National Museum of African American History and Culture

My family and I were able to snag tickets to visit the new Smithsonian for October 31. We were all so excited, not only to see the museum but to find all of my silhouettes throughout the museum.  We had our cute but warm clothes, our comfortable shoes, phones were charged, extra money for lunch and most importantly the tickets to get in!

The museum is very beautiful on the outside and inside! I love the outside structure because it reminds me of a paper cut out. There are several levels and we didn't get to see everything. *Tip the museum is in chronological order for the most part so start at the bottom. Take the elevator down, it will be crowded and this is where most of the traffic is located.

The bottom level covers the start of slavery and this is where my silhouettes can be found. I created two silhouettes, a male and a female for the museum so they could have a face to go with important stories that did not photo. I was so honored to see the silhouettes and to read the interesting stories that went along with them. My family tried our best to take photos of each one!

My third silhouette is located near the huge bale of cotton Labeled King Cotton. Back in the day cotton was king! The silhouette I created shows the slave bent over with the sack on their back and it shows the different weights of cotton in the bag. This particular exhibit made me tear up because of the brutalities that slaves had to endure if they didn't meet the daily cotton quotas.

The museum knew the information would be hard to process so there is a contemplation room with a beautiful but loud water fall in the upper section of the museum.

I enjoyed the museum and look forward to visiting again next year- we snag some more tickets! here are some wonderful but random photos! :) 

This is my next inspiration for a mens paper cut collection.

Opening Dedication for the National Museum of African American History and Culture - my thoughts

Saturday I attended the opening dedication for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. I was able to snag tickets to the museum for October 30 2016. I was told that as a contractor I am able to see the museum during the workday but by myself. Since I can't attend during the day and I want to experience the museum with my family I am going to wait.

For the opening, security was tight. There were many road blocks so the best route was by metro and by foot, which I took.

Advertisement from DC Metro Train

During the morning program there were several important people that spoke, which I missed, but heard their speeches were very inspiring and filled with a sense of pride. 

Here is a link to John Lewis's powerful speech http://on-ajc.com/2dpKSrG

Here you can hear President Obama's  inspiring speech: http://slate.me/2czDZlT

 I did have a misty eyed moment because my brother and Aunt died earlier this year and they would have loved to have seen all of the people, to know that I designed art for the museum, to be apart of something bigger than they and to experience history- again (our first black president) in DC!

 In different locations near the Washington Monument grounds there were stages set up for performers, singers, drummers and for storytellers. My husband and I stayed at the Freedom Sounds stage to see the musical performers. 

We heard the Liberty Brass Bands, who I filmed using Facebook live: you can see here: http://bit.ly/2dpLrl6  and Sweet Honey Rock, see here: http://bit.ly/2cAV9Va

-who I have never heard of but absolutely love now!

Target had a social media stage where you could take a photo and add a story of what the museum means to you, a 360 video that could be uploaded to any social media site and a place to write and send postcards about your experience. There were also vendors selling delicious soul food, barbecue and Caribbean food. I got the fried catfish and hushpuppies and let me tell you it was sooo good!

I am very excited about the museum.  I am excited to see the artifacts and to learn about people and events that I might not know of. I love that the museum will expose us to the truths that weren't taught in school, to allow us to cry because of the pain that comes with the history and will allow us to learn and to move forward. I am exciting that I am apart of it not only because I am African American or black American but because I helped create art that will forever have a place in the museum.

This history is my history, your history and America's history.  It needs to be told, understood and felt.

If you went, what where your favorite parts of the museum?

Peace,

Janelle

Natural Hair Art

I recently had a customer ask me if I sold silhouettes of children. I told her that it was in the works but I could design and cut a custom silhouette for her. She loved this idea and asked me to sketch and cut two natural hair paper cut silhouettes of two girls. She had pictures so I used them as my starting point and sketched silhouettes for her. I loved the way they came out! So I am going to create a listing for children silhouettes. 

