Summer is a busy time for an Artist that's involved in camps. As the time for longer and warmer days end each year, I get a little nostalgic and reflect on all of the great things the season brought. This year I returned to Hidden Voices and Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate's Seeking The Self (STS) Camp as an Assistant Art Instructor and also joined SEEDS' Summer Camp as a Guest Teacher to [finally] complete my North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program's Community Partnership Project. Working with the kids lesson-by-lesson to come up with a concept for a mural we designed together and began painting was a challenge, but very rewarding. I met many talented young artists and it was a pleasure to teach them some of the basics of art and design. Photos from SEEDS' Camp directly follow. Read on for more about STS Camp after that!

  Two years ago at this time, TYPE USA and See Why Designs were deep into planning and preparing to lead Canvas Creations for the very first time, which took place on September 10, 2016. We came together almost two weeks ago to "celebrate" that... but it was completely staged and the brainchild of my cousin, Michael Stewart (TV Personality seen on Lifetime's Love at First Flight). Not all attendees knew the secret, but he was using the event to be the perfect place to pop the big question to his then girlfriend, Britney. Many friends and family members joined to make this day special, and it was a real pleasure to be a part of it. Big thanks to Zweli's for serving as a great venue and everybody for showing up and making it a success. Photos are below, mostly captured by Esther of Esther Hicks Photography. Enjoy!

  I recently had the honor of lettering a huge, overhead chalkboard menu for Zweli's, a Zimbabwean restaurant that opened up its doors to customers in Durham, North Carolina in late June 2018. It was a great opportunity, especially with it being the first time I had ever done such a large-scale project. Although I had the pleasure of getting this job under my belt and having much of the process video documented, two major and hard lessons were learned as well through unexpected challenges I had to face first-hand. Check out the video below and continue reading for two things all creative business owners and/or DIY-ers should know when tackling similar projects!

  Going down Memory Lane today to share photos I took at an artist's exhibition at the Scrap Exchange three years ago. Beauty From Toxicity, by Denise Hughes, was a show created entirely by upcycled plastic and displayed in Durham from Friday, June 19th to Saturday, July 11th, 2015. Hughes creates and shares her work to educate the public about our overproduction and overconsumption of plastic. She invites people to send their used plastic items to her studio instead of disposing them. That way she can use them in her mural projects and artwork while also diverting them from our landfills and waterways.
  This show was a huge inspiration because I was only a few years into my Artist journey at the time and was still exploring the possible ways to create art for a specific purpose, outside of making money. Years later, I now realize that art has been a healing exercise for me and sharing it with others helps to show how they, too can feel relief, hope, freedom, and all types of other good feelings that are often felt through painting.

  For the good. As things change, I, too, am changing. I'm believing there is more in store for me than I can even imagine. I am planning for a great start to the new year, and I pray that by God's grace this will be my year.
  I had the honor of facilitating a Canvas Creations session for Vision Church RDU's Living Life Content (LLC) [Singles] Ministry's End-of-Year event on Saturday, December 9th. In celebration of the holiday season, we had a great time in fellowship and painting together. More photos to recap are in the slideshow below.

  Just about a week ago, I wrapped my fifth portrait drawing session (four times as a model and once as a participant) with a group of artists who draw and paint at Sertoma Arts Center in Raleigh, NC. I'm writing today to share a quick list of FIVE things I've learned over the last 18 months that would best prepare anyone to sit as a great LIVE model for portrait artists. It's a wonderful experience, so if you ever get the opportunity to... do it! I hope this will help.

1. Look Alive!
  Come with your best face! Sitting for a total of almost three hours can be a little exhausting, especially if you have not practiced being still and holding a long pose. Keeping neutral (not too happy, and of course not sad) thoughts and eyes fixed on a focal point really helps to hold a relaxed face. You'll want to remain awake and aware, but without moving! If I had to describe what it may have felt like to be in Jordan Peele's "Sunken Place" from the movie Get Out, sitting as a live model would definitely not be far from it. Listening to a classical music radio station while seating motionless in a position you "can't" move out of for so long in front of a group made up mainly of retired white women made me think of that movie quite often. If you've seen the movie, you'll get the reference and if not... you have to watch it! Haha!


