Ananda Leeke

Happy Creativity Thursday! Celebrating the Artwork of Victor Ekpuk at Morton Fine Art in DC

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 19, 2013September 19, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Artist Victor Ekpuk and friend at Morton Fine Art exhibition on 9/13

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today’s blog celebrates the artwork of Nigerian contemporary artist Victor Ekpuk. Last weekend, I started my Autumn Artist Weekends with a visit to Morton Fine Art to see a solo exhibition of Ekpuk’s artwork, “Reminiscences and Current Musings.”

Victor Ekpuk chatting with people at Morton Fine Art exhibition on 9/13

My favorite piece in the exhibition is Idaresit (Joyful Heart). See photo below.

Idaresit (Joyful Heart) by Victor Ekpuk, 2004 - Photo Credit: Victor Ekpuk/Morton Fine Art — Idaresit (Joyful Heart) by Victor Ekpuk, 2004 – Photo Credit: Victor Ekpuk/Morton Fine Art

I discovered Ekpuk’s work this summer during one of my visits to Morton Fine Art. I was immediately drawn to his use of nsibidi “traditional” Nigerian graphic symbols and writing systems in his work. The symbols refer to abstract concepts, actions, or things. When they are used, they facilitate communication among peoples speaking different languages. Nsibidi is indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon in the Cross River region. Ibibio, Efik and Igbo people also use it. Click here to read more about the meaning of nsibidi.

Victor Ekpuk's artwork — Victor Ekpuk’s artwork

I love how Ekpuk’s work incorporates aspects of his ancestry. It makes me think that the spirit of his ancestors are embedded into his artwork. The placement of the nsibidi symbols in his works creates soulful, lyrical poetry that speaks silently to my spirit. Perhaps that’s why the poet in me feels so connected to his work!

If you are in the D.C. area, I encourage you to visit the exhibition at Morton Fine Art. It ends October 8. The Artist Talk will be held on Saturday, September 28 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday – Celebrating LATISM – Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 17, 2013September 17, 2013in Internet Geek TuesdayLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday! Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month!

This week, Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media aka LATISM is hosting its fifth annual conference on September 19-21 in New York City. This year’s conference features the first-ever Latino Hackathon, a discussion about race in the Latino community, a town hall meeting on education, and various panels on being bilingual, content creation, funding for tech startups, how to use how to use social media to gain a better understanding of customers and the competition, immigration, monetizing blogs, social good, storytelling, and women in tech. Click here to read the agenda. You can also follow the #LATISM13 hashtag on all social media channels to keep up with conference happenings.

LATISM, the largest organization for Latino and Latina professionals engaged in social media, is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the social, civic and economic status of the Latino community. Premier Transmedia founder and Plaza Familia CEO Ana Roca Castro established LATISM in 2009. To learn more, LIKE LATISM on Facebook, follow @LATISM on Twitter, and join the weekly #LATISM Twitter party on Thursday evenings at 9:00 p.m. EST.

LATISM’s first conference was held at the National Council of La Raza in December 2009. My digital sisters Julie Diaz-Asper and Kety Esquivel encouraged me to attend the conference. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I learned so much about Latinos in the digital space and was able to teach a yoga class for social media users in Spanglish!

Yesterday, NPR Tell Me More host Michel Martin held a Google+ Hangout session about emerging Latinos and innovations with Castro, Mi blog es tu blog founder Laura Martinez, and Being Latino founder Lance Rios. During the session, the panel discussed how engaged the Latino community is in the digital space. Click here to watch a video of the session.

Are you headed to #LATISM13?

What sessions are you looking forward to attending?

I wish I was going to the conference! I’ll be there in spirit! Have fun for me!

Happy Yoga Monday – Yoga-Inspired Music & Deva Premal & Mitren DC Concert

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 16, 2013September 5, 2013in Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Happy Yoga Monday!

In honor of National Yoga Month, I’ve been listening to some of my favorite yoga-inspired music, especially the Password CD by Deva Premal and Mitren. I have been listening to their sacred chanting music since 2004. My favorite track is “Narishima.” The song repeats a strong and powerful mantra that removes negative energy and protects those on the path to light from negative influences: Narasimha Ta Va Da So Hum. I have adopted it as my theme song for the autumn season.