Be on the look out!

I started off with two girls with loose big hair and the customer thought they looked similar  - which I agreed so I sketched a girl with afro puffs.

These are gorgeous! Don't you think?

Cut Paper Art letters - Mud Cloth Patterns

I am thinking of designing a paper cutting art letter series. There are other paper cutting artist that create beautiful paper cut letters like  Suzy Taylor and Rachel Ashe.


My inspiration will come from African mud cloth patterns. I am drawn to the geometric patterns like stripes, dots, triangles and swirls. I am currently working on a pattern that will be different in each letter but have the same feel.

I found this wonderful post at Design Sponge that give the history of mud cloth in case you are interested and they have a link to a site that allows you to create your own virtual mud cloth design.

Enjoy!

Cut Paper Art Silhouettes - Zora Neal Hurston

I am working on a paper cutting silhouette series that will include prominent black artists, writers, poets, speakers, leaders, etc. When I created the poets silhouettes (see here) I wasn't even thinking of doing a series. Over time I realized that people use quotes from famous people to encourage and to uplift them. This is what I want my art to do for people. I got a lot of interest in the first two, so I decided to design a couple more. 

My next two will be Zora Neal Hurston and Ralph Ellison. I am using the bold portion from Zora's essay:

AT CERTAIN TIMES I have no race, I am me. When I set my hat at a certain angle and saunter down Seventh Avenue, Harlem City, feeling as snooty as the lions in front of the Forty?Second Street Library, for instance. So far as my feelings are concerned, Peggy Hopkins Joyce on the Boule Mich with her gorgeous raiment, stately carriage, knees knocking together in a most aristocratic manner, has nothing on me. The cosmic Zora emerges. I belong to no race nor time. I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads.
I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored. I am merely a fragment of the Great Soul that surges within the boundaries. My country, right or wrong.
Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me.

 -Zora Neale Hurston, "How it Feels to Be Colored Me"

This essay speaks to me because I live in a time where black beauty is being shunned even more by the norm but there are movements on the rise that state #blacklivesmatter #blackgirlrock #blackoutday. These movement are necessary like when James Brown declared, "I am black and I am proud." It helped foster the winds of change for African Americans, to be proud of who they are and where they come from. If we as a people aren't proud, no one is going to proud for us. African Americans are still being greatly discriminated against but how Zora beautifully puts it... "It merely astonishes me. How can they deny themselves the pleasure of my company."

How can they?...

( I will update with pictures soon.)

Zora Neal Hurston

Paper Cut Art- Yoga Poses

My latest paper cut art is inspired from the beautiful poses of yoga. I don't participate in yoga but as an artist the poses are so perfect. Straight lines, feet pointed, arms steady.... Beautiful.

I had to do research on poses, names, and meanings since I don't take yoga classes. On Instagram I follow a group that creates hashtags for people to use to show off their yoga skills. The pictures are wonderful to view. The pictures give the viewer a intimate look into their homes, studios, relationship and lives.

For this paper cut art I sketched a couple of poses I liked. Then I scanned my sketches into Illustrator to clean them up and give them life. I knew I wanted to do a mirror image of the pose displaying the energy and power that the poses create by using shapes are connected to yoga.

I love how these turned out and I am working on prints, with watercolor added to the art.

Paper Cut Art / Why the Sun and Moon are in the Sky

I recently decided to participate in an artist contest that is based out in California. The theme is myth and folklore. I can summit up to three pieces of art but I will only do two. One will be based on the African tale of Why the Sun and Moon live in the Sky and Anansi the Spider tales.


For the sun and moon I drew twin sisters drawing design inspiration from the actual story and other African symbols and patterns.

For Anansi the spider I am designing the spider god as women using her hair as the web and pulling from the story illustration, actual tribal marking and patterns.

I am really excited about what I have done so far and hope this will be helpful to my career as an paper cut artist. I can't wait to cut my design and see how they look.

Wish me Luck!