VALERIE BROWN-TROUTT Something wonderful happened to me during the summer of 1999. I claimed and discovered my artist: Me! I went to several second hand shops and bought old canvas and found thrown away framed pictures and took them apart, covered them with gesso and started a studio on my patio. I got lost for hours in the dialogue of mixing color, creation, making meaning through images and mediation. Turning old ugly things into something new is so much fun and inexpensive. Messing up, changing my mind and starting all over again satisfied by creative energy Art in a variety of forms has always been my passion. I love paintings, poems, theater, jazz, singers, poetry, actors and actresses, photography, great movie pictures, sculpture, rhetoric, comedy, nature, etc. My art, often whimsically, intentionally creates what I have missed in my art loving experience, me! For example, I was born into a world that never showed me a lovely black, fat angel, so I painted me some. I am nurtured by and long to see things that look like me, especially my people (whom I love) and my ancestors. This is where it started.
I continue today to address the absence of images that I think are important to the stories of my life and culture. I create to preserve and share with others especially my grandchildren what life is for me presently and while growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. Many of these images celebrate the core values of my spirituality and codes of the communities of my origins which makes life meaningful for me.
About: Painting has always held a special place in my heart. Art reflects, radiates and reveals God’s omnipresence here on earth. It can stimulate the wonderment of ones mind to not only see its visual beauty, but to feel the essence of the wind. I live to paint another day!
About: From early childhood until now Bill A. Dallas has been connected with music and painting – especially the beauty of jazz, and how it reflects his style of painting, which he calls artmatism.
The significance of all music plays an important part in his art world, which goes far beyond just images and colors. He finds that music has a crucial role in how he approaches artmatism painting.
He’s created a unique harmony of rhythm that is entirely original, rhythmic, and with a full orchestration of movement and color. Painting is truly one of the perfect instruments to illustrate the real depth and complexities of the central absorbing moments of life’s mystery. The term “artmatism” can imply a metaphor for music, particularly jazz music – being fascinated by painting’s emotional power, each painting expresses itself through color, shape and space. It allows the viewer to engage with a freedom of imagination, interpretations and emotional responses.
His strokes come from a vivid and complex world of emotions and memories from his past. Dallas brings to life in his art the true colors, sounds and beauty of the music in his unheard of, but seen in his paintings. He’s making a physical and powerful connection between color and sound. If one can open that delicate mind we all procreate at times, one can feel the resemblance transported on canvas, the multiple colors of exhilarating sounds of great music!
As a young ambitious artist and very curious about learning he decided to pursue an art degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in the department of Art Practice.
It was a privilege to be embraced by such great art professors as Loran, Hartmann, Voulkos, Melchert, Bischoff, Kasten and Robert Hudson.
About: Latisha Baker Artworks is a handmade creative art business based in Oakland, CA. Latisha is self-taught and started as a hobbyist over 25 years ago making jewelry and home accessories with found materials consisting of a variety of wood and natural materials. She continues to develop art practice as a wearable art jewelry designer and visual artist.
The primary medium is a primitive technique called pyrography (firewriting), also known as, wood burning or pyroetching. She uses a variety of recycled and purchased wood, including birch, cherry and walnut to create her artwork.
She is inspired by people’s stories, movement and human anatomy. She juxtaposes the human form with life events and experiences. The complexity of her work can vary, but there is a common theme of reconciliation through recovery, healing and transformation.
About: Anthony “AnttonioDesigns” Smalls aka TheCounselorandCreator, outside the art world I’ve enjoyed working as a counselor for adolescents and adults. Helping others is something I have always been passionate about. With art being my passion outside of work it may be hard sometimes to find a day to paint when you’re working a 9-5. Being able to use art as my outlet helps me with my everyday life because I can just be in my own thoughts and create something unique.
AnttonioDesigns (The Counselor and Creator) started in 2017 while I was off work with torn Achilles tendon for 3 months. Not falling into a mental trap and figuring out how I would spend my next three months I decided I would get back into one of my favorite pastime as a kid which was creating art designs and inspirational quotes. I had to be productive and use my time creatively so that the 90 days I had at home was utilized and beneficial for me. During that time, I was also able to finish up my last few months of school earning my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology where I would start working back in Contra Costa County. AnttonioDesigns the counselor and creator was born out of the love of helping others become a better version of themselves through using art expressively and to help zen your mind from those other things in life that may distract you.
I chose my art piece “New Millennium Controversy” to be displayed at Art of the African Diaspora because this creation was a part of my COVID creations. This art piece also shines lite on the controversies that are taking place such as COVID-19, police brutality, racism, human and sex trafficking to date. Prince album was released in the 80’s but as we see in 2021 things haven’t changed much. I want to celebrate PEACE, LOVE & UNITY.
