Tuesday, October 28, 2008

KERRY JAMES MARSHALL'S ARTIST TALK: THE ZABAR ARTIST TALK LECTURE SERIES @ AT HUNTER COLLEGE NYC, OCT 28, 2008

TUESDAY AFTERNOON I HAD PLANNED ON GOING DOWN TO MY FRIEND SANA MUSASAMA'S JOB TO HELP HER AND HER STUDENTS OUT WITH A ONLINE PROJECT THEY WERE WORKING ON.... I CALLED SANA TO FIND OUT WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO COME,... SHE TOLD ME THAT HER PLANS HAD CHANGED,.... THAT SHE AND HER STUDENTS WERE GOING TO HEAR THE ARTIST KERRY JAMES MARSHALL SPEAK AT HUNTER COLLEGE, WHERE SHE TEACHES CERAMICS.... I TOLD HER I WANTED TO GO AND THAT I WOULD MEET HER AT THE SCHOOL.

THIS WAS THE MOST ARTIST CAREER BASED ENPOWERING LECTURE THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD FROM AN ARTIST THAT SPOKE DIRECTLY RO MY MISSION AS A ARTIST.

THIS LECTURE SERIES IS SPONSORED BY THE ZABAR FAMILY OF ZABAR'S DELI & GOURMET FOODS IN NEW YORK CITY.

MR. ZABAR IS IN THE PHOTO BELOW, THE MAN ON THE FAR LEFT TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE LECTURE.... I WAS EXTREMELY EMPRESSED TO SEE MR & MRS. ZABAR THERE AND ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE EVENING.

KERRY JAMES MARSHALL IN THE BLUE SHIRT, SANA MUSASAMA PINK SCARF AND BRAID, AND A GUEST AND STUDENTS ASKING KERRY JAMES MARSHALL QUESTIONS, AFTER HIS SCHORLARLY AND THE BUSINESS OF ART TALK.

THIS TALK LASTED 3 HOURS,... NOT ONE PERSON LEFT THE ROOM DURING THIS TIME.


BLACK ARTIST IN THE DARK,.... TALKING ABOUT BLACK ART TO STUDENTS,.... THEY TURNED THE LIGHTS OUT IN THE AUDITORIUM TO MAKE EVERYONE LEAVE,... BUT THE STUDENTS STAYED AND KERRY KEPT TALKING IN THE DARK.... IT LOOKED LIKE ONE OF KERRY'S LIVE WORKS OF ART IF YOU ASK ME.

THE ARTIST KERRY JAMES MARSHALL AND ONE OF HIS WORKS OF ART.

KERRY JAMES MARSHALL HAD DEFINATELY CREATED A PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL ART HISTORY FOR HIS WORKS OF ART,.. THE STYLE HE CREATED WITH HIS AFRICAN-AMERICAN SENSIBILITY, AESTHETIC AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVE,... THE INTELLECTUAL CONTENT,... THE QUESTIONING & EXPLORATION OF CONDITIONS,.... THE SIZE, HOW HIS ART WORK RELATES TO OTHER CONTEMPORARY ART. KERRY JAMES MARSHALL HAS MASTERED SEVERAL LEVELS.

MY ADVISE TO ANY ARTIST OF WHAT EVER COLOR IS, IF YOU HEAR OR SEE THAT KERRY JAMES MARSHALL IS GOING TO BE SPEAKING IN YOUR AREA, MAKE PLANS TO BE THERE, IF HE IS NOT SCHEDULED TO SPEAK AT A COLLEGE OR CULTURAL INSITITUTION IN YOUR AREA. PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR HIM TO ENLIGHTEN YOU WITH HIS WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE..



THIS WAS A MASTERFUL EVENING... WE ALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED A MARSHALL DEGREES AS WE LEFT THE AUDITORIUM.... TOTALLY EMPOWERING.

THANK YOU KERRY JAMES MARSHALL,... YOU GOT A NEW FAN.!!!!

RAW SOUL FOOD 145TH 8TH AVE. IN HARLEM: WHOLE LIFE PROGRAM HANDS-ON FOOD PREPARATION WITH LILLIAN BUTLER & EDDIE ROBINSON

THIS IS ONE OF THE STUDENT MIXING THE MOCK SALMON PATE, WHILE THE OTHER STUDENT SLICE, CUT AND ADD INGREDIENTS AND OBSERVE


LILLIANS HAND ON THE RIGHT ADDING GREEN ONIONS TO THE MIX.