2. Be Prepared!
  Find out the details. The session is normally broken up so that you have 5-minute breaks throughout to walk around and regroup. You're typically asked to come wearing bright colors and interesting fabrics and accessories [scarves and hats are encouraged]. Preparing in advance to factor in your travel time, locating the room, and settling in's vital. Make sure you are well prepared the night before to get enough rest and make it over to your modeling gig!
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3. Arrive Early!
  As a good friend of mine always likes to say, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and if you will be late... don't bother!" This is a good motto to have to help with being punctual, and punctuality is extremely vital when you are scheduled to sit in front of a group that will be studying YOU for three hours. Before you sit for them, there is most likely one person in the group that will seat you on the stage with appropriate lighting and a backdrop that complements the colors you are wearing and tones in your skin. Arriving early helps to ease that process and will better set you up for success.


4. Have a Good Attitude!
  Show that you are glad to be there! Smile and interact with others during the breaks. The time will go by a lot faster once you immerse yourself in the experience. Be the best model you can be and let your observers do what they do. Sometimes the art doesn't come out looking exactly like you, but know that it's OK. Stay upbeat because that keeps the energy in the room high.

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​5. Enjoy the Process!
  Check out the works as they transform from start to finish, and just be in the moment. The artist in me gets excited each time to see the early stages of the works and as the time goes on, I love seeing the final outcomes. I'd encourage any model to move through the room during breaks to check out the work (if the artists are comfortable with it) and enjoy the process!

  As Autumn's onset brings in lovely outdoor changes, I wanted to reflect on the fun art classes and a summer camp I was involved in over the summer. I had the wonderful opportunity to work in the art spaces of UNC-CH with middle school-students participating in Seeking The Self 2017, a summer camp hosted annually by nonprofit organizations, Hidden Voices and Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate (BRMA). The photos below are some highlights of my time there and the video following shows more about the camp. I'm thrilled to have participated and look forward to doing more work with Hidden Voices in the near future.

  The last time I shared photos of my Wine and Design (WnD) groups' works, I also shared the Shark Tank excitement. I know there are more cool things on the way for WnD and can't believe it's already been almost a year and a half since I started with them. Our Durham studio is down to a handful of regularly-scheduled artists and always looking for more to join the team and teach classes. We had a pretty cool regional training held at Aloft Raleigh this summer where we met WnD Corporate folks and artists from all over North Carolina. A photo from training and many more of my class captures are below. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

​  Back again with another short post to share what's new. About a week ago, I had the pleasure to be a guest alongside Artist Nate Key on Episode Nine (~54 minutes long) of Open Convo, a podcast hosted by a mutual friend, Elviria Valdaz and edited and produced by her partner, Sidney. Nate and I have been working on a number of art projects with more on the way, so it was a great time to reconnect with Sidney and Elviria and be on the show to talk about our work and upcoming events. Check it out on her site (notes below provide a quick timeline of our conversation) or SoundCloud page!

00:00 - Podcast Welcome & Gratitude from Host, Elviria, "EV" Valdaz
00:50 - Intro of Nate "The Flow" Key & Cynelsa "C y" Broderick
01:47 - EV kicks off open convo with prompt and C y starts off in response
07:11 - Flow joins the convo and tells us more about himself and his artistry​
10:31 - Were either of us involved in the recent post-Charlottesville rallies/riots (with a tangent on astrological characteristics)?
19:45 - How does the current state of society inspire us as black artists? 
23:04 - What are we trying to communicate with our art? With the state of our country, what do you feel as an individual with your talent that you have to do [or contribute] to create the change [we need]?
29:28 - What does "being creative" mean to you?
30:34 - EV explains that she asked the question about being creative because she feels that sometimes "people create solely to gain instant validation" and shares her experience related to starting a podcast. As an artist/musician, how to you keep the faith or keep it moving and pushing if/when nobody is nobody is watching?
39:24 - Flow responds to the "throwaway culture" our generation currently faces and sees in our youth; and talks about how the speed in which music gets made nowadays changes its quality.
41:17 - EV asks Flow as a musical artist, what his artistry looks like? What does he convey (visual art versus music)? HE BLESSES THE MIC WITH AN A CAPELLA SNIPPET OF HIS MUSIC IN RESPONSE!
42:45 - 'God is so real...'
47:15 - Closing remarks; social media plugging and sharing of upcoming events
​53:47 - Thanks for listening; farewell from Sidney
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  The upcoming events mentioned in this podcast are listed below, as well as the ["Pineapple Express"] t-shirts we launched in connection to the continuation of an expanded Letters, Locks & Lyrics show. To find more information about getting your very own shirt in support of our art, visit: https://teespring.com/thepineappleexpress and click the "I still want one" button. Thanks for checking out this post and stay tuned for more to come!