Deva Premal and Mitren’s music opens my heart and allows my spirit to surrender and be present to the “now” moment. It is also very healing and has taught me how to use mantras as healing tools in my Reiki healing touch, meditation, and yoga practices.

My National Yoga Month celebration is really special this year because Deva Premal and Mitren will be performing on September 24 in Washington, D.C. Click here to learn more about the concert. Hope to see you there!

How are you celebrating National Yoga Month?

Happy Creativity Thursday – Read Some of My Favorite Writing Wisdom Quotes & Writing Life Poem

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 12, 2013September 12, 2013in Creativity Thursday2 Comments

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today, I want to share some of my favorite writing wisdom quotes from writers I adore.

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Joan Didion, European American author

“The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.” Toni Morrison, African American author

“Writing becomes a way to embrace the mysterious, to walk with spirits, and an entry to the realm of the sacred.” bell hooks, African American author, poet, professor, and cultural critic

Photo Credit - Leigh Mosley, www.leighmosley.com — Photo Credit – Leigh Mosley, http://www.leighmosley.com

Here’s a poem about my writing life.

My Writing Life from That Which Awakens Me

#1

I’m a writer who writes even when she is asleep.

Right now I’m a writer who is in the midst of a long creative stretch.

One that involves birthing a book every two years.

My journey is both passion and paradox all at the same time.

At times it can consume me and keep me living on my own planet with enough rice milk, granola, ginger tea, honey, strawberries, bananas, apples, and split pea soup to last a lifetime.

This path has called me.

And I can’t begin to explain to folks what that exactly means because I am living it.

So I hope they can just get the meaning by watching me be me.

#2

I write because language chosen from deep within me liberates my hidden thoughts and gives life to my dreams.

I write because it is one of the best ways I know how to access freedom.

I am talking about the kind of freedom that brings all aspects of my existence into one room so that I can appreciate the fullness of my complex beauty.

The words that express my thoughts and describe my dreams make their way into phrases.

Some find homes in sentences that question and answer.

Others join the gospel choir in my mind and participate in call and response.

A few dangle as sharp, shooting fragments with meaning.

And then there are those that cast their net wide and paint wildly sensational murals on the canvas of my life.

They all embody the voice of my soul.

Happy Internet Tuesday – Excited About Attending Blogalicious Weekend Conference on October 3-5!

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 10, 2013in BlogaliciousLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

In less than 30 days, I’ll be traveling to Atlanta to meet up with some of my favorite digital sisters and brothers at the fifth annual Blogalicious Weekend Conference. The conference will be held on October 3-5 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. This year’s theme is “Create. Build.Fund.”

Ananda wearing Blogalicious 2012 t-shirt created by Shootie Girl created by LaShaun Martin - www.shootiegirl.com/ — Ananda wearing Blogalicious 2012 t-shirt created by Shootie Girl created by LaShaun Martin – http://www.shootiegirl.com/

I am excited about attending the conference because:

It will be my fifth time attending the conference. YES, I was there in 2009 at the W Hotel in Atlanta when it all started. Read my November 2009 Examiner.com blog post.
My dad, Dr. John F. Leeke, founder of the Dr. John: Change Agent/Change Advocate/Change Influencer blog, will be attending the conference. This will be his second conference.
Blogalicious is hosting a Scandal season premiere party on October 3.
EBONY Editor-in-Chief Amy DuBois Barnett, one of my digital diva sheroes and favorite magazine editors (former Honey EIC) is speaking.
Harriette Cole, a life stylist, writer, author, and one of my digital diva sheroes, is facilitating a session on mastering your elevator pitch.
I am looking forward to meeting new digital sisters and brothers.
I will get to see so many of my digital sisters and brothers like Stacey Ferguson (chief curator and co-founder of Blogalicious), Boni Candelario, Danica Kombol, Andrea Amir, Amy Vernon, Mike Street, Maura Hernandez, Elisa Camahort Paige, Terrence Gaines, Dariela Cruz, Marie Denee, Jenee Darden (my Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sister), Thien Kim, Amy Mascott, Leticia Barr, Krystal Grant, Swarthy Daisy, Ana Flores, MJ Tam, Jeannette Kaplun, Denene Milner, Shameeka Ayers, Trina Small, Yoly Mason, Luvvie Ajayi, Afrobella, Ronnie and Lamar Tyler, and so many more groovy people!
I get to talk about crowdfunding (one of my favorite topics) with Bola Adewumi, Black Startup Chief Technology Officer and Black & Sexy TV founders Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch on October 4 at 5:30 p.m. I am a HUGE fan of Black & Sexy TV webisodes!!!!! What a treat!!!!
I am providing 15 minute creativity coaching sessions to Blogalicious attendees during the conference. More details on how to sign up are coming soon.
I get to room with my digital sister Xina Eiland (it will be our third time as Blogalicious roomies!

