BFA Issue 03

Black Folk Art

Issue 03

Spring/Summer 2023

BLACK ART AND CULTURE MAGAZINE

Karen Lewis Eckles

Charl Baker

The Art of Social Media

One of my favorite pastimes is to sit on social media and scroll, but not randomly. I scroll with intention because, for the first time in human history, we can see such diverse creative expression, sometimes in real-time Not only do I scroll to find artists, primarily of African Descent, on social media platforms like Instagram, but I also learn a great deal.

NeFesha Ruth, Founder of Black Folk Art Magazine

And yes, just like the next person, social media occupies wasteful time as I scroll from reel to picture to reel and find snippets of motivational speeches that resonate with my lived experience, or I receive a fun message from a friend that leads me down the black hole of scrolling. Still, there is so much good online also. So many people are sharing incredibly informative content that is broadening minds and connecting us on a level that is monumental to the human experience.

So, for this issue, I will share some of my favorite social media finds and the people inspiring me right now We have the joyful responsibility of living out our human experience to the max Here you will find some of the people and organizations helping me live out my ultimate human experience. To each person that I share, thank you for the inspiration!

“It's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience.”

-Lupita Nyong’o

Charl Baker

The Creative Alchemist

Interview by NeFesha Ruth

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview the artist, Charl Baker. I first came across Charl Bakers art while watching a miniseries on YouTube, recommended to me by my parents The miniseries is called A Taste of Marley. In the show, Rohan Marley is travelling through Jamaica, sharing some of its great food destinations along with the culture and soul of the island During episode 1, Charl Bakers art was highlighted She had completed a mural at the Bob Marley Museum in honor of Mama Rita Marley

After watching this episode, I reached out to Charl Baker to chat about all thing’s art in Jamaica. I had the opportunity to have a lively discussion with the self-proclaimed, Creative Alchemist

NeFesha: How did you begin creating murals?

Charl: I've kind of been painting and creating art my whole life I always say that I was created to create, so I call myself a creative alchemist I'm always making something out of nothing From as a child, I was

always painting, doodling, drawing. And then, when I came back home, because I was born in Canada, but I grew up here (Jamaica). Went back to Toronto and came back to Jamaica.

I used to paint, and it started actually with a friend asking if I've ever painted on walls and I used to do trees a lot. I still do trees and they asked me if I could do something in their home And I'm like, “yeah, I'd love to!” It kind of started from there. And then, you know, even my cousin, in New York, she wanted to put, something like a garden and flowers and stuff in her girls' room cause of course “concrete jungle.”

Then in terms of Jamaica now, there was a group that started called Paint Jamaica. She's actually foreign, a French girl and there's an inner-city community called Southside and it was really just using art as an instrument for change. As we know it, it can make such a great impact, on society and your actual environment So, this area was kind of like a ghetto as you'd call it. But we went down, and we transformed the place We used art as a tool to bring the community together and to bring about peace; to change the environment that we were in It kicked off from there, like in terms of doing big scale, you know, for John Public to see, so to speak. And then from there, as they say, ironically, you know, the rest is history I’ve just been blessed to get these great locations to paint. You know, one thing has just kind of led to the other. I've

been able to paint in some significant locations. So, it's just been a blessing one after the other

NeFesha: You mentioned trees in your paintings, and I saw this pattern of hummingbirds in your paintings as well.

Charl: I love nature, I love outdoors, I love trees, flowers, whatever, et cetera And of course, being Jamaican, but, Canadian born, coming back, you know, I always get a lot of hummingbirds and stuff in my garden, and for me, the hummingbird has just become a symbol of Jamaica. You know the saying that we're little, but we're taller You know what I mean? And I've always been considered little, but you know, I’m bigger now, but I've always been slim I've always been, you know, that little girl, so to speak, more petite or skinny. So, to me, the hummingbird represents, the beauty and the grace of this tiny bird that's made such an impact, but yet it's quick, it's fast, it's beautiful, and to me, it's a symbol It's a reflection of who we are as a people It's also our natural bird

So, a lot of times, they'll refer to women as chicks or birds It's just kind of making the association and he ends up making an appearance in a lot of my murals as well. I mean, my spirit animal is actually a giraffe, but the hummingbird was significant for me

And just the whole, you know, we're really fast in terms of we have the fastest man and woman in the world. You gotta keep up with us and try catch a hummingbird, they're so quick. You know what I mean? So, I feel it's a true representation of us as Jamaicans. And even when I paint, a lot of the times people are like, how do you paint so fast? I'm like, I just do, I work fairly quickly. So, I think it symbolizes so much about who I am as a person and work ethic and just associations, Jamaica and all of that

NeFesha: Tell me about Jamaica. I’ve seen travel alerts so, when can I come?

