Studio Practice
We created Emotional Safety Kits that we offered at Brujxs, Bodyworkers, and Beyond: A Healing Village presented by CASS DC (Collective Action For Safe Spaces).
Our offering was a textural hand sewn pouch & a hand-drawn zine with tips on creating emotional safety and grounding (both crafted by Omolara), handpicked rosemary smudge stick, distilled rose water mist, and a Relax Tea Blend of herbs grown in my backyard (herbal offerings were crafted by me).
In 2018, I became a member of a printing studio and learned how to create linocut block prints and explored screenprinting. This has been an interesting aspect of my practice, as I get to explore batik styles through relief prints. Here are a selection of linocut prints I sold at the Femme Fatale DC Storefront.
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In 2019, I became interested in narrative portraiture as a way to explore what creates a story filled portrait. This exploration gave a different perspective than painting. Elements such as location, lighting, and incorporating natural elements in a different way than I had in abstract portraiture, were refreshing lessons for me. Here are a selection of portraits.
Photo Credits for Intimate Parlor:
Gabrielle Gilliam
Intimate Parlor: Exploring confidence cultivated in an intimate interior setting
Tears For Toni Morrison: Expresses grief of the news of Toni Morrison's death
Building off portraiture, digital collage is a medium I truly enjoy. It's another way to explore composition building and has me thinking about installations that include video and sound and expanding what a digital collage is.
Here are some sketches from 2021, some exploration with cyanotype printing, and my 1st trial with natural dye. I was kind of obsessed with Blue and started thinking about pigment and it spurred me to plan a 2022 dye garden.
In 2022, I joined the community garden at Sankofa Community Farm and rented 2 beds. I grew coreopsis, french marigolds, hibiscus, ossabaw indigo, cosmos, calendula, and some herbs such as spilanthes. The season stretched till end of October. I dried the flowers for dye and saved seeds. I also did a 1st trial of processing indigo for pigment. While the anaerobic fermentation process was successful and pigment was leached out of the leaves, I learned a lot about better practices for the next time.
Here are a selection of videos of the Indigo Processing. With the help of some friends, our first trial was a success. We also saved seeds for next year and attempted Fresh leaf dye-ing with Ossabaw indigo. We used the blender method and it did not dye the silk cloth. Ossabaw indigo is different than Japanese indigo and i hope to find out what dye methods are best for Ossabaw's specific properties.
Video Credits: Ella Konefal
Seeking to utilize the abundant amount of seeds I collected last year, I am learning papermaking. With a mould and deckle, I created recycled paper with a variety of seeds and flower petals from last season. Looking forward to creating thinner and translucent paper with seeds and plant fibers.