Photo Credit: Easter Sunday in Dupont Circle #1 by Ananda Leeke
Happy Monday!
What’s happening in your part of the world?
It’s chilly and rainy in DC today. The photos (above and below) I took on Easter Sunday while taking a walk in my Dupont Circle neighborhood warmed me up. They also reminded me how much fun I’ve been having as I embrace my visual voice with photography on a weekly basis. Click here to see more photos expressing my visual voice.
Photo Credit: Easter Sunday in Dupont Circle #4 by Ananda Leeke
My digital diet is coming along. Last week I did a better job of turning off my laptop and HTC EVO smartphone in the evening. I know my morning running and yoga practice are helping me stay centered.
This week I decided to use Monday and Wednesday as my primary social media days on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, and WordPress. Wish me luck!
Next week I plan to write a blog about my artist-in-residence work (photos included at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. My blog post will include a poem I wrote and recited at the Veteran-Civilian Dialogue Project held at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in March.
Enjoy your day and week!
Photo Credit: Easter Sunday in Dupont Circle #3 by Ananda LeekePhoto Credit: Easter Sunday in Dupont Circle #2 by Ananda Leeke
-July 5 @9pm EST – Women who attended Blogging While Brown conference on June 18 and 19 in DC
-July 6 @8pm EST – Najeema Thompson
-July 8 @8pm EST – Amanda Jones
-July 12 @8pm EST – Shon Bacon
-July 20 @8pm EST – Michele McGraw
-July 26 @8pm EST – Devra Renner
-July 29 @8pm EST – April Davis
3) Join Ananda for kind and gentle yoga in Malcolm X-Meridian Hill Park in DC on July 11 from 9:00 am to 9:30 am. Click on link for more details: http://yoga.meetup.com/584.
4) Watch Ananda’s kg yoga life practices class on Mom TV on July 21 at 8:00 pm EST. Click on the link to watch the show: http://www.momtv.com/kgyogalife.html.
5) Listen to Ananda host Sisterhood the Blog Radio’s July 31st episode at 1:00 pm EST featuring a discussion with Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. members about their use of social media during Boule 2010 (national convention) held from July 14 to July 22 in Palm Springs, California. FYI – Ananda is a member of Sigma! The show will also include a discussion on how Ananda’s Sigma sorority sisters use social media in their businesses. www.talkshoe.com/tc/42015.
This morning I went walking in my neighborhood. During my walk, I thought about creative women who inspire me. So I recorded an audio blog when I returned home that includes my poem “21 Drops of Inspiration in My Creative Bucket.” It celebrates creative women such as Toni Blackman, Tanekeya Word, Sonya Clark, Jade Andwele, and Amber Robles-Gordon. The poem is featured in my new book That Which Awakens Me(available on Amazon.com). Click on the Cinchcast below to hear the poem. Enjoy!
Many blessings,
Peace, Creativity, Compassion, and Gratitude for creative women who inspire me,
My book talk and signing for my poetic memoir That Which Awakens Me was held yesterday at the Historical Society of Washington, DC. It was a lot of fun and a HUGE success!!!! Many thanks to my sistalove Karen Sallis for organizing the event with Rosemary Reed and the Society’s staff! Big thanks to everyone who attended the event!!!!
If you missed the event, watch the videos below. More videos will be posted in the coming days.
Here’s a sneak preview of my new and improved logo for my web site. My graphic designer Gwonghung Ng developed the design with my original artwork. Gwonghung did an amazing job. She is also working on my business card template and new Twitter graphic design. You can connect with Gwonghung on Twitter – http://twitter.com/gwong_GnG and Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Gwonghung-Ng/383682464568. My new logo will be included in the relaunch of my web site – www.anandaleeke.com in late March and April.
Enjoy your weekend!
Peace, Creativity, Compassion, and Gratitude for Artistic Support,
All Photos – Credit: Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
Greetings All,
Well, it’s been a great week. I spent Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday morning in New York City. I came to Gotham City to attend the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s opening reception for the “Wearing Spirit: Aesthetically Personifying the Feminine in African Sacred Traditions” exhibit.
“Wearing Spirit” is a multi-media exhibition of paintings, sculpture, photography, textile art, video and installations honoring the power of the sacred feminine in African spiritual traditions. When I walked into the gallery, I felt a powerful energy wash over my spirit and ‘heart as I took in the beauty of each piece of artwork. AMAZING! Each artist”s work touched me deeply. I felt the presence of my ancestors in their work.
