In 2007 and 2008, I started working with Ken Yamaguchi-Clark, a dynamic, gifted, soulful, and intuitive healer and bodyworker (known as “Dharma Farma”). Ken’s bodywork helped me identify and connect with my eight archetypes. Our work also helped me cultivate a deep relationship with each archetype, including my Warrior Woman archetype who is named Sapphire.
In 2008, my photographer Leigh Mosley and I worked together on a photoshoot of my archetypes for my mindful creative memoir, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery.
Today, my Warrior Woman Sapphire called on me to create two digital collages to honor her presence and power in my life. I used my painting entitled “One Drop of Black Blood #2” as the background for both collages. I added two copies of photos of my Warrior Woman Sapphire on each collage.
“Warrior Woman #1” and “Warrior Woman #2” are the titles of the collages.
The red and black colors in the collage represent my root chakra energy that focuses on security, protection, and grounding. The orange color represents my sacral chakra energy that focuses on healing, joy, sensuality, and creativity. The yellow color represents my solar plexus energy that focuses on inner power, self-determination, and persistence.
I believe each one of us is born CREATIVE. That means we each have a garden filled with seeds of #creativity that lives inside of us.
My garden of creative seeds has always lived in my spirit, heart, mind, and body.
My #curiosity lives in my eyes. They love to observe intensely. Check out my eyes in my childhood photos featured in the collage.
As a child, my mother Theresa watered and nurtured my creative seeds when she taught my three brothers and I about the power of our imagination, curiosity, and voice. Mommy constantly encouraged and reminded us to use our #imagination and be curious. Both my parents made sure we had time and access to resources and experiences that helped us express ourselves throughout our childhood. They and our grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends cheered us on.
Those early experiences laid the foundation for my adult life as a curious creative which began during my first Saturn Return (astrology lovers know what this means) at 27 in 1992.
Today’s digital collage honors the beginning of my life as a #curious #creative. It is entitled “A Curious Creative Is Born: Her First Four Years.”
The collage’s background is taken from one of my 2007 paintings I made to illustrate my love for the ocean and summer weekends spent at my parents’ beach house in Oyster Harbor, a small beach community that was incorporated by a majority of African American homeowners in Annapolis, Maryland during the 1950s.
I added photos of my first four years on the planet and several copies of my finger painting that I made when I was three years old.
During the weekend, I started working on a digital collage that illustrates how I feel about my current journey of being a woman who embraces, embodies, expresses, and enjoys Thriving Mindfully as she ages. Today, I named it “Gratitude for the Journey #1.”
I started the collage with a photo of my 2006 painting entitled “Jazz on U Street” that hangs in my living room. I added photos of me wearing white outfits to honor the sacredness of Creator, my loving + wise + well ancestors, Orishas, and myself.
I added several of my favorite Ghanaian Adinkra symbols in different colors. See the meaning of the symbols below.
In addition to creating my Ancestral Medicine digital collage collection, I am reflecting on and creating digital collages about the person I have been and currently am.
Yesterday, I found my high school senior class photo and thought about who I was at 17 years old.
I looked into my 17-year-old eyes and saw Madelyn Cheryl Leeke (my legal name; known as “Puf” to family and friends), an independent, talkative, focused high achiever, leader, and student at Elizabeth Seton High School (all-girls Catholic school), poet, future lawyer, public speaker, and a fun-loving, social, party and flirty girl who loves lipstick, Prince, dancing, shopping, dressing in vintage clothing mixed with jeans, going to basketball games, dating, speaking Spanish and French, traveling, dreaming of living well on 16th Street in DC, nature, basketball, catching the Metro, art, music, beaches, and all things cultural.
I see a sensitive, creative, and smart girl who put a lot of pressure on herself to succeed.
I see an intense, self-determined, and brave girl who had high expectations for herself and believed she had to achieve academic, career, and material success in order to survive and THRIVE.
What a young woman!
Over the years, I have had to forgive myself for some of the beliefs I had and choices I made that created unhealthy mindsets, behavior, and experiences.
I know my 17-year-old self did the best she could with what she had.
Let me also say, I am still in the process of forgiving and healing the person I was during each decade of my life. That work is ONGOING.
With that said, I can honestly say at 61 that I would not change a thing about my 17-year-old self because she got me to the place I am today. All of her beliefs and choices, the good and not so good, led me to experiences, people, lessons, wisdom, grace, forgiveness, patience, dreams, joy, pain, loss, healing, growth, and blessings that make me who I am today. And that person is a Woman Intentionally and Patiently Progressing (W.I.P.P.).
The title of this collage is “17.” I started it with a painting I made in 2006 or 2007 as the background. I loved the red and yellow colors because they remind me of my high school colors.
The color red also represents my root chakra energy and how focused I was on establishing career and financial security.
The yellow represents my solar plexus chakra energy and my intense focus on personal power, persistence, and self-determination.
Three Ghanaian Adinkra symbols were added to the collage.
