life. The other day my mom said, oh look these jobs for the president why not apply. And I told her NO!!!! I refuse to do anything else in life that has nothing to do with my calling and my passion. I am fortunate enough to be so young and understand what it is i am passionate about and know what I am supposed to do with my life. My calling from God.

By acknowledging my creative self I know that I have to do better. I must incorporate more mediation into my daily life. I must take time to practice my creativity and allow it to flourish. I must be loud and bold with my creativity and not allow others to violate who I am and what I choose to do with my creative self. I must share my creativity with others who in turn share with me so that we are true reflections of one another. Namaste. I am blessed to have a creative circle in my life of women who are all encouraging me to grow.

I will finish this post with an excerpt from my memoir... I think it can describe one of the first times I can remember being creative...

I remember art class in elementary. Every Friday afternoon. The art teacher had a tight asymmetrical bob and always wore fly earrings. She played the radio during the entire creative process. I think that's where I developed my music addiction. I cant do much of anything without music playing. I remember pastels staining the ridges in my fingertips. Construction paper and magazine collages. Watercolors and tempra paints. Feeling relieved. No grammar. No math. Just fingers deep in clay. Friends laughing and jamming to the latest tunes. And now while writing this sitting at the bar in a Maryland Starbucks, I deeply want to recreate this sanctuary for others. For myself. To be creative and free.

-jade andwele. Copyright 2009.

updates

I am going to start posting my weekly thought from reading "12 secrets of highly creative women" by Gail McMeekin. There is an online book group who has been doing this the past 12 weeks, but I started very late (lol) So I will just post up here since this is a blog of creativity and growth. Hopefully if you are a creative woman as well you will pick up a copy of this book or order on Amazon and read it too!!!! I think it will be a great journey. I have finished Chapter 1 and plan on writing about it this week. I will probably read the book a lot faster than just one chapter a week so I should be posting more often.

I am currently working on some gifts for friends that I have been inspired by. Mom said, why you not selling these pieces and I told her because they are GIFTS!!! if we do not honor one another and give priceless gifts how do we expect to receive the same?

ON the other part of art, I am planning the next pieces that will follow 'empty womb' the working titles are 'womb on fire' and 'womb inspired'. At the end of the set you will be able to see the progress of the woman from being empty to being inspired...it should be great once it is all done.

That is my main focus for now and finishing the smaller pieces I was working on called "Economic Tears"

I also need to update this blog with some of the other artistic work I have been doing around the house as far as interior design and renovation is concerned. I have a few before and after pictures that need to go up.

Have a creative week!!!!
peace.love.energy.

Mother of Movement

I love this piece...I made it as a gift for a BEAUTIFUL sista of mine, Binahkaye Joy who is a mother of movement, an earth womb creating an abundance of energy in the love-joy...check her out at http://osadance.blogspot.com/

Binah in motion

empty womb

"Empty Womb"

24x36

acrylic/mixed media on canvas

I believe that we are all special because of our wombs. Men and Womyn. Our ability to birth and create which is new. To nurture. To develop. Unfortunately some of us have been so used up or have given so much that we no longer believe. We have been destroyed to the point our wombs are empty.

***going to get a better shot of it...

this piece is being featured on BAP living in April in honor of Black Women Artists

updates and such...

I hope everyone is enjoying the new year and working on building their new selves in line with what ever goals you have set for 2009.

Just wanted to write an update on what is going on...

I am working on the full out website and it should be up sooner than later :-)

I am writing and performing and being a wild crazy creative woman in a circle of amazing creative sisterfriends...

There are some new pieces I am working on that I am very excited about!!!!!

• continuing the Afro Puffs series, the next piece is going to be sooo cute cant wait to finish
• continuing the Black Women in Politics series I am going to focus on revolutionary politics so you already know sista Assata and Angela Davis are all up in that one but going to link so revolutionary politics of the old days as well...dont want to give it ALL away lol
• FINALLY...starting a healing series where I look at people who are hurting so that awareness is built for us to begin to heal...the first piece is going to be AMAZING. the working title is 'empty womb'

for any questions, comments, pricing on other pieces or you want something specially made or your own idea put to the canvas with my hands just email me at jadeandwele@gmail.com

Afro Puffs

SOLD

limited prints available

Acrylic
This is a fun piece that is a part of a series I am doing on Natural Black children. This piece inspires women young and old to be proud of their Natural hair!!!

Vol 1: Presidential: From Sea 2 Shining Sea

Acrylic/Paper/Mixed Media
This piece is the first one in a series I am doing on Black women in Politics. I called this one Sea to Shining Sea because it looks at the presidential role of the Black woman. From the first Black woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, to the first Black woman running for a major party presidential ticket, Shirley Chisholm, to our First Black Lady, Michelle Obama. These women represent major strides in presidential affairs of Black women in the world.

Choose Hope

This piece was inspired by President Barack Obama and his infamous quote to “choose hope over fear” I also used the infamous quote that was used by Nelson Mandela that “our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure”. Let this piece be a reminder that we MUST always choose hope over fear, hope that we will be and already are powerful beyond our dreams…

Booty Womb

This piece looks at the womans body as an entire womb, including her booty. That things can be birthed out of us as Black women no matter what the circumstances are. This piece was inspired by my involvement with the Saartjie Project http://www.thesaartjieproject.org/) Saartjie Bartman was put on display because of her large buttocks but although that was a horrible situation, many beautiful things have been birthed out of it in our century. We can always turn a negative into a positive.

Lady in Orange

SOLD

This piece is based on the character in the play “For Colored Girls” I performed this piece and loved it so much I decided to capture it on canvas!

revolutionary art

painted this for a beautiful sister who connected me to a whole new level of revolutionary art...the women in glitter is the logo for our collective...check us out at www.thesaartjieproject.org

yes he can and will

just something neat i wanted to do with the sign i got when i went to an obama rally that joe biden spoke at during the campaign. i wanted to capture the spirit in some way and made sure i put my legendary "i voted 2008" sticker up there so my kids and grandkids can see....

dream and believe

This is a cute and cheap DIY project my little sister and I worked on for my moms 50th birthday celebration. We used these as centerpieces. They are wooden pieces from the dollar tree and we simply painted over them with acrylic paint and she used the squeeze fabric paint to create the designs on them.

my supply cabinent :-)

i am such a neat freak when it comes to business...there is NO way i can get as much work done as i need to if my supplies are all over the place so i decided to design a cabinent for my bedroom that holds majority of my art supplies.

my mom had a bedroom set in the room i have taken over (haha) and she told me that i could do whatever i want with the room and the furniture. I took the old wardrobe dresser and made that my organization project to start this business...

BEFORE

so what i did to it was prime it and paint it a beautiful raspberry spritz then the inside walls a light blue, bottom shelf lime green, top shelf purple. i decoupaged the back wall with a scrapbook paper i found at Michael's. then i screwed 2 paper towel holders to the ceiling of the interior and used a piece of plastic hanger i broke off to put the ribbon on. the other paper towel holder i will use for paper towels. i also changed all the handles and brought baskets from the dollar tree to oragnize things...i would say i only spent maybe $10 on this :-)

AFTER