You can come anytime! I will be your personal tour guide Don't let that dissuade you from coming Jamaica's a great island. Yes, we are kinda getting outta control right now, but it's more a lawlessness and undisciplined But it’s just like anywhere in the world, there's crime, there's poverty, there’s… you know, they're gonna show you the worst of the worst

But I mean, there's still places I go in Jamaica that I'm like, oh my gosh, is this really Jamaica? You know, I'm still blown by my country There's lots to see There's lots to do. I'm a little biased I mean, I've been to a lot of the Caribbean. I have traveled from places all over the world, and Jamaica's very special. There's life and energy here that you can't get anywhere else And I mean, come on We're the epitome of cool and culture, reggae music, food. You know, the dancing, our athletics, like everything, you name it And you know, we

big them up enough. But we have a lot of scholars such as people that have contributed to inventions and medicine and, you know, they don't wanna big up that aspect of our culture, but I mean, globally as black people. You know what I mean? We're still seen as funky natives living in the bush, but it's far from, you know There’s lots to see and do. I mean, you can come and do the tourist thing, the hotel, all inclusive. That's not me. I hate that. Anywhere I go, I'm really more in with the people, I want to see the country, the culture; you know, experience, the whole street vibes and all of that

But there's lots to see and do. If you really watch and go through all of Rohan’s series which is really well done, and it really shows you a cross section of the country. Jamaica's been put on the map for so many reasons Everybody wants to come to Jamaica

NeFesha: Yes, that's why I wanted to bring that up because a lot of people talk about Jamaica. They said,

“There's this travel alert.” So, I think it's important to kind of debunk that because they do that with any Black space.

Charl: Of course, even me, I went to Africa by myself and everybody's like, “are you mad? You can't do that.” And I'm like, who says? We can do anything we want to do? The only limit is yourself.

NeFesha: Tell me about the Rita Marley mural that you did and how you ended up on A Taste of Marley. What was that experience like for you?

Charl: Okay, well that I had already done work with the Bob Marley Museum. It's funny because if you saw the interview with Marie, I'd worked with Marie in production, I'm also a stylist, so I work in film videos and commercials and I had worked with her. And she knew that I was an artist and that I painted So, we had already done the front gate and then they wanted to do the visitor center. They had done some renovations there and they have the Bob Marley Cafe

They wanted to do this tribute to Rita because everything there at the museum is mostly about Bob or the kids or even at the back an intuitive painter did some stuff with Bongo Herman You know, I mean street art has been always popular in Jamaica, but not to the level of murals that we know, like in a space such as Wynwood in Florida. So, they wanted to do something for Rita and then at the time she contacted me and she's like, “will you do a mural again?” I'm like, “Sure Where? When?” And then they said they were renovating the space and putting in the cafe and then they were making a stairway to go on top that they can utilize So, it was going to be like this kind of curved wall. And at first, you know, I heard curved wall I'm like, okay, sounds interesting So, I pretty much went for a site visit and when I saw it, I was like, “oh wow, that's a great space!” Then, when they had the opening for the actual center, Rohan was there, and they were dedicating the space. And it was just special for him because as he said, she's not his biological mom, but she

adopted him and pretty much took care of him, you know, when his physical mom couldn't I was invited there for the opening and unveiling, and I actually didn’t know at the time that it was going to be filmed and used for the show. I didn't find out until after So, it just ended up being a blessing

NeFesha: It just broadens the reach, lets more people know about what's happening in Jamaica and what's happening in the art scene there. I used to live in Miami and, and so when you mentioned Wynwood, I remember going down there, that whole mural area district.

Charl: Yes, and then what's happened now is that I'm also a part of another group now called Kingston Creative, and they're trying to create Wynwood downtown. They're trying to recreate an Arts District. And it's just reclaiming that space, it’s placemaking. It's bringing about social change, getting people to go back around, and taking back the streets. Having pride in our country and fixing up of downtown, of course, there’s the threat of gentrification and all of that but hopefully it won't get so bad. I mean, all the murals that we've done, we have people from the inner-city communities join in, in the projects and stuff like that. You can find their page on Instagram and you’ll see a lot more stuff there too. I also have a couple murals down there as well.

NeFesha: Do you all do like grant funding or your, how do you get funding typically for your murals?

Kingston Creative has gotten some grant funding. They also engage with the people that own the buildings for sponsorships from them as well because it’s beautification for buildings. There's been funding from the Tourism Enhancement Fund They also have a thing where they started with 50 first, which reaches out different corporate entities to invest So, yeah, monies have been collected from various means and different avenues to pay artists for the murals.

There is an element that I don't particularly like and it's that, okay, yes, they've paid us to do the murals, but they've been doing a lot of these workshops too about diversification and offering different products and stuff to your consumer and intellectual property for artists, and yet they're kind of doing other things that they're not quite including the artists on, which I don't necessarily agree with because in turn you're not practicing what you preach You're doing these walking tours and stuff, which is great and is needed, but I think they need to put something in place now that artists can also benefit from that because if the artists had not created these murals, you would not have this district So, it can't be a one and done situation. So, that's something that I plan to advocate because if you don’t look out for yourself, ain't nobody's gonna, you know

NeFesha: so that's for sure. That's a lesson that I've been learning like over the past few years for sure. Because a lot of artists, you do the work no matter what, right? Like you're, you're going to create. So it takes people like yourself to advocate for others.