  The last few months has jam-packed my days with new and old activities involving Durham Art Guild duties, paint party facilitation, and even a Third Friday pop-up art exhibition opportunity at Golden Belt Arts. There's even more that I'll post about at another time. Typically, I have to completely settle and reflect on my calendar or look through my phone's photo album to realize all of the recent, small victories. That's exactly what happened before I decided to write this post. Since my last one, I've participated in my first Swing Into Spring DAG fundraiser, celebrated the completion of one whole fiscal year with the organization, and attended and/or helped to plan and lead several meetings and programs.
​  One of those programs, one that I am very happy about, was "Painting Our Privilege." Some photos from the event follow. Participants came and engaged in an exercise and post-discussion led by Alexa Sykes of The Equity Paradigm that explored ways we all personally and collectively enjoy privileges based on our membership in social groups in the United States. There was a good response to and turn out for the event, so I'm really looking forward to repeating and/or expanding this opportunity.

  Only days later, I had the chance to transform the same space used to host that event into a pop-up art exhibition I teamed up with Artist Nate Key to show called "Letters, Locks, and Lyrics." Held during Durham's Third Friday festivities, there was a fantastic crowd and very great energy. I am thankful to have been able to experience the process of putting the show together from conception and curation, all the way to community interaction during the show and even uninstalling everything afterwards. I am also thankful for my family, friends and everyone that stopped in to see the show (and special shout out to my Dad who was not there, but is blessed to see another birthday TODAY)! Special thanks to the art community's support and gracious allies at Golden Belt for testing the idea of pop-ups out. Some photos from the exhibit follow.

  Last but certainly, not least... there have been a number of painting classes I've had the pleasure of instructing. One of the first places to feature me as an artist was J. Cardinal Events for their 1K Words programming. They reconnected and allowed me to facilitate another one of their painting sessions- this time in connection to an Adolescent Parenting Program graduation celebration. It was an honor to be involved with such an important event and I was so grateful to be able to connect with everyone through art. What a treat it is to have this gift and put it to use!

  There were countless classes done at Wine and Design Durham per usual. I taught my first Picasso-styled date night at the studio as well as a "Durham Starry Night" themed On Wheels event at a local brewery; both were awesome! The company is doing so much in all of their studios, and was even a featured business on ABC's show, Shark Tank. You can read more about this and other mentioned topics in the list of related articles at the end of this blog post. On the flip side, it seems I have to be careful with whom I work with from now on due to the Wine and Design franchises having strict expectations of their contracted artists and not wanting their model repeated (even though there are several existing and similar paint and sip businesses). Unfortunately, I'm not sure how that will impact and look for me moving forward with facilitating more classes, i.e. Exotique's Easel Expressions. Exotique did, however, have their first private group in May and they really had a good time. Some photos from their class are below, as well as the many from Wine and Design. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

  That's right! Returning to Durham for another workshop held at Walltown Children's Theater, the WonderTwins presented Sauce Kings Takeover on Saturday, March 18th. I received an Eventbrite notification for the session and immediately considered going. I'm so glad I was able to attend because once again, the energy was through the roof and I left feeling inspired and extremely thankful for the Triangle's arts community. I LOVE music and dance, and look forward to more classes and these workshop opportunities in the future. I told myself I would have to make more time for doing things I LOVE this year, especially for dance so I'm happy to be getting more of it in, regardless of how rusty I am. Snippets from this workshop and more are below (SN: I appear in several of clips compiled to makes these videos, but am only actually dancing in one).