Art – Page 3 – Ananda Leeke

Happy Creativity Thursday – 4/25

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 25, 2013April 25, 2013in Creativity Thursday2 Comments

Happy Creativity Thursday!

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 — 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 and Ananda Leeke at Morton Fine Art in DC

In December 2012, I met Bruce in person at the Morton Fine Art gallery which hosted an opening reception featuring her Wrestling with Angels series of drawings inspired by the story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel in the Holy Bible. What a treat! I told her how much I enjoy seeing her artwork, reading her blog, and following her on Twitter. Visit http://keshabruce.com to learn more about her.

Happy Creativity Thursday – 4/11

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 11, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday!

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.

Madame C.J. Walker tapestry by Sonya Clark - Photo Credit: http://sonyaclark.com/gallery/madam-cj-walker/ — Madame C.J. Walker tapestry by Sonya Clark – Photo Credit: http://sonyaclark.com/gallery/madam-cj-walker/

I discovered Clark’s work and featured her Madame C.J. Walker, a tapestry made from black plastic combs, on my Black American Princess (BAP) Living social networking site in 2008. Since then, her work has been an inspiration for my own creative expression. Visit www.sonyaclark.com to learn more about her.

Happy Creativity Thursday – 3/28

Posted by Ananda Leekeon March 28, 2013March 11, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Photo Credit: www.sawcc.org — Photo Credit: http://www.sawcc.org

Happy Creativity Thursday!

On March 1, I kicked off Women’s History Month with a visit to the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery to see the Be/Longing, exhibition featuring the work of the South Asian Women’s Creative Collection (SAWCC). The Gallery is housed in the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts located in my U Street neighborhood in Washington, DC.

Photo Credit: Smith Center web site - Jaishri Abichandani The Return of Devastasia — Photo Credit: Smith Center web site – Jaishri Abichandani The Return of Devastasia

FIERCE is the best word to describe the Be/Longing exhibition. It is emotional and filled with stories that give voice to the rapture and struggle of fierce identity from the diverse perspectives of South East Asian women. It included the artwork of several powerful women artists: Samira Abbassy, Jaishri Abichandani, Nida Abidi, Amina Ahmed, Shelly Bahl, Marcy Chevali, Ruby Chishti, Chitra Ganesh, Monica Jahan Bose, and Sa’dia Rehman. Click here to learn more.

Did you visit any woman-centered art events during Women’s History Month?

Happy Creativity Thursday – 3/21

Posted by Ananda Leekeon March 21, 2013March 21, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Photo Credit: Art Museum of the Americas’ web site

Happy Creativity Thursday!

During Social Media Week DC in February, I attended the Hispanic Outreach 2013: How to Reach the Highly Mobile and Social Hispanic session hosted by Latinos in Social Media and Bixal at the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) of the Organization of American States.

LATISM panel during Social Media Week DC session

The session featured some of my favorite digital sisters: Julie Diaz Asper of Social Lens Research, Carla Hamilton Briceno of Bixal, and Jennifer Lubrani of LATISM. See photo above.

After the session, I visited the AMA’s exhibition, On Common Ground: Dominican Republic & Haiti which featured the works of emerging artists of Hispaniola, the island that these two countries share. I fell in love with the artwork at first glance! It reminded me of my 2011 visit to Haiti with the Heart of Haiti Campaign. Check out some of my favorite paintings from the exhibition below.

Painting from On Common Ground:Dominican Republic and Haiti exhibition — Painting from On Common Ground:
Dominican Republic and Haiti exhibition

When you are in Washington, D.C., be sure to visit AMA, 201 18th Street, NW (by DAR Constitution Hall).

Have you been to a museum lately?

Which one?

What did you like most about your museum visit?

Are you planning to go to a museum this month? Let me know which one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ananda’s Speaking at 2nd National Summit: Arts, Health and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum in April

Posted by Ananda Leekeon March 14, 2013in Ananda's Events, Ananda's Speaking Events, Artist-in-Residence at Smith CenterLeave a comment

Photo Credit: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center web site - http://www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil/SitePages/home.aspx — Photo Credit: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center web site – http://www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil/SitePages/home.aspx

Hi All,

Since it’s Creativity Thursday, I thought I would share my news about speaking at the Second National Summit: Arts, Health and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum on April 10, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. I will serve as a panelist for the Discussion 2: Re-entry/Reintegration Military Treatment Facilities. My co-panelists are Linda O’Neil, a Smith Center artist, and Tara Tappert, Exhibitions Coordinator at Combat Paper Project and archives and American arts consultant. Ermyn F. King, Creative Arts Program Coordinator at Walter Reed, will serve as a the moderator. During the discussion, I will share my experience of working with wounded warriors, military personnel, and hospital staff as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts.

Happy Creativity Thursday – 3/14

Posted by Ananda Leekeon March 14, 2013March 11, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

That Which Awakens Me: Kreative Grooviness by Ananda Leeke

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Every person is born with a spark of creativity that can awaken them to an amazing life. Throughout my life’s journey, I have witnessed my spark of creativity expand through the nurturing support of other artists. Today, I am remembering Tasko Bey, an amazing master artist I met while working as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital. When I met Tasko, he was a patient living with cancer and a graduate student in Howard University’s Master of Fine Arts program. Prior to attending Howard, his work was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Our first expressive arts sessions turned into a mini workshop where he served as a teacher and coach. He even gave me homework. For the next two years, he utilized our sessions as teaching moments. In 2005, he urged me to pick up a pencil and draw and use a paint brush to paint my first series of paintings. He showed me how to tap into my intuition for creative guidance and encouraged me to experiment with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic painting.

