From the cover of the republished 2010 book. Originally published in 1965. If you’ve been following me on social media this spring, you will know that I’ve been working very hard at developing my photography skills. Gordon Parks was a multitalented artist who was best known for his photography, and I’ve been drawn to take a closer look at his work. I am also fascinated by his use of photography as a means of activism for social and racial justice, hence the camera as his choice of weapon. This book is his first in a series of autobiographies. The first thing that struck me, within the span of reading the first page, is that he is a good writer. That first...
My son just turned 15 earlier this month. I signed him up for driver’s education classes and he started his first job. All these responsibilities also mean he soon will be out in the world acting in more adult roles and will be seen as such. A brown young man. Driving, walking, shopping and hanging out. I’m so proud of him and also terrified. Joy and celebration followed closely by the news of the senseless killing of Duante Wright and the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. I went silent on social media. Reading news articles was all I could absorb—no videos, no TV news and even avoiding the emotional reactions of people I follow online....
Can us shorty's wear a big bold belt? Heck yeah! You may have heard that petites should not wear a wide belt, as it supposedly cuts our figure in half and shortens us. Oh pshaw! Nonsense. You just need to know how to pull it off. Here are tips and tricks: Wear a belt with shape. Curves, asymmetry and hanging ties all keep the eye moving, so as to not slice you visually. The Demetria Belt is sickle shaped and creates a nice curve on your waist. 2/5 to 3/5 balance OK, so don't literally cut yourself in half. At any height, that just isn't pleasingly balanced. Wear the belt over a dress or blouse in which the amount of...
The new dresses are done!! I got to pick them up on Friday from the contract sewing studio, Aletheia Design and Sewing. They do such a great job! The receiving dock is this cool door that is the size of a window for passing through. Here is a glimpse of the bins of dresses, the owner Abby Hansen and the leftover fabric. You can also see that I had the scraps reserved for donation so nothing is going into the landfill. No extra plastics were used: all the wrappings were reused from shipping, no poly bags and the containers are reuse-able. Now my next step is to get these photographed, entered into inventory and added to the website- so you can...
I just want to point out that I do experience a difference in diving into something I already feel confident in, something I suck at, and the middle ground of curious and have no idea where my aptitude will fall. If you have been following me on social media, you would have seen that I am currently working very hard on my photography skills, which falls into the first category. Writing is in the second and running ads falls in the middle. But it is critically important to me that I engage in all three categories. Digging into something I already have skills in or a good background for is easy, emotionally. But being willing to work on something that...
