It’s Day 8 of my #Februllage digital collage-making journey dedicated to celebrating my loving + wise + well ancestors!

The prompt for today is CONCRETE.

Family foundation is what I think about when I hear the word CONCRETE.

My grandparents’ Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin and Robert Warren Gartin, Sr. laid the family foundation for the Gartins in Indianapolis, Indiana. They started with their love, care, and commitment to their five children in a house they owned on Cornell Street in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. A photo of the house is included in the collage.

When they bought another house and moved to N. Adams Street, they continued to love and care for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Now that they are ancestors, they have expanded their love and care to touch every person who is born into our Gartin family.

This collage is called Concrete Family Blessings. The blessings are my grandpatents’ love, care, and work ethic.

I used a photo of part of my paintings “One Drop of Black Blood #1” as the base of the digital collage. The painting was made with red, black, and brown acrylic in 2006. It honors the power of Black people’s blood.

I placed four black Abusua Pa symbols in the corners of the collage. Abusua Pa is a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol that represents family unity, kinship, and support. It reminds me to honor the concrete family foundation my grandparents created and appreciate them for loving and caring the best they knew how as imperfect human beings.

Black and white photos of my grandparents and their five children, Robert Jr., Janet (died as a baby), Phyllis, Theresa (my mom), and Veronica are included.

In 1980, my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a fancy party. During the party, they took a picture with their 12 grandchildren and one great granddaughter. That photo is included in the collage.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter as you reflect on the question below.

What blessings have you received from your loving + wise + well ancestors that you have incorporated into our family’s foundation?

Creating my Ancestral Medicine collages using the #Februllage daily prompts has been one of the highlights of my week because I get to practice digital mindfulness.

Digital mindfulness is the practice of slowing down and being aware of how you use technology.

Digital mindfulness is also choosing to use technology in intentional and healthy ways that support your well being.

I have been slowing down and becoming aware of how I show up as an artist when I take time to surrender and become a divine vessel of expression for Creator and my loving + wise + well ancestors.

That practice grounds me and helps me use technology (Canva) to create collages in an intentional and healthy way.

That brings me so much JOY and GRATITUDE.

The creative process has also empowered me as I tune in and listen to my ancestors’ wisdom, revisit stories I was told about my them, and discover new information about their lives, families, and/or communities.

All of it brings me closer to them and deepens our connection. What a blessing!

Check out my #Februllage Day #7 (PROMPT: Rain) that is entitled The Johnson Men: Xango’s Sons Rain Down Blessings on Me.

I started with a black and white photo of my Johnson family ancestors (left to right): great-great grandfather William Ernest Johnson, great-grandfather John William Johnson, Sr. (“Big John” and Grandpa Johnson), and great-grand uncle Richard Johnson of North Vernon, Indiana. They remind me to stand in my power and take action to pursue my dreams.

While working with the photo on Canva, I started thinking about the connection I have to Shango/Xango, the Yoruba orisha/Candomble oxisa of thunder, lightening, power, leadership, justice, royalty, and masculine energy.

Shango/Xango is symbolized by a double-headed ax, the colors red and white, and number six.

I placed the ax above my ancestors’ heads and included six red thunder bolts to highlight Shango’s presence in their lives.

My thoughts about Shango/Xango stayed with me for a few days. During this time period, I revisited a reading I had with a Candomble priestess when I visited Salvador da Bahia, Brazil in 2023. Her reading helped me embrace Shango/Xango as one of my guiding Orishas/Oxisas.

Later in the week, I asked Shango/Xango and my ancestors for guidance. They revealed that my three Johnson ancestors are sons of Shango/Xango.

The rain represents the blessings of my Johnson ancestors. I included my baby photo and placed it at their feet to symbolize them raining down blessings on me.

The six cowrie shells represent the wealth of love, wisdom, and guidance they provide.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter as you reflect on the question below.

1) What loving + wise + well ancestors remind you to stand in your power and take action on your dreams?

2) How did your ancestors stand in their power and take action on their dreams?

Why am I creating digital collages?

The answer is simple. To take care of my spirit, heart, mind, and body.

My creativity is a wellness lifeline to Thriving Mindfully!

Creating art helps me release stress, experience joy and ease, and navigate changing times.

