Sometimes, I wonder how different the world will be when women run things. I’m looking forward to less violence.
I like sports, but I wonder what if boxing wasn’t on TV?
I understand that it’s our very nature, that being human makes us hunters and gatherers, that is who we are at our base level. That is, we naturally look to fit in, search for a tribe (team) so that we can cheer for something outside of ourselves. We understand that, because we think.
But what if domestic violence is in some small way connected to what’s projected onto tv screens, and in a sense it’s being promoted in our homes.
What if, what happens on the grid iron and in the ring was left in the ring, and out on the field?
Sometimes, I wonder how different the world will be when women run things. I’m looking forward to less violence.
I’m thinking about @staceyabrams right now. I’m thinking how she went up against a political machine that’s hundreds of years old- it’s cracked, it’s stale and it’s rusty. But as weak as it may sound, it’s also a solid mass that’s become stuck onto itself, it’s unable or unwilling to budge.
Rest assured she loosened the gears though. Through her hard work and determination, that acted like a degreaser or oil. In time, the old machinations will break down and we can give thanks to her🙏
There’s a celebration going on somewhere, because someone is feeling good about life.
It doesn’t seem to last forever. But in between texting, playing basketball and making work there’s a steady beat that keeps us going. In between the newspaper pages, the endless emails & streaming apps, there’s always a steady beat inside all of us.
Sadly, we don’t always stop to listen or acknowledge it, but we should. Or worse, sometimes we wait until something bad happens, or we don’t feel well and then we rush to check-in… but a stethoscope isn’t the same as a pause button. Is it?
I was just thinking, how we don’t have to download updates to keep our hearts beating. And that’s a good thing, because we’d probably be late or forget. It just keeps beating, almost effortlessly.
If you’re reading this post, then pause for celebration, you’re alive!
For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer. I didn’t have a clear path to that end, there always seemed to be something that I needed to do first.
For instance, I needed to go to college. No one in my family had ever been, and I needed to change that, so I went to Minnesota, where no one knew me and where Winter used icicles to hug tree branches, like an older brother throwing his arm across his younger sister’s shoulder.
I was a sophomore the year I was called into Harriet Sheridan’s office, once the Dean of Students, and on that day, the interim Dean of the College.
She was sitting behind a big desk, she smiled politely and gestured for me to take a seat. After some general niceties, she asked me what I wanted to get out of college. And I replied matter of fact, a degree. She chuckled and said that she had been reading some of my college papers. I must’ve looked worried, because she then opened a folder and said they were quite good.
From where I was sitting, I could see comments written in red ink along the paper’s border. She asked me the same question , differently. “What do you want to be?”
Excitedly, I told her I wanted to become a writer. Then you must leave college she said. I was devastated, what kind of advice is that to give to a college student?
I fought back tears. She explained that I had real talent, and that if I stayed, the talent I was showing would be stifled. That there was different ways of writing, and that my writing talent couldn’t be taught at a school and that college isn’t for everyone.
Years later, I found out that she became a very important professor at Brown University, she even has a building named after her, I might have to get one named after me too 😉
My bucket list is simple, it only consists of my being able to thank people. No, not everyone, but those special people who make getting up every day a worthwhile activity.
“This Bright Moment”
I started six years ago. Back then, it was easy because most of the people I wanted to thank were local, so I only needed to send a text or make a phone call. Then I decided to go back further in my life and thank teachers that had made a difference in my world.
And that was a challenge, because at my age many of them had retired or passed on from this side. But I thanked them anyway, spiritually and in harmony with my life soul.
So my bucket list is to thank as many people as possible for being kind and supportive to me and of my work. I know I’ll probably forget someone… so here, from my heart to everyone who’s shared their words, offered me advice and gave me hope— Thank You. From the bottom of my heart 🙏❤️
****please note, this blog post is going to be longish:)
Once again, my health has given me a reason to pause, this time has been easier. Or maybe I’ve grown stronger from my past experiences, so that I’m better equipped to deal with medical disruptions.