Charl: Yeah, unfortunately I'm always the big mouth Sometimes you know, it, it doesn't go in my favor, but I don’t know how to be quiet about certain things It's kind of hard because you know, when you see the hypocrisy or the double standard, I have to just say something, you know what I mean? And part of the thing is that for the longest time as artists, you don't get the respect that you really deserve. Always fighting. You know, everybody's always like, “oh, you know, I'll do this and get exposure.” Okay, we're, we're past that You know, exposure doesn't pay the bills. Exposures for film We have to change that narrative, this whole starving artist mentality. No, I don't subscribe to that at all

NeFesha: There's a quote that I like by an art historian, she says that art is not a respite for life. It's a necessity. It's the core to life. Now, I one more question for you. I saw some murals that you did and there was one for a children's space. You talked about it on your Instagram about painting with your left-hand sometimes and that you were born, left-handed.

Charl: There was another Garris community called Cassava piece and Laura Facey is like a big artist and they wanted to do something on the wall of the school It was really amazing The call went out and a couple of artists went. And basically when we told we're going to duplicate these children's art, and I thought, “how clever is this?” So, they were lined up on the ground and we could pick which one we wanted. And I don't know why, but I'm thinking, okay, as kids, you know, we all draw Stickman, but we get older, you get your own style. And it's amazing because children do have that kind of freedom So I was blessed to be a part of that project. But yeah, it reminded me that I was born left-handed as a child but in Jamaica, we have so many old wives’ tale; I grew up with my dad and his mother, and she was a retired school teacher.

So, it's the old wive’s tale that if you're left-handed, you're wicked. So, I got slapped out of it, but I found when I was trying with my right hand, it was a little bit too controlled. And I said, okay, let's see if I can paint with my left hand So, I'm back to using the left hand, and I got a better quality that I like To me it was more free and looser to emulate the child's work. So there have been times when I, I still do use my left hand or just for sheer physicality, you're tired of painting or rolling, then I'll switch to my left. And there was another time too where uh, I think when I turned 40, I had tripped on a music video for The Jolly Boys and I actually jacked my right hand

and use the left hand cause I couldn't even use my toothbrush or brush my hair but you gotta do the work And at first, the first week or so, it was very awkward, but sooner, like within a couple days, I was able to function quite well using my left hand again The brain's amazing

NeFesha: So are you planning on staying in Jamaica for your career for now at least.

Charl: Pretty much This is home, I actually moved my mom back home about a year and a half ago, who lives with me now. She's 81 and has dementia I think it's better for her here, weather, everything But yeah, Jamaica is home. I go to Toronto at least once a year If I need a break, I just jump off and take a vacation, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else again right now, you know? I would love to do murals elsewhere in the world. Maybe

apply for residencies or, you know, some exchange program It would be great to, to do work all over the world, you know?

NeFesha: Well, I wish you well with everything. I hope that I can come visit. I would love to get a tour by you and experience Jamaica! Thank you!

Charl Baker @charlb_art

The Makeshifters Dr. Vivian Nix-Early

The Makeshifters column is an acknowledgement of the Black women in our communities through-out the African Diaspora that continue to “make-do” and make a way out of a host of circumstances. As the writer Kimber Thomas quotes in her essay, Makeshifting: Black Women and Resilient Creativity in the Rural South, “Makeshifting requires patching and piecing, and also requires Black women to view objects as multifunctional; that is, objects meant for one domain will almost always overlap with or be utilized for another ” In honor of the women that have been creative with little and good stewards of a lot, we dedicate this column to the culturally taught Makeshifters of our society. In this issue, NeFesha interviewed her graduate school professor, Dr. Vivian Nix-Early, to glean from

her wisdom as an educator, artist, and all-around beautiful woman. She is a true Makeshifter and has taught many individuals how to take the power of artmaking to change the world that we live in.

We start this conversation with Dr V answering the question that is the subtitle of her blog, “How Did I Get Here?”

I would describe myself as an eternal optimist with a lot of hope for the world and for myself. Other people have described me as creative, dependable, a bit of a perfectionist, which my current art making has really helped me let go of. I guess fairly intelligent and loyal to friends, a little O.C.D., obsessive compulsive, about commitments that I and other people make. I really, think that people need to show

up when they say that they are show up in a lot of ways, not just physically, but show up when you make commitments and make promises And so, I'm a little obsessive about trying to do that myself. I'm a pretty spiritual person as well I believe believe in, the Divine, the divine universe, divine intervention, and in a God that's a creator God, that's bigger than us

I took piano lessons from a young child because my father believed that you were not truly a whole person and full citizen unless you understood and engaged in the arts. He played the violin, so my sister did as well. My mother played piano, and so we took piano lessons And long story short, I took up flute as my primary instrument when I got into elementary school and had some real

champions for my flute playing.