Epa is the name of the Adinkra symbol that is repeated on my graduation gown. It symbolizes law and justice and illustrates my dream and career goal of becoming a lawyer who helps people and makes good money to afford my lifestyle and home on 16th Street in DC.
The Duafe (the comb) Adinkra symbol represents femininity and beauty and illustrates my desire to be, feel, and look feminine, stylish, and beautiful.
The Bese Asaka Adinkra symbol represent abundance and wealth and illustrates my goal to live well.
Yesterday marked the beginning of the astrological New Year, Spring Equinox, and Aries season. Also, Mercury Upgrade (Retrograde) ended.
What a powerful time!
I am here for it all and feel my creative energy increasing!!!!
My ancestors are guiding me to use my digital collages to celebrate sisters in my womanline.
Today’s Ancestral Medicine digital collage is entitled “Roberts Sisters #1.” It celebrates the sisterhood between my grandaunt Paulyne Roberts (“Aunt Paul”) and her little sister, Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke, my grandmother (“Grandmommy”).
I started with a 1918 photo of Aunt Paul holding Grandmommy on the porch of their family home on Spruce Street in Terre Haute, Indiana. I added a few more photos from 1915, the 1920s, and the1950s.
I also used Canva’s filters to change the look of the photos.
Several colorful Abusua Pa Ghanaian Adinkra symbols were added to Aunt Paul and Grandmommy’s clothing.
Abusua Pa refers to family unity, kinship, and support.
I am using Women’s History Month (which is every month) to create digital collages with Canva tools that celebrate my womanline ancestors.
Since the month started, I have created five collages that honor the journey from girlhood to womanhood of my Daniel, Thomas, and Roberts womanline on my dad’s side.
I call their names and use this creative process to pour libations and give thanks for their ancestral love, power, presence, wisdom, and protection.
-All African, Indigenous, and European Womanline Ancestors I don’t know by name
-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Ann Daniel
-Great-Great-Grandmother Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas
-Great-Grandmother Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts
-Grandaunt Mabel Roberts
-Grandaunt Paulyne Roberts
-Grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke
Although I do not have any photos of my great-great-great-grandmother Ann Daniel and other womanline ancestors, their spirits are woven into each of the collages.
My paternal grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke was the daughter of a powerful, creative, and entreprenurial woman and community leader named Eunice Thomas Roberts, the daughter of Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas, a force of nature who came from the womb of Ann Daniel, a courageous woman of African descent who forged a life and created a family with her husband Hence Daniel, an Indigenous man, after being enslaved in Kentucky.
My grandmother Freddie was the youngest daughter of Eunice and Henry O. Roberts. Her older sisters, Mabel and Paulyne Roberts were much older than her and proudly took on the role of being big sisters to her.
I decided to create collages that honored their journey from girlhood to young womanhood. Although I do not have any photos of my great-great-great-grandmother Ann Daniel, her spirit is woven into each of the collages.
I added the Nyame Dua Ghanaian Adinkra symbol to the collage. Nyame Dua means “Tree of God” and reminds of the Divine’s presence and protection. The symbol is also used as a divine and ancestral altar. Each collage functions as an ancestral altar.
I invite you to listen to my spoken word song, “Ancestral Medicine” (click on the video) as you check them out below. “Ancestral Medicine is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. Go here to get more information on how you can buy and download the album for $9.
Collage Order
#1: Great-Great-Grandmother Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas
Today, I had a lot of fun creating a collage dedicated to my grandaunt Paulyne (“Aunt Paul”) Roberts’ journey from girlhood to young womanhood. Aunt Paul was a second grandmother and special shero to me.
I included photos of Aunt Paul’s childhood years, teens, twenties, and thirties in the collage and changed the colors with the filter option on Canva. One of the photos illustrates her role as a big sister to my grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke. I duplicated copies of her mother Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts’ photo that was taken in the 1920s and added them as a border to show ow important she was in her life.
I added one Nyame Dua Ghanaian Adinkra symbol to the collage. Nyame Dua means “Tree of God” and reminds of the Divine’s presence and protection. The symbol is also used as a divine and ancestral altar. The collage functions as an ancestral altar.
The beauty and comfort of Ganavya’s music reminded me of this blessing of a day I have been given to love, live, learn, and leave a legacy in. As I listened to her music, I felt my heart open and give thanks for the privilege of aging and being able to experience another day. What joy I felt!
As I sat with this joy in the morning’s stillness, I received several divine downloads of wisdom on aging that I thought you might enjoy reading. Read the graphics below and let me know what you think in the comment section.
May we all awaken to, accept, and appreciate the privilege that comes with aging from moment to moment.
When we allow ourselves the space to receive this privilege with awareness, grace, and ease, we are Thriving Mindfully As We Age.
MORE ABOUT GANAVYA
In case you didn’t know, Ganavya is an Indian and American singer, songwriter, and musician. I recently discovered her music and found that it calms my nervous system and helps me return home to my inner spirit.
Her music also reminds me of the music of Alice Lucille Coltrane (also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda), an African American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader.
Click the video below to listen to one of Ganavya’s concerts. Enjoy!
Ananda Leeke 