Photo Credit: http://columbus.utrechtblog.com/2012/03/

I fell in love with acrylic paints. As a result, I created a series of paintings that I later used to illustrate my book covers for Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One and That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery. One of my favorite paintings from this series is “That Which Awakens Me: Kreative Grooviness.” See photo above. It hangs in my sunny yellow kitchen and reminds me of Tasko and his passionate love of art. Click here to watch a video about the painting (starts with an introduction to another painting and some of my collages) and my art studio. Enjoy!

Do you draw or paint?

Who or what inspired you to begin drawing or painting?

What do you like to draw or paint?

Happy Creativity Thursday – 3/7

Posted by Ananda Leekeon March 7, 2013March 7, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Artwork at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - 4th Floor — Artwork at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – 4th Floor

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today, I am celebrating the amazing wounded warriors, military families, and hospital staff I get to work with as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts each week at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

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

I’ve been working as a Smith Center artist since 2002. My work at Walter Reed began in 2010. Since then, I have grown to deeply appreciate the many sacrifices our military women, men, and families make on behalf of the United States of America. I have also been able to witness the fantastic creative expressions of military women, men, and their families. What a blessing!

Wounded warrior's water color painting — Wounded warrior’s water color painting

Click here to see photos from my Walter Reed experiences. Enjoy!

When I am not working at Walter Reed, I am always on the look out for creative inspiration. I find it in books, films, magazines, music, social media (Pinterest), web sites, and yoga. This month, I am getting a lot of inspiration from Poets & Writers magazine.

What are your sources of creative inspiration?

PS: If you would like to read about my creative 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 museum curator and art consultant 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.

Happy Creativity Thursday – 2/21

Posted by Ananda Leekeon February 21, 2013February 21, 2013in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today, I am celebrating the power of creative community. Being around like-minded creative people inspires me to open my heart more to all forms of creativity. It also helps me to express my creativity in unique ways.

On February 8, I attended Live Unchained’s Anniversary Celebration and launch of its “Terrifying, Strange and Beautiful” fundraising campaign at Local 16 in my U Street neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Live Unchained is an international arts organization for women across the African diaspora that was established by Kathryn Buford. Click here to read Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project’s profile of Kathryn.

Live Unchained’s “Terrifying, Strange and Beautiful” fundraising campaign is preparing to bring London-based Somali poet, Warsan Shire to Washington, DC for a “Terrifying, Strange and Beautiful” series and awards ceremony in 2014. The campaign’s name “Terrifying, Strange and Beautiful” is taken from a line from one of Shire’s popular poems, “For Women Who Are Difficult to Love.”

During the February 8th celebration, I had a chance to hug and chat with Kathryn about her amazing work. I hung out with one of my favorite digital sisters and creativity accountability partners, Jessica Solomon, Live Unchained’s Connectivity Director. We chatted about the powerful images Live Unchained has been able to share with its online community for the past several years. In addition, I had some great conversations with my digital sisters Nae Carter, founder of I Choose the Sun blog, and Adrienne Burke, a media curator, as we posed for photos.

My creative heart was thrilled to pieces when I viewed the video introducing the “Terrifying, Strange and Beautiful” fundraising campaign on indiegogo.com. Click here to watch the video. And if you are like me, you will make a donation to support Live Unchained. For more information about the fundraising campaign, click here to read the press release.

It’s Monday — Basking in my 5K Race glow!

Posted by Ananda Leekeon May 7, 2012May 7, 2012in Running ExperiencesLeave a comment

May 7 007, originally uploaded by anandaleeke.

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend! How did you spend it? What were the highlights?

My weekend highlights included attending my Mastermind meditation group meeting, working at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as an artist-in-residence with a retired Army airman who told me some great stories as we created two collages with poems and six word memoirs, hanging out/dancing/sipping on cocktails with my cousin Sharon and her friends at a really cool lounge called Cities, running the Race for Hope DC 5K, spending time with my creative accountability sister Jess at Cafe Collage, writing, going to church, napping, taking some nice long walks, and seeing the Restless City movie at the West End (wonderful movie).

The one thing that really stayed with me was meeting people impacted by brain tumor cancer during the Race for Hope DC 5K race. The conversations I had were deep and at times caused my eyes to water up. When I crossed the finished line, I bowed my head in deep gratitude and dedicated my run to everyone living with brain tumor cancer. Click here to listen to my audio blog that includes some of my Race Day reflections.

So what’s your week looking like?

Mine is all about getting my rest, writing, decluttering, fitness training at the gym, running 3 miles 3x this week in preparation for June 5K, yoga/Reiki/meditation, and finishing my homework from my financial advisor.

See you next week!

Ciao!

Ananda

Happy April & National Poetry Month

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 2, 2012April 2, 2012in Artist-in-Residence at Smith CenterLeave a comment

Spring 2012 004, originally uploaded by anandaleeke.

Happy April! Happy National Poetry Month!

This month I decided to share poetry and photos that illustrate my work as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. Click here to see photos of my work at Walter Reed.

Check out my collage posted above. I wrote a poem about my Artist Romance below.

ww1-me — Ananda at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (standing by wounded warrior sculpture in the main lobby)

Each week, I share my creative gifts with wounded warriors and their families, military personnel, and civilian hospital staff.

We play with poetry, six-word memoirs, prayers, essays, creative writing exercises, water color paints, collage, model magic, and wire sculpture on our creative playground.

Laughter invites itself.

Tears often appear.

Smiles are always present.

Sometimes deep revelations occur.

Whatever happens, I am always left with an aha moment of deep gratitude.

It’s the perfect artist romance.