In my elementary school, one of my teachers heard me play piano and decided that I was good enough to go to this national competition in New York Now, I grew up in a very small little town The piano teacher lived on the next block, a very working-class neighborhood, and you don't even hear of these kinds of things

And so, he was introducing me to a larger world We went to this New York competition and, my church choir director rehearsed me on this song that everybody in the competition had to play Some classical piece. And so, I rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and went up to New York with my teacher.

And we landed in this huge

panel of judges to play this song. And when I heard the first couple of people play the song, I said to myself, oh my gosh, I must have rehearsed the wrong song.

They were playing it at such a rapid pace that I didn't even recognize it So, it dawned on me, “oh my goodness, I rehearsed it all wrong. I'll never be able to play the notes that quickly, blah, blah, blah.” And so, you know, I kind of said that to my teacher and he said, “no, you'll do fine.” So, when they called my name, I of course went up and played the song as fast as I could. Got in all the notes, maybe missed a couple, but you know, he said, “You may not win, but this was really an important step. And you got

Philadelphia Junior High Band and then all city orchestra.

But I had somewhat of the same kinds of experiences, with all-city Elementary band rather, and All City Junior High Band. I was sitting maybe 12th or 15th chair in the flute section. I was toward the back And there was this passage that he was disgusted that none of the flutes were playing I think it was the Prelude to Act Three of La Traviata or something. And so, one by one he said, “okay, I've gotta hear who can play this.” So, one by one he pointed to us and we had to play it. And the first chair played it. Then the second chair couldn't play it On down the line till it got to me.

I had taken this piece of music

to my flute teacher, my private teacher, and he taught me how to do it with a different fingering. So, when it got to me, I played it And Mr Giamo, the band leader, was absolutely stunned that an 11th chair loudest somebody that he had placed an 11th chair Could play this passenger, nobody else could

So, he said, everybody move down. Vivian, move up to second chair That was the scariest thing that that could happen because then the first chair and I would have to play all the solos and duet parts of all of these pieces But those kinds of experiences through the arts, I can't tell you what that began to do for me I was painfully shy You might not ever think that Painfully shy Afraid to raise my hand in class. Afraid to ask questions. I rarely talked. You have no idea what that kind of experience does for a young person in terms of, not only selfconfidence, but agency and agency is related to hope. Agency gives you the sense that no matter what the challenge, you can find a way. And hope is simply the expectation that something good will happen in the future And hope is fed by finding workable roots to your goal and being able to plan and problem solve. There are about eight or nine elements of hope Those experiences contain a lot of those elements of hope and agency.

Those two things are related. So that's the beginning of my art making experience. The arts helped in terms of my own sense of being competent No matter what anybody else tried

to tell me or to demonstrate by excluding me from academic things that I should have been included in because of my grades, which were, were excellent, the art making and the participation in art, and in this case, music let me know that I was competent to do something and that I had some gifts

So, I think that was the beginning of where my optimistic point of view started and where the sense of agency began and has continued and really has been, uh, confirmed and affirmed by the kind of art making, um, that I do now, particularly in pottery, which is a huge hill to climb and a huge challenge

Art, Mathematics, and the Brain

I was a math major in undergrad and math and music are connected in a lot of ways. Art making changes lots of things about our brain If we engage in art making early enough, it creates synapses, and brain pathways that are etched in children that don't engage in art making So, we know that art making, makes positive changes in brain structure and brain chemistry and that brain work also enhances a young person's ability to do math and languages. So, we know that certain subjects reinforce the same kinds of brain pathways Music, math, and language are often enhanced by one another.

Art making involves activity and voice and decision making And those kinds of actions, which

are also elements of hope are the opposite of helplessness. When you are engaging in art making, you are beginning, even though you might not be aware of it, to exercise the power of your voice.

So, it does in very many ways help, empower those who feel, unseen and unempowered. It's why almost every kind of protest Involves these murals out outside and, and, and people holding up signs and, uh, making drawings and all kinds of things and singing. Everybody naturally knows that the non-verbal pieces of us can convey our emotions and feelings and thoughts a lot better than sometimes a speech would.

Pursuing Process

I've been known to be a bit of a perfectionist. I have been challenged by the clay on the wheel. The first thing you have to do after you wedge the clay and make sure that it doesn't have any area in it, is to center it on the wheel. If you don't center that clay, you're not going to be able to do very much with it You have to center it so that it stops wobbling and it is perfectly still going around in a fast, uh, world that is perfectly centered and perfectly still That in itself is just internally calming When you feel that clay stop wobbling and get centered. Wow! That the first time that happened, that I accomplished it, it was amazing. And that's because of the internal, kinesthetic senses that we get from art making that transfer to an internal state of calm and order and balance.

So, you have to center it, then you have to try to make something of it And, I have to tell you, um, the first pieces, and even now sometimes, pieces collapse.