THE PATTERNS ON THE WALL IN THE BACK GROUND IS MY ORIGINAL STENCIL WORK... I CREATED THIS DESIGN ESPECIALLY FOR RAW SOUL....



LILLIAN HOLDING THE BOWL OF FINISH MOCK SALMON PATE... READY TO GO ON THE PLATES TO BE SERVED.

THE PROUD CLASS AT THE END OF THE FULL FOOD DEMOSTRATION.... WAIT A MINUTE... WHERE'S EDDIE.

OK... THERE HE IS IN THE ORANGE SHIRT ON THE RIGHT.

THE CLASS BEFORE THE MEAL IS SERVED WRITING OUT THEIR CLASS EVALUATIONS.

MONDAY EVENING, I DECIDED TO WALK UP TO 145TH AND 8TH AVE, TO RAW SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT, AND GET ME A SLICE OF LIVE FRUIT CHEESE CAKE MADE WITH CASHEWS AND COCONUT MEAT TO MAKE IT CREAMY... WHEN I GOT TO THE DOOR, I NOTICED THAT IT LOOKED LIKE THE RESTAURANT WAS NOT OPEN FOR DINNING,... THERE WAS A LIVE FOOD PREPARATION CLASS IN SESSION.

LILLIAN BUTLER SAW ME LOOKING IN THE DOOR AND SIGNALED FOR ME TO COME ON IN,... I DID,... THE AROMA OF ALL THE CHOPPED INGRIENDANTS MADE MY MOUTH WATER AS SOON AS I WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR WAY.

I ASK IF THERE WAS ANY SLICES OF PIE LEFT,... I DID'NT EVEN ASK FOR A SPECIFIC PIE, I WAS WELLING TO SETTLE FOR WHAT EVER PIE I COULD GET. LILLIAN BROUGHT OUT MY SLICE OF BANANA CREME PIE,... I PAID FOR IT, AND SHE INVITED ME TO STAY FOR A WHILE.

AND AM I HAPPY I DID... I REMEBERED HOW I WAS PLANNING TO GET MY DIET BACK TOGETHER AND TAKE SOME MORE COURSES WITH LILLIAN AND EDDY. THEY HAVE THE WIDEST VARIETY OF THEIR ORIGINAL MENU'S OF INTERNATIONAL DELICOUS LIVE FOOD RECIPES I HAVE EVER TASTED.

THEY HAVE DONE ALL OF THE HARD WORK IN PREPARING THE RECIPES, THE STUDENTS ARE FREE TO ADD ANY CHANGES TO THE BASIC RECIPE TO MEET THEIR PERSONAL TASTE.

I WAS INVITED TO SAMPLE THE FOOD WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW DELICOUSE THE FOOD WAS. ESPECIALLY THE HOMEMAKE ICE CREAM, OVER A PEAR CRISP, THIS WAS THE MOST DIVINE DESERT I HAVE EVER TASTED. YOU CAN SEE, I DID'NT EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO PHOTOGRAPH THE FOOD BECAUSE I WAS CONSCINTRATING ON WHAT WAS ON MY PLATE.

EDDY WAS DEMONSTRATING THE PREPARATION OF THE ICE CREAM WHEN I WALKED IN, I GOT THE RAW SOUL FOOD PREPARATION BOOK WITH THE RECIPE IN IT, NOW I HAVE TO MAKE THIS ICE CREAM MYSELF.

THE MENU THAT THEY WERE WORKING WITH WAS

PEAR COBBLER
VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM
MOCK SALMON PATE
GARDEN VEGETABLE PILAF

RAW SOUL IS GOING TO BE HAVING ANOTHER RAW FOOD PREPARATION DEMONSTRATION ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2008 6:00-9:00

THEY WILL BE PREPARING A HOLIDAY FEAST MENU

APPLE CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
MARINATED GREEN BEANS
DIRTY RICE LIFAF
CAJUN CROQUETTES WITH HOLIDAY SAUCE
LOUISIANA YAM PIE

ENJOY THE ABUNDANT BOUNTY OF THANKSGIVING THAT IS HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS.... ORGANIC INGREDIENTS USED IN PREPARATION OF ALL DISHES.RECIPES AND AMPLE SAMPLES PROVIDED.

FOR MORE INFORMAITON VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.RAWSOUL.COM OR CALL 212 491-5859.