To learn more about the conference, click here. The conference blog posts are filled with great information about the sessions and speakers. So go on and use my special 30% discount to register and attend the conference. Click here and use the code SpeakerFriend for your registration. See you in Atlanta!!

Happy Yoga Monday – Celebrating Yoga Teacher Kimberly Wilson’s New Book – Tranquilologie: a DIY Guide to Everyday Tranquility

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 9, 2013September 5, 2013in Yoga Mondays2 Comments

Photo Credit: www.kimberlywilson.com — Photo Credit: http://www.kimberlywilson.com

Happy Yoga Monday!

How is your National Yoga Month celebration going? Mine is doing great. This week, I am excited about the release of my yoga teacher and friend, Kimberly Wilson’s new book, Tranquilologie: a DIY Guide to Everyday Tranquility. I love the name and the artwork on the book cover (especially the fleur-de-lis, a French symbol that refers to the lily flower)! Don’t you?

Kimberly’s limited edition book (only 1,000 copies) combines two of my favorite things: joie de vivre and tranquil living practices. Based on her e-course, Tranquilologie offers readers a guide that covers mindfulness, self-care, nesting, do-gooding, work, style, creativity, and dreams for an entire year. It makes for a perfect birthday, holiday, or “me” treat gift.

Photo Credit: http://blog.kimberlywilson.com/2013/07/youre-invited-910-charitea-in-dc.html

PS: Kimberly’s D.C. book release party will be held on September 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Darlington House, 1610 20th Street, N.W. (Dupont Circle Metro). Be sure to RSVP to Kimberly@kimberlywilson.com. Hope to see you there!

Also, she is launching a Tranquility Tour across North America beginning September 14 and ending on November 16. Click here to learn more about the tour.

Happy Creativity Thursday – Celebrating the Artwork of Tanekeya Word

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 5, 2013September 5, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Photo Credit: www.tanekeyaword.com — Photo Credit: http://www.tanekeyaword.com

Photo Credit: http://www.vogue.it/en/magazine/daily-news/2012/09/milan-fashion-week

Happy Creativity Thursday! Happy First Day of New York Fashion Week too!

Today, I am celebrating the power of art and fashion by featuring Tanekeya Word, one of my favorite artists who has created artwork and a personal brand that celebrate fashion, popular culture, and her life experiences. She is also a fellow Howardite (Howard University, Class of 2006). I discovered her amazing artwork and purchased several prints in 2008. Word defines herself as a Hybrid Chic Afrofuturist Visual Artist. Currently, she serves as the managing editor, creative & art director, and literature & culture editor of neonV, a biannual magazine for the contemporary peculiar woman that provides a compelling storyline of traditional and innovative content by exposing the cultural and subcultural continuums in fashion, art, beauty, and travel. Click here to learn more about Word and her incredibly stunning work.

Tanekeya Word's self portrait painting - Photo Credit: www.tanekeyaword.com — Tanekeya Word’s self portrait painting – Photo Credit: http://www.tanekeyaword.com

Here’s one of my favorite pieces of her work. It’s called “Issa Rae. Awkward Black Girl. Comedic Genius.” It represents Issa Rae, screen writer, actress, producer, and founder of The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl webisode series.

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: Great News About My Digital Sisterhood Book

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 3, 2013September 3, 2013in Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online, Internet Geek Tuesday2 Comments

Photo Credit: http://www.rwa-wf.com/2012/03/05/member-news-03-04-12/greatnews/

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

I’ve got some great news to kick off this new month. Last week, I submitted the final manuscript for my book, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online to my publisher. See a description of the book below. The next steps include me reviewing the proofs (manuscript in book form) and approving the book cover design. My book should be available on Amazon.com in early October (paperback and Kindle). So get ready for a great autumn read!