And so I had a day not to Not too much in the past That was total, you, you can consider it, total disaster. I couldn't get my pieces centered properly When I did, there were air bubbles that threw it off center When I got, when I pulled the clay up and was thinking I was making a cylinder or base or whatever I was making, I pulled either too quickly or too much.

So, the rim collapsed and, um, I had to start over And, uh, then I went to another piece that I had made and I tried to put a handle on it and the handle was falling off. So, you would think that I would have left, um, that day feeling really frustrated and despondent. And I would've thought I would've too, because it was a frustrating day

I didn't get anything done that I wanted to. I would've thought it would've bothered my tendency toward perfection, it did the opposite. And I couldn't understand why I got in the car and I was smiling, driving back home from the studio My attitude was, “boy, I really learned so much about letting go ”

Those of us who are in class always say, the clay will let you know what it wants to be, and sometimes it's not what you're trying to do And that is so much like life. So, I learned so many life lessons from, from much art, but certainly, in this case from

much about letting go, feeling the control, understanding that I can eventually bring some order

But it's okay not to, and to let go of that perfectionistic attitude. I's really helped my state of mind and I was surprised that I learned it that quickly It was really almost a subconscious thing. It's very much like that when we continue to strive for perfection, we miss the blessings that comes from the process of doing what we're doing.

I can think of times where that's been true And so I really do try to let go in many phases of my life. Things don't have to be done my way Somebody else's way is just as good. I don't have to fret about this or that And so I'm really learning. Unfortunately, it took me 70 years to learn that, but I don't have to deal with the anxiety, and the

nervousness and the frustration that comes with always pursuing perfection. So now I just pursue process, our mistakes and our imperfections, can really sometimes, come out to be beautiful. And that's such a strong lesson for, for me, that I've really embraced that and tried to accept the gifts of the process as they come

And that's one of the blessings of living an art rich life, that, that the art teaches us so much about how to live

Art and Identity

I got myself into an art class from a nonprofit that I knew about way back, but they advertised that they were doing something online So, I took this visual art class in, in line drawing was the first thing, kind of journaling through, through art One of the early sessions, we were working with drawing lines as well as pairing that with breathing. This organization

was both art and, and spiritual They, they had a spiritual base for it, which I liked. As I was drawing the lines and, breathing deeply, this was just around the time when George Floyd was murdered, it immediately occurred to me, and I really do think that this is because of my own consciousness of being African-American and what is happening to African-American people, because everyone else in the class was Caucasian and they were struck that I would even have that relationship, that, that relationship would occur

It immediately struck me in the middle of the drawing that I was breathing, and I could breathe when George Floyd said, “I can't breathe ” And it occurred to me that my purpose, part of my purpose in life, because art can reveal purpose, that’s one of the other wonderful things that it does I should be breathing for other AfricanAmerican people who can't.

“I can breathe for you when you can't Be still and know that I am God, choose joy and choose life.”

Those were the other thoughts that were coming to me I had to really think about, how can I understand this as a divine revelation about purpose and how I can practically breathe for other people when they can't? What does that mean? So, then that set off a whole chain of other kinds of activities and actions, um, that I wanted to engage in to be able to do that. But it totally came from art, and it totally came from art inspired by who I was

Surviving the Pandemic

The first thing I said to myself is, “I will not let this pandemic kill me I will not die because of this ” And so then, “okay, what are you gonna do?” So that's when all of this around how am I going to take care of myself? and self-care, you know, is a lot of things. It's what to eat, How do you take care of your physical self, your spiritual self? and how do I keep up my fitness program? I have a wonderful community and a wonderful fitness program All of our fitness instructors, they all stayed in their houses, recorded themselves, and every day they were on a Facebook page live so that we could tune in, whenever we wanted and continue our exercise programs [My physical fitness] All of that got reinforced out of the

pandemic, as part of a whole self-care plan It emerged rather organically, the book did and what went in the book. It just started as my need to communicate and connect to my friends what I was doing.

Here, here's what I'm doing, here's how I'm occupying my time I believe that, and I really do that there was some divine purpose in allowing this to happen. I took for myself. Part of that is that everything stopped. Okay. Are we listening to maybe a divine message about “stop it, you're just going berserk here world ” And so I took that as an opportunity to Sabbath. And I do practice Sabbathing. That is resting long enough to recuperate and rejuvenate

I just started knowing that I needed to connect to somebody somehow and I needed to be active because I knew what art making at that point. I taught it long enough, could do so. I knew I needed to be creating, and I needed to be eating well

I just started trying to eat well and figuring out what that looked like and making all of these new things And I got into baking I've always liked baking Hadn't done it, in a long while, but it too is creative. And I just wasn't baking any old thing I was baking things that were pieces of artwork And I just started taking pictures. Because somebody said, oh, send me a picture Well, then I started taking pictures of everything I did. What I cooked; what I drew; maybe a little music thing that I developed a little melody I took pictures of everything And I just said, “oh, I think I'll collect these

and put 'em together.” And then the idea of a little tiny book, that was my journal of how I survived the pandemics, plural, political unrest, the George Floyd murder, racial injustice, political unrest, and the covid. It just emerged into a collection of what I was doing to save my sanity and my health, to preserve my life.