Attending the opening reception for “Wearing Spirit” was a HUGE moment for me because my mixed media wire sculpture “Erzulie’s Black Heart” was included in the exhibition. Below is my artist statement for the exhibition.
Artist Statement
Ananda Leeke’s passion for African goddesses began while she was studying Kemetian and Yoruba religions and writing My Soul Speaks, her first chap book of poetry, in 1992. In 1995, Leeke began using coat hangers, an assortment of wire, found objects, vintage jewelry, fabric, and amulets to sculpt images of African goddesses including Oshun, Yemanya, Oya, Maat, Auset, and Het Heru. Over the past fifteen years, she has explored these goddesses in her artwork, writing, and travels to Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, Louisiana, and Senegal. She discovered Erzulie, the Haitian goddess of love, while writing her debut novel, Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One. Erzulie influenced the lives of many characters in Love’s Troubadours. Erzulie’s veve is incorporated in Love’s Troubadours logo and artwork on the book cover.
Erzulie’s Black Heart is a goddess of love and healing who was born out of the middle passage experience of enslaved Africans in Haiti. She is a Petwo spirit. Her love and healing energy are hot, aggressive, and quick to act when the children of Haiti need her. Her black heart represents a sanctuary for Haitians when they are faced with life’s hardships including poverty, illness, violence, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that occurred on January 12. Erzulie’s Black Heart heals the pain and suffering of Haiti’s sons and daughters. She protects them with the fierce love of a Black warrior woman. Her intention is to bring the children of Haiti to higher ground.
I also had a chance to reconnect with Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, the founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center, and my dear sistalove Shantrelle Lewis, the curator of ‘Wearing Spirit.” Shantrelle also serves as Director of Programs & Exhibitions for the Center. Dr. Vega and Shantrelle agreed to share their thoughts about “Wearing Spirit” with Ananda Leeke TV. See their videos below.
My NYC play dad Fred Mays and sistalove friends Jill Barrett, Toni Blackman, and Zahava came to the event to show their support. In addition, I met artist Michael Cummings and filmmaker Spike Lee (love his movies She’s Gotta Have It, Mo Betta Blues, Malcolm X, School Dayz, and Bamboozled). Click here to see the Center’s photos from the opening reception.
My NYC play dad Fred Mays and I
Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!
Peace, Creativity, Compassion, and Gratitude for the Sacred Feminine,
March is about to happen in a few days. Mark your calendars for my upcoming events. I am participating in a NYC art exhibit on March 11 and having a book talk and signing on March 14 in DC. Please see the dates below. Hope you can join me!
Enjoy your day!
Peace, Creativity, Compassion, Gratitude, and Joyful expectations for a fabulous March,
Ananda
Ananda’s March Events
1. Celebrate National Women’s History Month on March 4 by tuning into Ananda Leeke Live! from 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST for an author talk about the power of the sacred feminine, goddesses, sisterhood, feminism, and womanism in Ananda’s artwork, poetic memoir That Which Awakens Me, and debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One. She will also discuss her new book project Sisterhood, the Blog: Soundbytes from the 21st Century Woman’s Online Revolution. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ananda-leeke-live
2. Listen to Ananda honor International Women’s Day with woman-centered poetry and reflections on March 8 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/anandaleeke
3. Practice online yoga with Ananda for 15 minutes on March 10 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. to honor National Women and Girls HIV/AID Awareness Day. http://stickam.com/anandaleeke
Ananda Leeke’s wire sculpture “Erzulie’s Black Heart”
Photo Credit: Leigh Mosley (the greatest photographer in the universe! – www.leighmosley.com)
4. Come see Ananda’s wire sculpture “Erzulie’s Black Heart” at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s exhibition “Wearing Spirit: Aesthetically Personifying the Feminine in African Sacred Traditions” from March 11 to May 24 in New York City. The opening reception will be held on March 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Visit www.cccadi.org.
5. Attend an author talk and book signing for Ananda’s new book That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery on March 14 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Historical Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square metro. She will also discuss her debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One. Visit www.historydc.org.
6. Calling all creative women! Join Ananda for a free creative coaching session on March 25 from 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST that explores the nine blocks to women’s creativity. Ananda will use creative coaching exercises in her new book That Which Awaken’s Me to guide the session. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ananda-leeke-live
7. Take a deep breath and experience Ananda’s free kind and gentle yoga Meetup on March 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon at Malcolm X-Meridian Hill Park in DC. The class will be dedicated to National Women’s History Month, National Women and Girls HIV/AID Day, and National Nutrition Month. http://yoga.meetup.com/584.
Ananda Leeke 