Most of these people will be surprised to see their name on my Shout Out List, because they’re not fully aware of the impact they had on my journey. Some people will have forgotten, because what I consider to be a huge give, was for them very small…
Sandi Quatrale spent hours working on what proved to be impossible, as I continuously sent her the same wrong sized image over and over and over again, so sorry. So grateful for her patience. I know now. Thank you🙏🥰
Miriam Blankenship’s referral to a professional photographer was invaluable… without even knowing it, she gave me permission to believe that my art was something special. Forever grateful. Thank you🙏💕
Eric Korsh made me feel worthy, by setting up a Zoom meeting to talk to me about my art on a Targus bag. When the President of Scout Productions speaks, you listen. And I hung on every word he spoke and although I didn’t get the Targus contract, I did win the Targus Reel Contest, so there’s that. So grateful for his encouragement. Thank you 🙏
@rikananika saw something in my paintings on IG and somehow through a process, got 14 of my paintings featured in the opening scenes of “Naomi” a TV show on a major network. I’m still floored by the experience!!! I’ve never met her, but will always feel connected. Thank you so much for this great opportunity 🙏❤️
Erik Grau invited me to submit my art to my first group showing! And then he answered a hundred questions to help me understand the business side of an art practice. And when one of my two pieces sold overseas, he helped finalize the sale. And then most recently, Erik offered me a solo exhibition at Piano Craft Gallery this upcoming August 2023!!! Are you kidding me!??More on this later, but for now thank you Erik, Thank you🙏💕
@BillboardHope for selecting my art for a solo exhibition on a billboard in Boston’s historic John Elliot Square, but more importantly for sharing news that I was being called the “Breakout Artist”, of the project, it bolstered my confidence and allowed me to keep making work and showing it. Thank you 🙏💕
@LizWBZ thank you for answering my email and being curious about a billboard and how it could be used to bring joy into a dilapidated neighborhood. My goodness, because of you, an interview in Boston was televised! And then there were bonus commercials aired during Alex Trebak’s Jeopardy. Wait… what??? So grateful. Thank you 🙏
And then there was @NYCCritClub I didn’t know what the class was about, but I applied and was shocked when I was accepted. Then I didn’t have money to pay for it, but you offered a payment plan and it worked out. Thank you 🙏
This class changed my art trajectory. I was the proverbial sponge, I asked so many questions in class and during breakout groups, and always my classmates, established artists themselves took time to share their knowledge with me. I was thrilled to discover that art is so inclusive. I felt welcomed and safe. Thank you all 🙏
Perhaps the best part of the class was co-founder and teacher @HilaryDoyle, Thank you for teaching me so, so much. Thank you for noticing my ineptitude with Google docs and not making it an obstacle for me. Thank you for showing interest in my work outside of a Zoom meeting and most recently, suggesting my art be included in a group exhibition, along with tour work in Boston. Are you kidding me?!?! You are forever appreciated. Thank you 🙏🥰
Thank you Erika Hess, who’s podcast titled “I Like Your Work” (four little words) sustained me over the past two years. Especially when self-doubt crept up. And thank you for having open calls for art submissions. What a wonderful opportunity to get eyes on work and I’m so grateful to have my work selected both in-person and with WilHutnick in an on-line group exhibitions. Thank you 🙏🥰
I want to share my gratitude, not so much as to tell my story, but to express my joy in having shared worlds and touched lives in some small way with so many people, that I may never meet outside of the realm of Instagram.
Of course none of us has one single moment in which we become our true selves. Instead, there’s a natural cumulative effect of the human experience— joy, sorrow and hardships that help to define us, that show our strengths by exposing our weaknesses and the obstacles we’ve had to overcome. Because we all have a story, and by now, most readers of my blog know my story. I also want folks to know that I’m extremely grateful to so many people from family, friends, to medical staff to FedEx personnel.
Each night I send light & give thanks. And again, with the morning dawn… THANK YOU.
Once upon a time a New York City gallerist saw my art, liked it but when he heard that I had no traditional art training, he dismissed me and told me that my art will never show anywhere.
Sixteen exhibitions later, boy am I happy that he was he wrong! Yup, thanking him too 😉
If I’m making my life look easy, it’s only so that others might try.