The Development of Build-ABridge

Nathan Corbitt of course, had a lot to, to do with that I had come to Eastern as the graduate Dean and he was there as the Chair of Communications The Angels of Harmony, which is this multiethnic gospel choir, needed some help. I liked Choral conducting and so I got involved in doing that

He was directing the Eastern Winds and he simply came to my office one day as one of the graduate faculty and said, “What do you think about taking the Angels and the Eastern Winds to South Africa?” Because apartheid was crumbling The gospel choir of Eastern University had every color, every ethnic group in it. It was a wonderful group of people who visually and of course, musically demonstrated how people live, sing in harmony from very different backgrounds So, we ended up taking the Angels on this unbelievable trip for which we fundraised like crazy. In celebration of all the racial barriers that were falling We sang for the seminary, which could finally reopen, and schools, and just all sorts of things It was such a joyous trip

Then, one of Dr. Nathan's, student graduates had gone to Costa Rica and called him back and said, “you know, this earthquake just happened, and the government is not going to fix the port in the roads because, and its mostly darker skinned people who live in this community that's now disrupted and depressed and, and people are out of work and whatnot Can you bring a team of musicians, and later years artists, that look like us to help us energize our community? He asked me to go and we got a diverse small group of student artists that we knew both at Eastern and outside. And we went to Costa Rica to help them seed a music institute that would be theirs and to do some other things. That was the beginning of what we eventually saw in two years what a music institute could do for, a community that has suffered trauma and disaster

We saw what it could do economically because it really spearheaded into action people who, um, started collectives and, and a community built a community school room and just took on their community because the government wasn't So, from that we had the idea, “gee whizz, look what the arts can do in community.” We also noticed that the artists that we took were great artists, but they didn't have the training on how to teach and how to work with other people and the kids. So, that was one leg of the start of Build-A-Bridge

I was also working domestically through my church, and I had started this summer arts camp because I noticed that kids

weren't learning. They weren't learning what I was teaching them in Sunday school They weren't learning what their teachers taught two or three years ago in Sunday school. They didn't remember. And so, you build on it And by the time they got to me, I had the senior high students, and they didn't know anything. I said, “what's going on with their learning?” And I decided it wasn't them. It's the way they're being taught. Memorization and being read to, and all this boring stuff So, I started a summer camp We were doing, everything through art making; dance, visual arts, music, all of them. And then I measured their learning over a couple of years, and it improved.

So, I was doing that kind of thing around teaching and learning and Nathan around community and economic development Those two things came together What I was trying to do and what we were doing; what he was doing in Costa Rica and Africa. And we said, let's start an organization that gets artists to give their gifts in service of community and other people, not just the, the hallowed halls of performance Let's teach them how to take that gift and really use it to serve. That was the idea of Build-A-Bridge.

Dr. Vivian

One Year in Review

An interview with Jason Moss

When we talked last time, I had just started my first full year as a featured artist in the gallery. I was really pushing hard on gallery shows and getting my art out there I was really sales motivated I almost have done like a 180 since then. I look at it like I spent last year, the time and the money, it was like an education in the art world as far as business goes And although there's a lot I won't do anymore, I wouldn't have changed what I did because it was very educational as far as the type of people you meet, the type of business that goes on, the monster that is the art business It really allowed me to focus on what's important to me I've come the conclusion that what's important to me isn’t sales, as I say that as a full-time artist who pays my bills through my art sales. I found myself really focusing on the financial part of it In my mind, I had to make my art in a certain way to make it sellable I had to do these things, you know, certain type of art to make it sellable. And I was so sales, sales, sales If things didn't sell, I wouldn’t create it, and I can't create from that space. You know, that's not the space I wanna be as an artist So, thought process now is like “I don't make art to sell. I will sell some of the art that I make, but I don't make art to sell.”

Do you find that you're really finding your space in the art world, or for yourself, as an artist, as you're growing and emerging?

I am finding my space, finding my voice, and the actual process of creation has become

even more of a meditation for me than before, because I'm striving to get out of that, you know, financial, “ends justify the means” type mentality when I'm creating.

I really have to meditate and there's no other way about it I have to really focus on the present like there's nothing else existing except to paint this canvas, and that's the only thing that's going on. I'm not making a piece for economic consumption. I'm not making a piece for anyone's approval I'm not making, I'm not making anything. I'm just putting the sum of my soul at that point in time onto this canvas. And that's all I'm doing and that's all I allow myself. That is my goal. That's all I allow myself to think about, or not even to think about, but to be, during my creative process

Why is creating art important, and why is it also important

I think, with all us humans, especially with creatives, there's a lot of room for ego and for self. And no matter what, you’re always gonna have that We're all where we cannot be egoless or selfless. Right. But I try not to make it all about me. To me, a good piece of art engages you and makes you think I want to leave room for you to think, I want to leave room for you to tell a story because really that's what art is like That's the art I always say art is the glue of the universe. We hold as creatives. We hold the universe together.