RAW SOUL
348 W. 145TH STREET.
NYC 10039

212 491-5859

THIS IS A LIFE ENHANCING EXPERIENCE IN FINE LIVE FOOD CUISINE... YOU CAN TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

PRAYERS OF STRENGTH & COMFORT TO THE HUDSON FAMILY, THE MANY FAMILY OF FRIENDS, AND THE REST OF US. DURING THIS HEAVY TIME OF GRIEF


I PRAY FOR A COMFORTER, TO EASE THE STING OF DEATH FOR JENNIFER HUDSON, HER FAMILY AND FAMILY OF FRIENDS, THIS IS A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME FOR THEM.

I PRAY FOR THE SOULS OF HER FAMILY MEMBERS, WHO'S LIVES WERE SO TRAGICALLY TAKEN AWAY.

THIS HORRIBLE FAMILY TRAGEDY HAS HIT US REAL DEEP.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

FAITH RINGGOLD'S: ANYONE CAN FLY FOUNDATION, CELEBRATES THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR, 1999-2008

MASTER FINE ARTIST FAITH RINGGOLD SIGNING HER PROCLAMATION (POSTER) TITLED: FREEDOM OF SPEECH. FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART SERIES.... I GOT MINE!!!!




FINE ARTIST CAROL MARTIN STANDING IN FRONT OF ONE OF FAITH RINGGOLDS SPIRITED FINE ART QUILTS IN ACA GALLERY OFFICE.

EARLIER TODAY I WAS TALKING TO MICHELLE BISHOP AND SHE MENTIONED THAT SHE WAS GOING TO FAITH RINGGOLD'S FOUNDATION ANYONE CAN FLY 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT THE ACA GALLERY IN CHELSEA.

I HAD GOTTEN THE E-MAIL ABOUT THIS EVENT, BUT IT HAD GOTTEN LOST OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS WHEN I WAS WORKING ON MY EXHIBITIONS. I AM SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND, IT WAS GREAT SEEING FAITH'S EXTREMELY BRILLIANT, TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS BARBARA AND MICHELLE.

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS IN THE SPACE WERE UP LIFTING, I WAS MIXING AND MEETING NEW FOLKS, AND CATCHING-UP WITH FOLKS FROM UPTOWN & DOWNTOWN THAT I KNEW WOULD BE AT THE EVENT AND WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING.

I ENJOYED MINGLELING AMONG THE CROWD WHILE WE LISTENED TO LIVE MUSIC AND THE LADY JAZZ SINGER, THEY EVEN HAD MY FAVORITE DRINK, MARTINELLI APPLE CIDER.

THE ART WORK THAT WAS ON SPECIAL EXHIBIT FROM ARTIST AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR THE AUCTION WAS INSPIRING, I REALLY LIKED THE THEME, "PASSION". THE NOTICE FOR THE EVENT READ.

ANYONE CAN FLY FOUNDATION P.O. BOX 429 ENGLEWOOD. NJ 07631

10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
AUCTION AND EXHIBITION, THE THEME IS "PASSION"!

JOIN US FOR GREAT ART, LIVE MUSIC, DANCING AND REFRESHMENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE ANYONE CAN FLY FOUNDATION WHOSE MISSION IS TO EXPAND THE ART ESTABLISHMENT'S CANON TO INCLUDE ARTISTS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA AND TO INTRODUCE THE GREAT MASTER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART.

THIS ANNUAL EVENT OFFERS A VARIETY OF ARTWORK FROM ARTISTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. ARTIST HAVE BEEN INVITED TO MAKE A UNIQUE 8 X 10 INCH ART WORK EXPRESSING "PASSION".

$40 DONATION AT THE DOOR. THE FOUNDATION IS A 501(C)3

PLEASE VISIT WWW. ANYONECANFLY.ORG

YET ANOTHER THING I ADMIRE ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZING MASTER FINE ARTIST FAITH RINGGOLD.

ELECTION WARNING: Over 1,500,000 NYS Voters Purged


A FRIEND OF MINE, JUST TOLD ME SHE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS NOT REGISTERED TO VOE, EVEN THOUGH SHE IS A ACTIVE VOTER. I AM GOING DOWN TO CHECK AND SEE TODAY IF I AM ON THE REGISTRATION.
READ BELOW TO GET MORE INSIGHT.

Have you been purged from New York State’s database?

