Today, I am celebrating the artwork of Kesha Bruce. I adore Bruce’s work because it marries collage, written words, storytelling, drawings, and painting with memory, personal mythology, and spirituality. When I see her work, I dream and reflect all at the same time!
Photo Credit: Totem for Sistah Johnson by Kesha Bruce – KeshaBruce.com
The Totem Series which features her narrative portraits of hybrid beings is one of my favorite collections. My favorite piece from the collection is a Totem for Sistah Johnson.
Kesha Bruce at Morton Fine Art in DCKesha Bruce and Ananda Leeke at Morton Fine Art in DC
Stacey Ferguson with New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan GrishamJazzy Jones (with camera) and Xina Eiland (seated)
Prior to the Summit, I had the honor of serving as an content advisor for the agenda and presenters. Working with Stacey was pure joy! Why? Because she is extremely passionate about and committed to making sure the Blogalicious community is informed and has access to information, opportunities, thought leaders, and tools. The final agenda topics and presenters that Stacey and her team developed represented a gold mine of expertise.
Leticia BarrJulie Diaz Asper
Many of presenters like Social Lens Research founding partner Julie Diaz-Asper, TechSavvymama.com founder Leticia Barr, and ScapsofMyGeekLife.com founder Michele McGraw were women I met during previous Blogalicious conferences.
Stacey Ferguson, Kat Calvin, and Amanda Spamm
Several like Blerdology CEO Kat Calvin, DiversiTech founder Christine Johnson, and Blerdology CMO Amanda Spamm were women I met at social media and tech events in D.C.
Stacey Ferguson, Kat Calvin, and Amanda SpammDonna Harris and Christine Johnson
A few like MOJO Mediaworks, LLC founder Allissa Richardson and 1776 co-founder Donna Harris were women I connected with on Twitter and other social media sites.
Allissa Richardson
Two women were new discoveries for me: The Social Studies Group managing partner Wendy Goldman Scherer and Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham. These women were all dynamic, friendly, and positive. Each of them displayed an incredible amount of generosity while sharing their expertise during their presentations and throughout the Summit.
The women who attended the event were also dynamic, friendly, positive, and open to sharing their experiences. At the end of the Summit, I told Stacey and Xina that it was one of the best days of learning and networking I’ve had all year. I left the event feeling energized and on fire about my upcoming book, business, and the Digital Sisterhood Network.
Last week, I attended the Blogalicious Tech Summit held at the Microsoft Innovation and Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Guess what Microsoft had? A Technology Bar for attendees to preview Microsoft products! What an Internet Geek treat!
Ananda at Blogalicious Tech Summit at MicrosoftTechnology Bar
Stacey Ferguson (a/k/a Justice Fergie), Blogalicious Chief Curator and Co-Founder, welcomed us all and introduced Stephanie Peters, Director of Federal Government Affairs for Microsoft. Peters talked about how powerful Blogalicious is as a community and the many ways it supports its members. I totally agreed!
Stacey FergusonStephanie Peters
Dr. Mark Drapeau, Director of Innovative Engagement for Microsoft, gave a keynote address on “Avoiding Mediocrity.” My key takeaway from Drapeau’s address was create outstanding content that is fun, entertaining, surprising, valuable, and simple to read.
Mark Drapeau
Allissa Richardson, Bowie State University professor, journalist, and founder of MOJO Mediaworks, LLC, was truly my favorite presenter. I am biased too because she is a 2012 Digital Sister of the Year and a personal shero! Richardson discussed the five elements of building your mobile platform. The elements include:
Choice: Be the best source of high quality content and information.
Conversation: Start and maintain a dialogue that is meaningful and informative.
Creation: Make your own media to establish yourself as a thought leader.
Curation: Sift through media a lot to highlight the best content your audience will appreciate.
Collaboration: Build smart partnerships.
She shared some tools for making audio recordings and podcasts like Audioboo, a mobile app I have downloaded to my phone. She also recommended that we try using SproutSocial to schedule our social media posts and tweets. She uses this tool instead of Hootsuite. I downloaded the SproutSocial app to my phone and will try it out starting in May.
