Weaving Creativity with Yolanda Acree: Tracey F. Johns

Weaving Creativity with Yolanda V. Acree

by Tracey F. Johns

Writing and journaling have always been part of Yolanda V. Acree’s self-care practices. She’s been entwining nouns and verbs as an author and blogger much like her maternal ancestors have been weaving and knitting fibers and other textural materials over generations.

Acree uses her writing as part of her journey looking inward, which began when she was a young girl growing up in Caroline County. Now she makes her home in Federalsburg with other family members nearby (she is the youngest of eight siblings) as they await the arrival of Acree’s baby, who is expected this spring and who may be among the family’s next generation of creative thinkers and artists.

Acree says she became more serious about her writing through maturity and feeling more confident about transitioning her writing abilities as a blogger and author. She began her minimalist lifestyle blog in 2014 at yolandavacree. com, where she keeps an online diary and explores minimalism, with features on “The Hillbilly African” and “Melanin Habits.”

“Journaling as a kid made me more comfortable expressing myself and my emotions through writing,” says Acree. “Journaling requires taking things in, not commenting but absorbing it, sitting with it, and then writing it out to make sense of it. It’s a journey looking inward.”

In 2017, she became the founder and one of the main content

creators for blackminimalists. net, an online community of individuals who identify as black and live a minimalist lifestyle. Other co-founders include Kenya Cummings, Farai Harreld, and Anekia Nicole.

Mindful Simplicity, Acree’s book published in 2019, explores mindfulness-based strategies to declutter and organize through a step-by-step guide that includes practical tips, helpful advice and daily inspiration so that readers can spend more quality time and energy on the people and things that matter most.

“Callisto Publishers came to me

TREK Verve+ 2 Lowstep Electric Bike

Your daily cruises, commutes, and workouts will all get a boost from the reliable Bosch pedal-assist system that sustains speeds of up to 20 mph. 723 Goldsborough St. · Easton · 410-822-RIDE(7433)

in 2019 to write a story based on their concept,” said Acree. “I executed and wrote Mindful Simplicity.” The book is available through major retailers Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as on her blog site.

Acree also embraces her gift and spirit of storytelling as a collage artist. This past September, one of her pieces was featured in the Dorchester Center for the Arts’ Artist for Justice: Portraits of Black Lives Lost exhibit organized by artist Nancy Tankersley. The show focused on black lives lost to brutality and terrorism, with Acree’s work representing a black transgender woman, Mya Hall of Baltimore, who was killed by NSA police on March 30, 2015.

Acree also curated the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore’s first black art show this past November and December. Connecting Kuumba Through Community: Black Fiber Artists Showcase explored quilting, crochet, fashion and accessory design, collage and more, and featured both heirloom pieces and the creations of local and regional artists. “Kuumba” means creativity in Swahili and is the sixth principle of Kwanzaa, an African American celebration of family, community and culture.

"Ujamaa" (paper collage, 9x12 inches, 2019) represents the fourth day of Kwanzaa, which focuses on cooperative economics.

The Sewing Factory

Candice Kastel Upholstery · Slipcovers · Cushions 410-443-6566

kastelcandice@yahoo.com 609 S. Talbot Street,St. Michaels

“I didn’t understand much about Kwanzaa until a couple of years ago,” Acree says. “Attending Caroline County’s first Kwanzaa celebration in 2019 helped me learn that the celebration is principle- and values-based, much like minimalism. Our Showcase explored the principles of Kwanzaa through art.”

She says the exhibit included several of her own collages, plus the quilting work of artists Renata Philippe and Dedra Downes Hicks. Acree’s mother, Althea Massey, exhibited crocheted pieces, while her aunt Aleta Groce contributed a crocheted blanket that had been made for her in the early ’90s.

In addition to being a writer, collage artist and community change agent, Acree works as an online ESL tutor, helping adults and international students learn English. Acree says she relies on her English to help teach the classes. She is currently working with Brazilian, Taiwanese and Turkish students.

She says the people that have been her guiding light and have her admiration are overwhelmingly black women ~ starting with her mother as a fiber artist.

“I grew up with a creative mother,” says Acree. “My grandmother, my mother, my aunt ~ they are all very strong people who taught me to believe in myself. They went beyond taking care of me and taught

Renovations, Remodeling & Additions Quality Craftsmanship & Attention to Detail Prompt Personal Service Complete Residential Architectural Design Services Maryland Home Improvement Lic. #74140 410-829-5171 · www.coastaldesignbuild.net

Weaving Creativity being able to connect with people through her art and writing, and me to live well despite the chal- from practicing self-care and love. lenges and struggles of life.” She says the biggest challenges to

Acree also finds inspiration the work she does include the solifrom the likes of Harriet Tubman tary practice of writing and finding and Denton native Anna Murray self-motivation. Douglass ~ a free black woman “When you are internally fowho worked and lived in Balti- cused, as writers are, you can overmore, where she met her husband, think things and doubt yourself,” Frederick Douglass. She went on to she says. “Another challenge that support her husband financially so most creatives deal with is wonthat he could escape slavery. dering, ‘will my work resonate with

Acree experiences joy through someone else?’”

From left: Kiesha Hynson, Yolanda Acree, Samara Massey, Althea Massey, and Aleta Groce.

Her aspirations include becoming a mother this spring and finding more ways to marry her interest in black history on the Eastern Shore with her collage work. She’s also pursuing writing a book about black history on the Eastern Shore.

“Living as authentically and unapologetically as I can is important to me and to black women in particular,” she says. “We need to be ourselves and not apologize for everything we are. Now that I’m bringing a child into the world, I want to be that example. I want my child to know they can be free and explore whatever they want.”

Much like the arts in her family, collective liberation and personal freedom will be among the prioritized values Acree plans to instill in her child, bringing hope in humanity to a new generation with strong black women the guiding lights to help lead the way.

Tracey Johns is a storyteller, engaging local, regional and national audiences through her words and photography. She has worked in communications, marketing and business management for more than 30 years, including non-profi t leadership. Tracey’s work is focused on public and constituent relations, along with communication strategies, positioning and brand development and project management.

Beall Appraisal Service, LLC

Antiques :: Decorative Arts :: Household Contents

Down-Sizing, Estate Planning, Insurance, Charitable Contribution & Probate Claiborne B. Beall, ASA

Serving Maryland’s Eastern Shore BeallAppraisals.com Call 410-271-6069