I hope a little girl will see my art and she’ll succeed. That through my trials and tribulations, her path is less cumbersome, that she’ll navigate the art world with decorum and humility and a large dose of self-confidence, because she needs that.
We all need to hear words of encouragement and to be cheered on, from the sidelines. Because truth is, we all struggle in life, all of us. So why can’t we change that and help one another?
I painted this piece because I can’t imagine how hard life must seem for a twelve year old boy of color, living life in America.
Some of our best dreams don’t happen when we’re asleep. Instead, they happen in our wakefulness, when we stretch ourselves and reach goals.
Too often we don’t acknowledge our accomplishments for ourselves. Instead we hope others will notice our content, like a post and pat us on the back & say “Job well done”. But shouldn’t we be doing that for ourselves?
What if we hit the pause button and poke through our years? What if we look through our accomplishments; everything that it took for us to get here, to this point in our lives without overlooking the hard work & determination?
Reviewing the adversity that we had to overcome, as we searched for & discovered our better selves. Why do we forget all that we’ve been through? We need to undo that way of thinking.
Let others fail to acknowledge our achievements, but let us remember & be proud & honor our younger selves and all the past effort it took to get us here.
My first achievement was teaching myself how to ride a bike. I’ve never fully celebrated reaching that goal. It was one of the sweetest feelings 🙂
I’m only remembering now because I was awake when I made this painting.
art #artexhibition #artistssupportartists #technygalleries #artcommunity #femaleartists #bostonartists #dopeart #museumsfromhome
I grew up, wanting to leave home. It seemed restrictive and boring. Nothing exciting ever happened. And it seemed to me, that every bit of joy that I might experience in life lay just beyond my front door.
So I dreamt about the day I’d leave. The years passed slowly, as they do when you’re young, until finally, it just happened. My escape was nothing like the way I had envisioned it. I left home when I was 17 and went away to Minnesota and college.
But then, time started to fly by. I grew up by leaps and bounds and aged. Suddenly, I wanted to go back home. I missed my family. I wanted them to see the woman that I had become and to tell them how right they were about “such-n-such” and how I had applied their wisdom in my life.
So I bought a round-trip ticket back home. It was time. I needed to visit. I needed to see where I had come from, to determine if I had made the right choices and to compare notes for future debates.
So I hurried back to where I had rushed to leave.
There’s a joy in sharing childhood stories with strangers. Life, indeed seems better now. Less painful, with more melancholy, trimmed with nostalgia, and not at all the way I left it.
It’s been a long two weeks, for real. People who know me, haven’t seen me. Close family members who once hugged me, have had to keep a distance. And in all this time…
I haven’t painted. Well, I did paint over a few paintings, in a moment of frantic fury, out of frustration where I didn’t have enough room on the canvas to express my creativity, the paintbrushes took flight & like a raisin in the sun, one of Langston Hughes’ “Dream Deferred”.
And yet, during this same period of gloom, the most fantabulous thing happened, I received an email inviting me to attend an art outing, with a group of artists who were planning to gather in Boston! Wait… what? The email header read:
“Re: Art Openings Boston 1st friday Sept 2nd?”
You cannot possibly imagine my joy when I read that email. Or how elated I was to correspond with other artists’ regarding the order of art openings and the upcoming events. For me it was a unique chance to meet professional artists, not only after a never-ending pandemic but in spite of it, but it was also a chance to be with like-minded souls. People who create work to inspire others & I was there for it all! I was humbled & I was thrilled!
But then life happened & just like that I couldn’t attend. My once bright opportunity passed & that Friday, instead of heading out to meet artists, I was undergoing tests.
So right now, I don’t completely understand why I wasn’t able to attend the wonderful art openings on Sept. 2. but I’m reassured by that night’s success!
Today I will pick up my paint brushes & paint & tomorrow I’ll do everything else!
I will meet artists, I will paint & I will have art showings. Tomorrow💯
“Her Coming Home”
I hope you feel the same, because that’s precisely what tomorrows are for. The world needs to see your work & meet you.
Trust, everyone has hardships, but if we’re lucky, we get to have tomorrow too. So keep going, I’m waiting to meet you🙏🥰
DaNice D Marshall TechnyGalleries 