Today’s #Februllage collage (PROMPT – Jellyfish) is entitled “A Day of Jellyfish Fun in Iemanja’s Ocean.” It celebrates girls and women of African descent being, playing, and walking with freedom, joy, and ease at the beach without the fear of being harmed by jellyfish. They are able to coexist and play with the jellyfish peacefully.

I started the collage with a photo of myself playing the shekere, a West African percussion instrument made from a dried, hollowed-out gourd (calabash) covered in a woven net of beads, on a beach in Barra, a neighborhood in Salvador da Bahia. The photo was taken during my second Ancestral Spirits trip to Brazil in February 2025. Ancestral Spirits is a travel experience created and offered by Ronnell Perry, founder of AfroBuenaventura Transformative Travel.

I added a black and white photo of my mom Theresa playing with her grandmother Iona Hazel Bolden Johnson King’s goat and two photos from my childhood adventures on beaches. One photo features me sticking my feet in the water when I was 17 years old and on vacation in Puerto Rico in 1982. I created two copies of a photo from one of my first visits to an east coast beach in the early 1970s.

My collage also honors Iemanja (Yemanya), the goddess of the sea, motherhood, and families, with two African mermaids. I used a photo of a beautiful Iemanja sculpture I discovered while walking in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood in Salvador last year.

A photo of two Candomble practitioners dressed in Iemanja’s colors of blue and white is also featured. I saw these two women during the Festa de Iemanja on the beach in the Rio Vermelho, my favorite Brazilian neighborhood, last year.

Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that represents a melange of spiritual beliefs from the Yoruba, Fon, Bantu, and Roman Catholicism. Enslaved Africans developed it in the 19th century. Festa de Iemanja is an annual celebration held on February 2nd where people wear white or blue and offer flowers, perfumes, and gifts to Iemanja. The main celebration is in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, specifically at the Casa de Iemanja.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter as you reflect on the questions below.

1) Your loving + wise + well ancestors want you to live, play, and have fun with freedom, joy, and ease. Do you know what your ancestors did for fun?

2) What types of activities offer you time and space to have fun and play?

3) Schedule a weekly playdate that gives you time and space to have fun. It doesn’t have to cost you money or take several hours or a day. It can be five minutes or longer.

In case you didn’t know, I am participating in #Februllage, an annual collage challenge created by the Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum that invites collage artists to make a ‘collage a day’ throughout February using the OFFICAL WORD PROMPT CALENDAR (primarily happens on Instagram).

I am using my #Februllage collages to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black History and to honor my loving + wise + well ancestors on my mom Theresa’s side.

STAR is the prompt for my #Februllage Day #5 collage. The title of the collage is “My Ancestral Stars: The Bolden Family.”

Today’s collage is about pouring libations and giving thanks for my Bolden family ancestors. They represent some of my Ancestral Stars, a sacred tribe of ancestors who love, guide, and protect me.

I used a black and white photo of my great-great-great grandparents, Sarah Ellen Martin Bolden and John Thomas Bolden, Sr., and their children that was taken in 1885. Family members lived in Jefferson County and Jennings County (Vernon and North Vernon), Indiana.

Their eldest son, William Henry Bolden is my great-great grandfather and the father of my great grandmother, Iona Hazel Bolden Johnson King. That makes him my grandmother Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin’s grandfather.

To honor their ancestral love, presence, and protection and our family’s Black History, I used red, black, and green Nsoromma (Akan word for star) symbols.

Nsoromma is a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol that reminds me Creator and my ancestors love, guide, and protect me at all times.

The red, black, and green colors come from the Pan-African flag that was created as a response to racism against African Americans in 1920 with the help of Marcus Garvey, Jamaican freedom fighter and founder of The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League.

Red represents the blood that unites all people of African descent. Black represents the people of African descent. Green represents the abundant wealth of Africa.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter.

1) Where do your loving + wise + well ancestors come from? Name the countries, states, cities, towns, and/or counties.

2) Have you ever visited or would you like to visit these locations?

3) Do some research and plan a visit to one location. Include the places you want to see.