Allissa Richardson
NOTE: Tomorrow, I will post another blog about the Blogalicious Tech Summit. It was so juicy that it deserves two blog posts!
Janice Gates’ book Yogini: The Power of Women in Yoga
Happy Yoga Monday and Earth Day!
Yoga is a sacred gift because it helps promote self-acceptance and self-love. Check out my yoga video that shares yoga wisdom on self-acceptance and self-love from Janice Gates’ book Yogini: The Power of Women in Yoga .
Today is also Earth Day, an annual celebration that is held across the globe that calls individuals, communities, organizations, and governments to acknowledge the amazing planet we call home and take action to protect it.This year’s theme is “The Face of Climate Change.” Click here to learn more about the day.
Take a few moments and breathe in the beauty of Mother Earth today. Give thanks for all the planet does for you and your loved ones. Make a promise to do three things to support the sustainability of our global home. If you are in DC, stop by the Earth Month celebration at Union Station this month.
How are you celebrating and honoring Mother Earth?
OM #YogaMonday OM! OM Mother Earth OM!
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Last weekend, I attended Filmfest DC’s screening of Ballin’ at the Graveyard, a documentary written and produced by Basil Anastassiou and Paul Kentoffio that tells the story of what happens when men come together to play pickup basketball at Washington Park aka the “Graveyard” in Albany, New York. Click here to watch the film trailer.
In the midst of watching Ballin’ at the Graveyard and listening to the men’s trash talking, I learned their weekend warrior basketball adventures are much more than fun and games. They are fueled by a passionate energy that expresses itself through hours of exchanges on and off-the-court. Their emotions and experiences paint a tapestry of brotherhood, commitment, community, family, friendship, history, intergenerational bonds, leadership, legacy, mentoring, nurturing, and sharing I hadn’t expected to see. The relationships they have formed and continue to build are soulful, life affirming, and rooted in a deep love for one another, their community, and pick-up basketball. This movie has stolen my heart and become one of my favorite films. Please go see it when it comes to your city. Also, tell others about it.
PS: Be sure to LIKE Ballin’ at the Graveyard on Facebook and follow it on Twitter!
Talkshoe.com is a podcast tool that makes my life easy. It’s free to use and requires very little technical know-how. I have been using Talkshoe to host Internet radio shows since 2008. Currently, I host the Digital Sisterhood Radio show which will begin its 2013 season later this year.
Do you listen to or host podcasts?
What are your favorite podcasts?
If you are thinking about launching a podcast, click here to read my 14 tips. Also, I encourage you to read my blog post that discusses the nine benefits of podcasting. Click here to check out my Podcasting 101 Pinterest board. I created it last year for a Podcasting 101 panel I moderated during the BlogHer conference in New York City.
I started practicing yoga to support my running practice in 1995. Right after I turned 40, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a yoga teacher at Flow Yoga Center in 2005. Click here to watch a video about my personal yoga journey. Enjoy!
Why did you start practicing yoga?
OM #YogaMonday OM!
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Today, I am celebrating the work of Sonya Clark, a textile artist extraordinaire who also serves as Chair of the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Clark’s work focuses on her individual and collective identity as an African American woman with Caribbean roots from her Jamaican mother and Trinidadian father.
When I started blogging about my poetry, January Gill O’Neil a/k/a The Poet Mom was one of the first people I met online. Her Poet Mom blog inspired me to take risks with my poems. She made blogging about poetry COOL.
Watch a video of her reading her poem, “What Mommy Wants.”
Today, I want to share the Uttarabodhia mudra, a yoga hand movement you use to remind yourself of your oneness with everyone and everything in the universe. It’s a perfect way to practice yoga on the go! Click here to watch my short video. Enjoy!
Healing Mudras by Sabrina Mesko is a great book for understanding mudras.
OM #YogaMonday OM!
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Ananda Leeke 