I just want to be able to be that guy or that artist, that person that you come to work with. It's all about, we're going to work, we're going to get the best shot for your portfolio We're going to get the best shot for my portfolio, and we're going to put an amazing show, and we're

to have art to engage with communities and people?

going to do the best work together that we can. We're going to, at the end of the day, look back on this and be like, “damn, that was some good work.” And that’s my goal.

How has your sobriety influenced your work?

In the last six months or so, if you notice I've been hash tagging sober artists on my Instagram post. it's almost like in our culture, it's almost just assumed that if you're an artist, you drink and you take drugs, you definitely smoke weed I am a 17-year recovering addict. And I always equate my addiction, to the disease of addiction, because it truly is a disease; I equate it to that like a diabetes. Just because I can't eat cake because of my blood sugar, doesn't mean that you can't Right I'm a better person, a better father, a better being, sober. I'm not wired to partake of alcohol and drugs. I'm just not wired That's just not who I am But having said that, to answer your question, to me, it's empowering to know that I don't have to go anywhere to get anywhere my creative energy for me personally is always there. For me personally, there's a freedom and a liberation knowing that that is always there for me I don't need to go outside of me to get to there. To get to that place where I can create I'm very fortunate to have the time I have, and I truly do put my sobriety above anyone and everyone else Cause if I'm not sober, I don't have anything or anyone else

What is some advice that you would give artists that want to become full-time artists, to take that leap of faith in the way you have over the past year?

Well, it is definitely a leap. You know, one of my main moto’s is, “you wanna jump off the cliff and build the plane on the way down” because no matter how well you plan something out, what does Mike Tyson say?

“Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face ” The

biggest thing I would say is a trust in yourself. Trust in yourself Because your gut does not lie to you Trust in yourself The Samurai had a thing that the decision should be made in a span of seven breaths And once you make that decision, you go with it. There’s the example of a hawk. When the hawk is picking out prey, even though he might be in the midst of hundreds of birds, he doesn’t deflect from that one bird that he saw. That is his goal. So, my point is, “okay, you wanna be a full-time artist” You need to sit down with yourself, and come to the realization that it's going to be tough. They're going to be sacrifices You know what I mean? It's not the movies If you want to live that Basquiat lifestyle with taking drugs and partying and hanging out in New York, fine That's, that's you But for me, It's about creating daily, it's about staying focused. It's about practice. This is a craft. If you are an artist, you should be drawing every day You should have a sketchbook. I don't care what kind of art you do; you should be drawing You should be reading about other artists You should be looking at other art Not the saying that that should be an influence, but you should be knowledgeable You should be able to talk about other artists and why this artist was important and what this artist did It is a craft When you focus on your craft and you do it every day, all that other stuff works out. Because as a creative, you don't have a choice You have to create

Jason Moss

Diasporic Creativity With Karen Lewis Eckles

Karen Lewis Eckles is a creative master when it comes to culinary art Her unique, Filipino and African American heritage provide space for the fusion of two cultures full of energy, history, and culinary magic Karen recently sat with Black Folk Art to discuss her business, Sweet K’s Gourmet Desserts and Cakes. Her cultural representations of Black life and culture through her culinary art is one-of-a-kind

In this column we discuss those areas that represent Diasporic Creativity; the areas that we often question, “Is that art?” This column is a place to question how we define art and recognize the artists that do unconventional work with very conventional, daily items In this issue, we are talking all things food and especially the delicious and beautiful sweet treats of Sweet K’s.

Do you consider yourself an artist?

Recently, my cousin nominated me to display my art and I was like, “I don't know what art you're talking about!” She goes, “well, what about your cakes and your cookies and stuff like that?” I thought, “I guess it's considered art” but looking at it

from her perspective, she kind of broke it down to me and then I began to feel comfortable calling it art. I started looking through all my cakes and, you know, everything else I've done. I was like, “wow, I've actually done a lot!” I would say since 2014, I've probably done over 3000 cakes, cookies, pastries, everything. Normally people ask for custom stuff. So, I try to make it as much as what they're asking for as possible I wasn’t professionally trained in pastry. I started off in, you know, cuisine. So, I did cook and stuff like that I didn't bake on a professional level So that is self-taught.

The Journey to Sweet K’s

It started when my husband was still in the military. Ever since I can remember I worked and so when I got married and I moved on base, I had no job. And I was like, “well, what am I gonna do?” I'm used to making my own money and so I prayed about it and honestly, I prayed one night and then I woke up with this whole idea on my head, the name, where to go, what to do, everything I woke up with this confidence that I never thought I had.

It worked out because I became

the premier baker on base. I was able to do parties like retirements for generals They used me for everything even their promotions I did things for the Air Force graduations and anniversaries. Most of my customers were military, but then I expanded outside, so I started doing farmer's markets and things like that. Then I started getting customers from LA and Oakland, up and down California It’s been an interesting journey for me.