Check out my #Februllage Day #4 collage (Prompt: BROCCOLI) entitled “Grandma Ida Mae Farmer Gartin: My Wellness Shero Who Reminds Me to Eat Plenty of Green Vegetables.” It celebrates my Great Grandmother Ida Mae Farmer Gartin’s commitment to eating healthy which was rooted in her spiritual life as a 7th Day Adventist in Indianapolis, Indiana. Great Grandmother Ida Mae is one of my wellness sheroes. She reminds me to live a healthy life by taking care of my body with healthy food and regular exercise.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. How do you your loving + wise + well ancestors inspire you in your life?

Check out my #Februllage Day #3 collage (Prompt: BALLET) entitled “Ballet de Iemanja and Oxum.” It celebrates my connection to Yemanya/Iemanja and Oshun/Oxum, the West African Yoruba Orishas/Orixas that embody aspects of water and feminine power. Oshun is the goddess of sweet waters, love, beauty, and fertility. She is often associated with the colors gold and yellow. Yemanya is the goddess of the ocean, motherhood, and family. She is often represented by the colors blue and white. They guided my womanline ancestors and introduced themselves to me in my creativity (poetry, creative writing, and wire sculptures) in 1992.

In 2023 and 2025, I traveled to Salvador da Bahia, Brasil to celebrate Festa de Iemanjá (Yemanya’s Festival on February 2) with Ronnell Perry’s AfroBuenaventura Transformative Travel experience called Ancestral Spirits. During both trips, I went to see Balé Folclórico da Bahia‘s performances which celebrates the Orishas/Orixas. The Portuguese word Balé means ballet.

I took several photos of the dancers that portrayed Iemanjá/Yemanja and Oxum/Oshun. I added their photos to the collage below. I also included a photo of an Afro Brazilian woman who was standing near me on the beach during Festa de Iemanjá in Salvador last year.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. Use the reflection questions below.

1) Are their special places in your country or the world where you feel most connected to your loving + wise + well ancestors?

2) What lessons have you learned from your loving + wise + well ancestors?

3) Identify one way to express gratitude for the wisdom of your loving + wise + well ancestors.

Check out my #Februllage Day #2 collage (Prompt: TOAST) entitled “Festa de Iemanja Toast to Mommy” below. It is a toast to the love, friendship, and ancestral connection I share with my mom Theresa B. Gartin Leeke. It includes my drawing of Yemanya, the goddess of the ocean and motherhood and photos from my graduation ball at Howard University School of Law and 2025 trip to Salvador da Bahia, Brasil.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below to listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. Bring to mind one of your loving + wise + well ancestors. Take a few moments to reflect or write out why your loving + wise + well ancestor matters to you. Use your reflections to create a special toast. Pour a cup or glass of your favorite hot or cold beverage. Raise your cup or glass and toast your loving + wise + well ancestors with words of gratitude.

I decided to participate in Februllage, a collaboration between Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum that invites collage artists to make a ‘collage a day’ throughout February using the OFFICAL WORD PROMPT CALENDAR. Read more here (based on Instagram).

I am using Februllage to create collages that honor my ancestors of African descent and the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.

Special thanks to my soul sistalove and godmother Toni for encouraging me to participate in the challenge.

Check out my #Februllage Day #1 Collage: BOOM.

My collage celebrates what the ancestral boom sounds and looks like in my life. It features Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, black and white family photos of ancestors on my mom Theresa’s side, and photos of two dancers from Balé Folclórico da Bahia’s performance honoring Yemanya, the goddess of the ocean and motherhood, and Oshun, the goddess of sweet waters, love, and beauty. It also features a photo of the Iemanja sculpture in Rio Vermelho, my favorite neighborhood in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Here’s a fun fact: the woman playing the piano is my mom Theresa when she was a young girl.

YOUR INVITATION

Click on the video below and listen to my song, “Ancestral Medicine” that is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. Use the reflection questions below.

1) What does it mean to be connected to loving + wise + well ancestors?

2) Do you want or currently have a relationship with your loving + wise + well ancestors?

3) What are one to three steps you can take to cultivate a relationship with your loving + wise + well ancestors?

In case you missed The Amherstburg Freedom Museum‘s Virtual Black History presentation on “The Leeke Family’s Legacy of Freedom Seekers from Hagerstown to Amherstburg” that my dad Dr. John F. Leeke and I gave on January 26th, I invite you to watch the replay video below (includes a 46-minute presentation and question and answer period).

Special thanks to Irene Moore Davis, Assistant Curator, and her team at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum for inviting us to share our family’s history!