As I wrote about in my last blog, HAVA required substantial changes to the way voter registration lists are managed, requiring that all states maintain a single statewide database, and that voter registration records be purged of incorrect records. But depending on how database name matching is done, this can result in many legally registered voters being removed from the rolls or set to “Inactive” status, which means on Election Day their names will not be in the poll book, and they will not be able to vote.
But a question has remained, how many voter records have been purged from New York State’s voter rolls? Now we have an answer. I submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for all records in New York’s NYSVOTER voter registration database. Early in October, I received a copy of NYSVOTER records from September 23, 2008. I wrote a program to analyze the 12,010,045 voter records and can now report the number of voters who have had their status set to “Purged” or “Inactive” in the Empire state, and the reasons given for the change.
The data reveals that New York State has moved 1,661,244, or almost 14% of the voter records, from “Active” status to “Purged” or “Inactive”, meaning they will not be in the poll books on Election Day. Whether or not these changes are valid is anybody’s guess, and there’s no way to know for sure how many of these have been incorrectly removed from “Active” status. But I’ll wager that a significant number of these records are actually legally registered voters who should be allowed to vote on Election Day, but won’t be.
I’ve provided two spreadsheets which break out the analysis by individual New York State counties, totals for New York City(which includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island), and the state as a whole. The first sheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) shows the total number of records, the number of “Active” status voters, and the number set to “Purged” and “Inactive”, and the percentages these represent of the total. The second spreadsheet (Xl format here; PDF format here) breaks out the reasons given for each record set to “Purged” and “Inactive”.
This second spreadsheet reveals some interesting patterns. For instance we can see that the New York City Board of Elections has set over a half a million voter records to “Inactive” status because they did not respond to a letter from the Board saying they intended to cancel their registration (NYSVOTER lists this reason as “MAIL CHECK”). I guarantee that some percentage, likely very large, of these New York City voters are legally registered who never saw the Board’s letter. They’re going to show up on Election Day and be turned away from the polls.
We also find the top counties which have been removing voters from the rolls – Sullivan County (30%), Allegany County(24%), Tompkins County (23%), Westchester County (21%), Rensselaer (19%) and Erie (19%). We find that Erie, Cortland, Seneca, Sullivan and Lewis counties have all “Purged” over 7% of voter records. And Sullivan, Allegany, Tompkins, Westchester, Manhattan, Rensselaer and the Bronx have each set over 13% of their voter records to “Inactive” status.
My analysis program can only work the data that’s in the records, so I can’t determine how many of these voter records have been legitimately changed, and how many are legally registered voters whose status should be “Active” but is no longer. There’s only one way to know for sure – call your County Board of Elections and ask if you are registered to vote, if your status is “Active”, and if your name will appear in the poll books on Election Day. If it is not, there is still time, although not much, to correct the error.
By the way, if you find that you are not in the poll books on Election Day, you have the right to demand and receive a “provisional” ballot (called an ‘affidavit’ ballot in NYS), which you can vote on. Provisional ballots do not guarantee that your vote will be counted however, as the county must first conduct an investigation to see if you were indeed legally registered. Only then will the provisional ballot be counted. While this is better than not being able to vote at all, it’s a stop gap measure, and I urge you to call your county Board and check that you are registered and can vote on Election Day.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Harlem Needle Arts, Inc: 4th Annual Bus Trip to New York States Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York

THIS IS A PHOTO OF THE GROUP OF US... AFTER WE GOT OFF THE BUS FROM HARLEM, TO GO INTO THE SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL... IT WAS KIND OF GOLD EARLY IN THE DAY, IT WARMED UP LATER,.. IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN DAY,.. IT WAS PERFECT.

THIS IS A CARPET WEAVER FROM MEXICO, VERY BEAUTIFUL CARPETS MADE BY HIS FAMILY,

AS YOU CAN SEE,... THIS IS A SPINNING DEMONSTRATION.

THIS IS A CUSTOMER IN ONE OF THE BOOTHS OF FINISHED HAND SPUN, HAND WOVEN, KNITTED OR CROCHET IITEMS

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DELICIOUS FESTIVAL TREAT I HAVE HAD,... THIS IS "MAPLE SUGAR" COTTON CANDY...
MAN-O-MAN WAS THIS GOOD, I COULD REALLY MAKE MYSELF SICK FROM EATING TO MUCH OF THIS STUFF.

I THINK THESE WOMEN ARE PART OF A WOOL COMBING, SPINNING, WEAVING YARN INTO A GARMENT, COMPETITION,.. (IF I READ MY PROGRAM I WOULD KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE),


THIS IS ANOTHER GROUP DOING THE SAME WOOL COMBING, SPINNING, WEAVING YARN INTO A GARMENT ACTIVITY,.. I THINK THIS IS A FAMILY GROUP.


THIS IS A BROOM MAKER, MAKING HIS BROOMS ON THE SPOT.


