Gingersnap

I walked into Dayton Technology School on First Street downtown to take photos of the old work that was still displayed there. Students were nice to say that I didn't look my age, (17 really? C'mon now!) but the snorting at the "valley girl accent" will never end. Alas, I no longer care anymore. I sound how I sound and that won't ever change. Anyway, back to the art. These twelve pieces need to be taken home very, very soon. But one can't haul large pieces of work to and fro on these hour long journeys... "The Darkest Tree in the Neighborhood," 18" x 24," acrylic, oil pastels, Mod Podge, and deco markers on canvas, 2006. Long ago, I had an obsession with language and writing on paintings. Stemming from a maddening desire to weave my loves together, this was just another attempt. A dominating headless figure over a sideways landscape. The repetitive statement, "I am the darkest tree in the neighborhood" is in an abstract tree form ...

Besides Christmas cards and rubber duck fashion design, I've been exploring a new arena. Ever since I got my results back from 23andme.com and Dr. McDonald, I've been trying to figure out how to create a body of work. Can one make art from being identified as 87.8% African and 12.2% European? Sure. Art is so universal that anything can be! I love the face. The many emotions, the movements, the features. A billion adjectives can describe how much I enjoy creating art about the face! So in combining the research and facial enthusiasm, abstracted portraiture seemed to be my answer. For this upcoming project. The shape of Africa is in various crevices of the human face. The lips are my favorite- I enjoy creating the mouth- its variations of reds, pinks, browns, and purples. It's a feature that seems to stand out the most in my portraits. This isn't any different. The eyes are closed, lashes peering down at that strangely shaped sideways, African continental lips- perhaps a ...

An incredibly fun night for the last First Friday spectacular in downtown Dayton. From jewelry to handbags, paintings, and ornaments galore- many amazing potential gifts from local artisans were on display. The jewelry was to die for! All of this popping bling for the ears and neck at prices lower than an upscale retail jewelry store. After sightseeing at DVAC, I explored one of my favorite downtown places, Cachet G, an upscale international boutique/gallery- where I got this necklace so long ago! Yvette Louise Walker Dalton, the artist for the month was inspired by her trip to South Africa. Look at the shapes and bold colors of these expressive faces! One customer was mighty pleased with his purchase of a beautiful King Tut statue. There is such a great downtown spot! The kind shopkeeper sells masks and objects from various parts of the globe- notably Africa as well as fashionable wear, jewelry, shea butters, soaps, and the Carol's Daughter line! Batiks! And before leaving out of ...

For a couple of years now, I've been researching the good ole family tree and have only gotten as far as finding out the names of both maternal/paternal grandmothers' birth parents. I don't want it to stop there and need to keep going further back. I'm simply fascinated by my family's history and yearn to see where the roots stem from, where that tree was planted. In talking to my mom about it, she too finds herself enamored with the idea of discovering where we hail.... A good friend of mine, G who was also learning about her personal origins/genealogy helped me find beneficial sites like myheritage.com and 23andme.com. Myheritage.com was a place where I could plot down information I had about the family tree. I have some of my parents, grandparents, and great grandparent's information due to knowledge, obituaries, and my aunt (dad's sister) gave me further. As a site member, she also added cousins, siblings, and other Glaspers I had never heard o...