The Creative Process

One funny thing is that I can't draw but I can sculpt and I don't know how I can do that. I just did it one day and I was like, “oh, I'm pretty good at this!” I can look at something and I can sculpt it. I know that came from Yah because that was something I could never do and I didn't learn how to do that until I was near 40 years old I can sculpt cake with using fondant. I can sculpt using, different types of things like marshmallow It could be pretty much anything. ‘

Identity and Creativity

I'm Filipino and then of course Black/Hebrew, whatever you want to call it. That influenced me a lot growing up and You know, I grew

up with both sides of my family. So, for me, representation is very, very important. I want to create things that people can relate to.

I recently made cookies for a party and I found the cookie cutters, from someone that represents us. I got these cookie cutters from a Black-owned company. That was something I'd been searching for, for a long time. Before I found those, I would try to find just similar shapes that I could make look like hair or a face that represents Black people because it was really hard to find cookie cutters that look like us. I finally found some, and I'm also actually in the process of making my own. I'm going to be purchasing like a 3D printer soon and then come up with my own.

And cookies like that are very rare. You're not going to see them in a bakery or anything like that. I want people to be able to order from me and say, “oh, you know what? I want those cookies, they look like my daughter.” My sister, Kathy, was so excited to do those cookies, and she's an artist in her own right. It was her first time really decorating cookies. I taught her how to do the textures. And things like that. So that it was really fun.

Family, Community, and Sweet K’s

We're a really close-knit family and so, if they see a need, they help fill it They know I'm by myself doing this stuff. So, my sister stepped in It's nice to know that people see you And they say, “okay, let me help her cause it's a lot ” And my sister has really stepped up to help and get everything in order because my goal really is to make sure that

everything runs sufficiently, and that people are happy with my work. I want to make sure I have a great reputation. A lot of times we get a raw deal, when people don't want to hire a Black caterer, so I want to make sure that, I have everything in place and I'm just as competitive as everybody else. I do just as great work as they do.

Overcoming Challenges

At the height of Covid I ended up in the hospital I couldn't believe it I thought, nothing could happen to me I'm going to just keep working and I could work till the break a dawn and then get up in a few hours and start again without a problem But Yah has a way of slowing you down too. When they took me in, I was not able to see anybody

I was there by myself. They wouldn't let my husband in and no one can visit me So, I'm in this covid unit by myself I was there for a few days and waiting for my test results which came back negative They moved me and then the doctor was so nonchalant about it and said, “oh, by the way, you have heart failure ” That was it

I didn't really understand the whole of what that meant but dealing with my cardiologist, she explained that I could still live a normal life She informed me that I had to be more aware of your body and if I was tired, I needed to sit down. I would typically be like, “okay, it doesn't hurt that bad I'll keep going ” You know what I mean? So those are the things I always talk to people about I'm like, don't be afraid to ask for help. You know, when people offer it, say yes.

Advice to fellow or aspiring entrepreneurs

Go for it. Start with what you have and keep on going. Be confident because that's the main thing You know when I first started on the military base. There were a couple bakers, but I had confidence. I was like, “I know my stuff is good I know I can do this ” So, the main thing is just really having the confidence in yourself and not being afraid to start, because that's the only way it's going to happen.

Gwendolyn Knight With Gratitude

Gwendolyn Knight, born in Barbados in 1913, moved with her foster family to St. Louis and then, just six years later, to Harlem, NY, where she became involved in the African American music, arts, and cultural movement at the height of the Harlem Renaissance Knight spent two years at Howard University until the Great Depression interrupted her studies She then moved back to Harlem and began to study under the tutelage of the artist and sculptor Augusta Savage

In the 1930s, Gwendolyn Knight was employed by the Works Progress Administration and was the assistant of Charles Alston At Alston's studio, she met her husband and fellow artist, Jacob Lawrence. Knight helped Lawrence with the preparation for his painting series, The Migration of the Negro, a series of works that depict the migration of African Americans from the South to the North and the West.

Gwendolyn Knight's first solo exhibition occurred in Seattle, Washington 1976. It was sponsored by the Seattle Links, Incorporated when they hosted their National Links Incorporated conference Knight stated, "after that, Francine Seders asked me to join her gallery, and that's where it all started. Before that I was just exhibited once here or once there, whenever somebody would ask me. That's the way it was.”

Knight's first retrospective was exhibited when she was 90 years old, entitled "Never Late for Heaven: The Art of Gwen Knight," at the Tacoma Art Museum in 2003. With this issue, we honor the dedication and work of Gwendolyn Knight and remember the many African American female artists that paved the way for publications such as ours today.

I just knew that I wanted to do it, so I did it whenever I could. And I didn't feel any pressure to work. I work when I want to work.... Even in getting in a gallery here, I never went out and asked anybody to put my works in a gallery. I guess my temperament is such that I don't depend on outer stimulation.”

Gwendolyn Knight

“I wasn't really concerned with exterior motivation; it wasn't necessary for me to have acclaim.