THESE ARE TWO YOUNG 4-H GIRLS WITH THEIR SHEEPS WAITING FOR THEIR SHEEP TO BE JUDGED.


HEY!!... WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?... GOOD THING THE FENCE IS THERE.


THE BLUE RIBBON VIOLIN PLAYER, SHE IS REALLY GOOD, I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN VERY HARD TO GIVE OUT BLUE RIBBONS AT THE COMPETITION, BECAUSE ALL OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE WERE GREAT, AND THEY HAD ALL MEMORIZED THER MUSIC.

THE DUET VIOLIN PLAYERS, THIS IS A PROUD PINK RIBBON WINNER, PLAYING WITH THE BLUE RIBBON WINNER.

EVEN THE GARBAGE WAS BEAUTIFUL AT THE SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL.

LOVELY, LOVELY, LOVELY.


IT WAS SUCH A PICTURE PERFECT TRIP,.... THE TIME WENT MUCH TO FAST. I FEEL LIKE I RUSH THROUGH THE FESTIVAL SO FAST. BUT WE WERE AT THE FESTIVAL FROM 10;00am-7:00pm... WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

I WAS ABLE TO GET SOME GREAT BOOKS ON FELTING AND RUG MAKING. AND HAVE SOME VALUABLE TECH CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THE CRAFT PEOPLE.

THE BRILLIANT, ENERGETIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HARLEM NEEDLE ARTS, INC. MICHELLE BISHOP IS AN AMAZING PLANNER & ORGANIZER, THIS WAS THE MOST REFRESHING, INSPIRING, FACT FINDING TEXTILE TRIP I TOOK THIS YEAR... WE ARE SO VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE MICHELLE IN OUR RANKS AS FIBER ARTIST OF COLOR...

THIS AND ALL OF YOUR TEXTILE TRIPS ARE WONDERFUL MICHELLE, I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO THIS TRIP EVERY YEAR. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND PLANNING TO MAKE THIS TRIP COMFORTABLE, CLEAN AND ENJOYABLE. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.

WE ARE SO BLESSED TO ALL BE HERE TOGETHER.

COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART: INSTALLATION OF "A PORTIONS OF THE (RE)POSSESSED" OCT 17-DEC 31, 2008

HAND CROCHET MANDALA: BLISS BLING BY XENOBIA BAILEY. CRYSTAL SCONCE BY DORIAN WEBB

DETAIL VIEW OF SCONCE BY CHANDELIER & JEWELRY DESIGNER DORIAN WEBB.

DETAILED VIEW OF SCONCE BY CHANDELIER $ JEWELRY DESIGNER DORIAN WEBB.

OCT 16TH I ARRIVED INTO COLUMBUS OHIO, WAS PICKED UP AT THE AIRPORT BY DR. IVY FROM THE KING ARTS COMPLEX. DROVE INTO TOWN TO INSTALL "PORTION OF THE REPOSSESSED" AT THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART.

WE WENT DIRECTLY TO THE MUSEUM AND MET WITH ELIZABETH FROM THE EXHIBITIONS DEPARTMENT & JESSIMI FROM THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM TO MAKE MY PREPARATIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE ARTWORK, AND TO PREPARE FOR MY ARTIST TALK & PRESENTATION FOR THE "CABINET OF CURIOSITIES": TEACHERS WORKSHOP, THE FOLLOWING DAY.

I WANTED TO MAKE MY PREPARATIONS THE NIGHT BEFORE MY ARTIST TALK, BECAUSE I WANTED TO HEAR THE OTHER ARTIST TALKS DURING THE OPENING OF THE WORKSHOP. I WAS ABLE TO SIT-IN ON THE LAST PART OF SEAN FOLEY'S OPENING MORNING PRESENTATION ON "TIME CAPSULES & PERSONAL COLLECTING". HIS TALK WAS FASCINATING AND INSPIRING.

THIS WAS A ULTRA INSPIRING WORKSHOP FOR ME AND THE ART TEACHERS IN THE COLUMBUS OHIO SCHOOL DISTRICT. I REALLY ENJOYED MEETING THE TEACHERS, THEY ALL WERE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS, WHICH WAS EXCITING FOR ME.

"CREATIVITY AND THE ART OF CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUED SKILLS OR GIFTS THAT MAKE US HUMANS, IT MUST BE CULTIVATED CONSTANTLY IF IT IS TO BE APPLICABLE & TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR HARMONIOUS GLOBAL COMMUNITY."

I SAID THAT YA'LL

XENOBIA BAILEY