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About: “Digital Soul Artist Maalak (Melvin Atkins)” … was born 5th of 7 children in rural Louisiana where art covered the landscape! Plowed fields-Gardens-Animals-Cotton -Changing Seasons & Wild Flowers- Birds-Brightly Colored Trees & Mammas Flower Yard-Ladies Quilting. Paper was scarce so we drew in the sand. My art inspiration came at seeing a young woman striding slow motion, as if on air down the avenues in Oakland California! She was “The Gift!” Home I Drew What Looked Like Kindergarten Scratch… But IT Was My Birth As An Artist (1985). Hope U Like… My works have shown at Marin County Civic Center – WestAmerica Bank – Be Still – MC Art Gallery – Churches, Homes And Countless T-shirts!
More info: High Quality Prints 12 x 18 – on glossy card stock paper – Guaranteed against fading (5+years)! Larger prints can be ordered! Cost: $45 (includes shipping inside U.S.)………….. To purchase Contact:: DIGITAL SOUL ARTIST – 965 Drake Ave – Marin City-Sausalito, Ca 94965 -Melatks@Aol.Com —- CASH APP: $Maalak Atkins or Paypal.Me/Maalak Atks
About: Rodney Bell currently resides in Oakland. He was raised in St. Louis, MO. Drawing became his first love. His mother fondly remembers one of his drawings at age 3, an abstract on a man’s white leather jacket. Rodney remembers as a child having “happy hands” when holding two or three crayons in each one. His mother’s lessons during his young age informed him to color on paper, instead of on jackets when compelled to express what he saw.
He knew he has a mission to draw as a way of life. His parents, especially his mother, continued to encourage and support his artistic endeavors. He made art to express his inner self and interest in spirituality and African American studies.
Marilyn Bradley, his art instructor at Webster Groves Senior High, encouraged him to develop and define his art skills and to enter art exhibits and contests. Rodney entered art in the National Scholastic Art Magazine and received two blue ribbons in1974 and a gold key in 1975. As he continued to develop his skills of drawing, portraits became his passionate focus. In 1996 he had an affirming experience of presenting his sketch of President Clinton and First Lady Hilary Clinton to the President.
Rodney enjoys creating art for healing and uplifting people. He skillfully applies a variety of mediums and techniques in his art making. Rodney’s art is currently exhibited at St. Mary’s Center, Oakland and is often featured in Street Spirit, an independent newspaper available in the East Bay.
More info: Rodney welcomes requests for art commissions of portraits, city scapes and animals: 615-810-2272.
More info: ART IS A BUSINESS – I am classified under the heading “urban indigenous artist” – as a business I am registered as “Claude Clark Photography” – Because everything I sell on the street is converted to a digital photograph before I send it to a printer or print it myself. I am in the process of developing moving from a niche products to Brand products – “Claude Clark Heritage Wear” I apply my original works of art, graphics and sculptures to clothing. At present I am carving walking sticks.
“African Diasporic Art and Healing Workshop” by Idris Hassan Saturday, April 3, 2021 – 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
This workshop introduces audience members to the importance of artistic expression as a healing tool in the African Diaspora. It includes a brief survey about the history of African-American and African Diasporic Art, as well as a dialogue touching on the healing aspects of artistic enrichment in cultural communities. The workshop will also explore the subject of using art as a tool for social transformation and includes an art activity. (Materials will needed will be shared prior to the workshop)
Instructor: Idris Hassan, MA – Liberal Arts, Visual Artist, Media Creator, Cultural Documentarian, and Educator
About: Idris Hassan is a photographer and cultural documentarian working in Oakland, CA and throughout the Bay Area. She is a graduate of Cal State East Bay and Naropa University with a Masters in Liberal Arts. Hassan’s work explores the deep context between the subjects and their environment, incorporating the themes of healing, belonging, and an exploration of the Diaspora. With an archive of twenty plus years of work, Hassan has traveled abroad capturing the visual essence of various communities. While transitioning from 35mm photography to digital, Idris began to incorporate collage mixed media works into her portfolio.
Before working in visual media, Idris held a career as an entertainment journalist, contributing to various national publications such as VIBE and Rap Sheet. During a recent residency with Green Olive Arts in Morocco, Africa, she produced a mixed media series entitled “From Kemet to Cotton: Sankofa”, which explores the connection between the ancient African civilization of Kemet and the enslaved African’s history with the currency known as cotton.
Chocolate Beats Media (CBM) was founded by Idris Hassan in 2009 to provide down to earth radio programming, innovative cultural event documentation, and a holistic digital media experience. Ms. Hassan seeks to humanize the experiences of Bay Area residents during the COVID – 19 pandemic through this collaborative project.
“Masks Sold Here” is a digital collage exploring the intersection of a piece of historic Oakland facing a global pandemic and uprisings against racists oppression, as the Citizens uplift healing energy in the midst of a deeply transformational time on this planet.
