Today, I am celebrating the work of mixed media artist and sculptor Lisa Schumaier, an Alexandria, Virginia native. I met Lisa two weeks ago while visiting her studio at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a down-to-earth woman with a deep passion. She was happy to explain her art-making process and shared several stories about her artwork.
Artist Lisa SchumaierLisa Schumaier ‘s artist studio
I was immediately drawn to her mixed media collage sculptures of women dancers.
Artwork by Lisa SchumaierArtwork by Lisa Schumaier – my favorite piece
I marveled at how she was able to blend her ceramic work with found objects and recycled materials. Click here to watch a video of Lisa talking about her passion for art and the Torpedo Factory. For more information about her work, visit www.keenthings.com.
Today, I am celebrating Tim Okamura, a fabulous painter from Edmonton, Canada (one of my favorite places to visit for art and creativity). Tim’s paintings explore identity, popular culture, and the urban environment. He uses collage, spray paint, and mixed media in his work (and I adore collage and mixed media!).
Tim Okamura and Ananda Leeke at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
Many thanks to Anthony Palliparambil, Jr., Exhibitions Manager and artist, for organizing the photo shoot and taking photos!
Tim Okamura and amazing ladies at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts GalleryTim Okamura and amazing ladies at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts GalleryAnanda Leeke at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
After the photo shoot, I went home and Googled Tim to learn more about his work. When I visited his Facebook page and saw his painting, “Les Nubians Combat Pour L’Amour” and “Courage 3.0,” I became an instant fan. By the way, Les Nubians are one of my favorite Afropean neosoul singing duos (they make several appearances in my Love’s Troubadours novel).
I also listened to his 2011 interview on NPR’s Tell Me More with journalist Michel Martin. During the interview, he discussed his passion for hip hop, his hip hop radio show in Canada, and his “Bronx Brooklyn Queens” series of paintings that feature African-American women of New York City. I Googled the series and fell in love with each painting. What a powerful body of work!
More About Tim (from his official bio)
He earned a B.F.A. with Distinction at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Canada before moving to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts in 1991. After graduating with an M.F.A. in 1993, he relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where he continues to live and work. His artwork has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in London, England; galleries throughout the U.S. and Canada; and he was short-listed by the Royal Surveyor of the Queen’s Picture Collection for a commissioned portrait of the Queen of England. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Toronto Congress Center, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Davis Museum in Massachusetts, as well as the private collections of celebrity clients such as John Mellencamp, Uma Thurman, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. He is represented by Lyons Wier Gallery in New York, and Douglas Udell Gallery in Canada.
To learn more about Tim and his work, LIKE him onFacebook and follow him on Twitter.
Growing up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area afforded me many opportunities to visit and fall in love with the Smithsonian Museums. My love affair with the Smithsonian and other museums was nurtured by my mother and the nuns who taught me art history and appreciation at St. Elizabeth Seton High School.
By the time I moved into my first D.C. apartment and started Howard University School of Law, the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery had become two of my favorite places to hang out and learn about Asian art. Over the years, I have attended numerous exhibitions, film screenings, and dance performances. Some of my favorites have included Buddhist art, Japanese art of the Edo period, Hokusai’s paintings, and the art of Mughal, India. Last year, the Sackler Gallery celebrated its 25th anniversary with an evening gala of art, fine Asian-inspired cuisine, and a performance by celebrated violinist Hahn-Bin.
The exhibition is scheduled to open on October 19. It will feature more than 120 works that explores yoga’s goals; its Hindu, as well as Buddhist, Jain, and Sufi
manifestations; its means of transforming body and consciousness; and its
profound philosophical foundations.
About the Crowdfunding Campaign
The Smithsonian launched its crowdfunding campaign on May 29 (will end on July 1) with a funding goal of $125,000. To date, the campaign has raised $12,800. The purpose of the campaign is to raise money to create videos, publications, and pamphlets; print catalogs, offer yoga classes during the exhibition, and more. After reading about the exhibition and watching the crowdfunding campaign video on YouTube, the yoga teacher, artist, and Internet geek inside of me became excited and inspired to make a donation. Why? Three of my passions have come together in one project I can support: yoga, creativity, and the Internet. Click here to make a contribution.
About Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a web-based financial model that allows individuals to network and pool their money in community to support projects and ventures initiated by other people and organizations. gofundme,indiegogo, and Kickstarter are three of the most popular reward-based crowdfunding platforms. The Smithsonian is using Razoo, a crowdfunding platform for nonprofit organizations. To learn more about crowdfunding, click here to see my Crowdfunding Pinterest board of resources.
Each month, I try to participate in an arts-related event in my U Street neighborhood in Washington, D.C. I usually visit the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. Last month, I attended the opening reception for the Gallery’s Alchemical Vessels, an exhibition featuring ceramic bowls created by 125 artists.
Each artist made a ceramic bowl that reflected his or her own personal aesthetic and medium. Together, the ceramic bowls symbolized the importance of creating healing space.
The creation of healing space is a core element of Smith Center’s mission and my intention as a Smith Center artist-in-residence at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Click here to learn more about the exhibition. If you are in the D.C. area on June 7, plan to attend the artists’ closing reception at 7:00 p.m.
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
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.
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
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?
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 exhibitionPainting from On Common Ground: Dominican Republic and Haiti exhibition
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.
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.
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?
Ananda Leeke 