One of the photos featured in the book - Photo Credit: Leigh Mosley - www.leighmosley.com — One of the photos featured in the book – Photo Credit: Leigh Mosley – http://www.leighmosley.com

Book Description: Digital Sisterhood provides insight and inspiration for any woman seeking to celebrate, express, or reinvent how the Internet, social media, and technology impact her life. Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke became a pioneer in the digital space when she first logged into the LexisNexis research service as a first-year law student at Howard University School of Law 27 years ago. She was immediately smitten with what the World Wide Web could do and in this compelling memoir, we follow her on her journey as she finds herself in an Internet café in Beijing, China and has an interaction that changes her life.

Leeke begins to embrace and define the concept of “digital sisterhood” and through interactions and conversations both on-line and in-person, she embraces a complete career reinvention (spoiler alert, she leaves the legal field) and finally embraces her enormous creative spirit. We get to know the digital sisters in her life as true sheroes and virtual mentors. Their experiences and insights helped her use the Internet as a self-discovery tool and identify leadership archetypes that shaped her role as a social media leader.

Her blogging and social media adventures will highlight the lessons she learned while tapping into the power of her leadership archetypes, the reasons she launched the Digital Sisterhood Network, and the experiences that caused her to adopt what she terms the “fierce living” commitments. At the end of each chapter, you’ll have an opportunity to explore aspects of your own Digital Sisterhood journey through a series of interactive exercises.

Photo Credit: Design by Dariela Cruz of www.daridesignstudio.com; Copyright 2013 by Madelyn C. Leeke — Photo Credit: Design by Dariela Cruz of http://www.daridesignstudio.com; Copyright 2013 by Madelyn C. Leeke

In honor of this major accomplishment, I thought I would share a photo of artwork that appears on the book cover. Dariela Cruz, an amazing graphic designer and co-founder of Dari Design Studio, and I worked together on the design concept. Dariela created the final product. I think she did a fabulous job. What do you think?

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my writing journey. I am deeply grateful for your positive energy and prayers.

Happy Yoga Monday – Celebrating National Yoga Month in September

Posted by Ananda Leekeon September 2, 2013August 22, 2013in Yoga, Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Photo Credit: http://yogahealthfoundation.org/yoga_month

Happy Yoga Monday!

September marks the annual celebration of National Yoga Month. It’s a great time to recommit to your yoga practice.

What are you planning to do?

I am going to use the month to practice yoga outside more and take more yoga classes at my gym, Mint (like the Sunday evening flow yoga class I took earlier this year). I am also going to schedule some yoga dates with a few friends at local yoga studios.

Photo Credit: http://yogahealthfoundation.org

If you are new to yoga, check out the Yoga Health Foundation’s free week of yoga available during September.

Happy Creativity Thursday: Celebrating Faith Ringgold’s Art at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Posted by Ananda Leekeon August 29, 2013August 29, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today’s blog is wrapped in the creative spirit of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the Civil Rights and Feminist movements, and the phenomenal artwork of Faith Ringgold, one of my creative sheroes. Visit her web site and read her blog for more information about her activism, art, and authentic way of living.

A few weeks ago, I took myself on an artist date to see the American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold’s Paintings of the 1960s series at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Ringgold’s American People series offers insight into how she experienced life during this powerful decade of change in the United States. It features 49 rarely exhibited paintings that I was able to see for a second time. The first time I saw them was at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in 2012.

After seeing the paintings for a second time, I can now say the Black Light Series is one of my all-time favorite groups of Ringgold paintings. Her use of African masks in the design of people’s faces and the way she weaves words into her paintings dazzle my spirit. Each time I see the bold colors of red, black and green in the paintings, my eyes sparkle and my heart travels back to my childhood when my parents taught my brothers and I about the “Black is Beautiful” movement. I am madly in love with the Black Light Series #3: Soul Sister (I mention it in my novel, Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One). I also adore the Black feminist activist series of four political posters, Women Freedom Now, Women Free Angela, Woman Free Yourself, and America Free Angela.

Free Angela America by Faith Ringgold - Photo Credit: FaithRinggold.com — Free Angela America by Faith Ringgold – Photo Credit: FaithRinggold.com

If you are in D.C. between now and November 10, treat yourself to a morning or afternoon visit to see Ringgold’s fantastic work at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. For more information about Ringgold’s work in the 1960s, click here to read her daughter Michelle Wallace’s Ringgold in the 1960s blog. Enjoy!