Seasoned en Vieux exhibtion Winding Down in 10 Days

As we entered the last 10 days of Galerie 1501's Seasoned en Vieux, I am reflecting on how much sucess we, the artists have had with this show.

 

This last 10 days gallery  hours and days will be Tuesday-Saturday January 6-10th and Monday January 12, Tuesday January 13 from 11-4p.  Or by appointment.

 

The pop up gallery will reappear somewhere in the next few months.

 

I have another exhibtion, Standing in the Shadows (no more), opening at Ashe Cultural Art Center March 3rd in Center City with the opening reception March 6th an then on Sunday March is the 2nd of the "Seasoning" series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Too Many Fishes in the Sea! Black History Month 2013

Shenequa Guy, artist

Walk to That Power


By Jacquelyn Hughes Mooney©13



“We do not become storytellers…

We came to tell the stories

We & our ancestors who actually live...

Some of us are still catching up to our stories.



We do not become artists we came as artists…

We are.

Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become writers…

Dancers…

Helpers…

Peacemakers…

We came as such…

We are”

Clarissa Pinkola Estes



Bricklayers, masons, housekeepers, ditch diggers, bakers, homemakers, movers & shakers, janitors carpenters, plumbers, caretakers, sanitation workers, cooks, waitress, dishwashers, bell hops, taxi drivers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs, entrepreneurs, professors, visionaries…

Yes even a President.

Walk to our power….



There is still enough largeness in us…

That knows/believes/aspired/can/did/will rock the world.

Who still sees a rainbow as a promise...?

A hope for…That will not be broken.

Walk to that power.

There’s still enough of the bigness in us...

To know there is so much more we can do.

Even the ones who others say we’re invisible…

The grey hairs, troubled knees, canes, bad feet hardly hear, vision blurring…

To the rest of the who let me tell you something…

We are.



There’s still enough of the vibe in us

Those who can Harlem Shake and Harlem Shuffle with a Beyonce

Dine on the Black eye Peas/Mills Brothers/Jimi Hendrix all in the same breath

And still walk in our power

With nothing to prove, speaking truth to peace.

We have so many that flooded the gates

That implored…

Explore

And floored you with their fierceness…

Their determination…

And while some of them did not live to see the fruits of their efforts.

Those of us who are the storytellers…

The dream catchers…

The visionaries…

Have kept your deeds alive, recording & stored it

Right beyond their left eye

It is easy to remember if you never forgot

And will sing those songs even when no one I paying attention

Singing your name in to the stratosphere...

That will carry your name far beyond the galaxies...

Black my story

Not his story

But my story

The Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington’s, Benjamin Hooks, Paul Roberson, Serena Williams, Condoleezza Rice, Martin, Malcolm & John

Drs, Ben Carson, Maya Angelou, Johnnetta B. Cole, Linda Brown

Oprah,

Hannibal, Kunta Kinte and Shaka Zulu...

A Woman called Moses,

And speaking words to truth while on her Sojourner (ain’t I a woman)?

Yes, George Benson, George Foreman, Chicken George, his mama Kizzy…

And George Fraser because success runs in our race!

Beverly Guy Shetfall, Frankie Beverly

MahaliaJackson, Harriet Powers, the Greensboro 4 and the Bennett Belles!

Rear Admiral Michelle Hawkins and General Colin Powell...

The Buffalo soldiers & the Tuskegee Airmen

We will not forget Rosewood, Tulsa, Chicago, the Jena 6 Emmett Till or Trayvon Martin

Thurgood Marshall, Anita Hill or even Clarence Thomas

(Hoping that he’ll find his way)…

Ruby Dee, Ruby Bridges and Tina Turner (rolling down the river)

Before the was Beyonce’ there was Eartha Kitt

Josephine Baker,

Etta, James, Katherine Dunham, Pearl Bailey thrown in for good measure.

Denzel Washington, Booker T Washington, Cory Booker

And yes Booker T & the MG’s.

Bill Withers, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Bill Cosby, Billy Eckstine, Billy Dee, Bill Stewart…

Billye Holiday singing of Strange Fruits

Nat King Cole & Nat Turner

Carol Bebelle, Patti Labelle & the Shirelles

Queenie, the Queen of Sheba and Queen Latifah

The Kings’ B.B, Martin Luther, Arianne King-Corner along with a Prince

In all his purple reign.

Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson

Alice Walker, Toni Morrison Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez…

Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney & Phyllis Wheatley



“We hold these truths to be self-evident…

That all men (and women) are created equal…

And they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.

Those among these rights are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”



Oui nous pouvons…

( Oh yes we can) …

Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th Potus…

They said it couldn’t be done…

But did it anyway

We walk to a power that defies all logic…

On so many, so, so many that they cannot all be named…

Yes some of us are still catching up to what we are.

But the storytellers know we are truly a wonderful work in progress

As we stand up to our power.

All rights reservedJHM2-22-13©

Go with it.. Grow with it.. Glow & BE it!

"Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you. All the other tangible rewards will come as a result".~ Maya Angelou 

 

Ordinary Day 

By Jacquelyn Hughes Mooney©03 

On an ordinary day, I am still extraordinary. 

On an ordinary day, I can rock the world! 

How magnificent it is to be alive, to breathe, to be genuinely real! 

Dazzle the worlds with you smile be as brilliant as you want! 

On an ordinary day, may your life be spectacular! 

For it only last for a moment. 

Drink plenty from Maisha Maji (life’s waters) until you are full. 

And dare to dream, to be bold and to be fearless with love! 

On an ordinary night that trails behind an ordinary day… 

Look up and behold a shooting star, so impressive… 

As it streaks across a blackened sky just being so breath taking-ingly spectacular… 

That millions of stars could only stand still and applaud 

You be that way… 

And on any ordinary day, be as extraordinary as you dare… 

(How wonderfully made you are!) 

Your vision statement can be so impressive… 

When you can see what can be accomplish on an ordinary day. 

All rights reserved JHM 7-25-03© 

 

So what is IT? 

IT is what you are. 

Not when you get there or how you will get there, simply being "it"...YOU. 

You here on many of the entertainment show when they refer to the "It Girl", the WOMAN that happens to be "hot" by Hollywood standards that supposedly every woman in American & beyond wants to be or at least nearby "it" . And that changes according to whomever has the most aggressive publicist that generates enough of a buzz that people start paying attention almost like being drawn by a magnet or like a moth to a light bulb. 

Once upon a time that was called charisma & you had it or you didn't. And one did not need a publicist to create it for you! 

 

Super Moon shot at Campbell River,British Columbia 2011

Just see, that Super moon the other night did not have to do anything other then what it was suppose to do.. GLOW. And did its job so well that millions could not take their eyes off of it. 

You do that... 

Some people are charismatic by nature, some almost to a fault and when not used for good can cause grave harm..(Think Manson, Jim Jones,Hitler etc). 

Others are personable,charismatic and likable. Think Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, former POTUS: John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton,the late Dr. Martin Luther King, John Lennon & Michael Jackson; the sitting POTUS Barack Obama. 

We may never in our lives achieve what they have accomplished but each of us in our own way and in our own space can have IT. 

"IT" can be cultivated and refined. 

But one must step up, shape & cultivate and then just gather all those moths to your fire! Think you are worth it? Of course you are and I bet there is someone somewhere who thinks so too. 

In fact centuries ago, someone gave up His life for you, because you are just that loved & worth it. 

 

Like an Eagle 

By Jacquelyn Hughes Mooney ©01 

Just like an eagle… 

He’s got His eye on me. 

Peering through galaxies… 

And canopies of stars, sky & moons. 

To observe with great love… 

And wisely discreet. 

As I stumble and falter… 

Sometimes rejoicing with victory sweet! 

“And the angels shout in applause!” 

And He will swoop down… 

With breath taking speed. 

Just like an eagle when her minnows. 

Does not take wing. 

That the Father will pull you back with accurate precision. 

When you tumble… 

Or fumble. 

At the most inopportune time. 

Just like an eagle… 

Protecting her brood on hidden crags. 

And pushes you out… 

So you would not lag. 

And with seraphs & cherubs… 

Surrounding His majestic throne. 

He peers intently… 

Keeping watch 

On you… 

And you… 

(And me)... 

We are so free! 

“And the angels shout in applause! 

When a prodigal child… 

Is embraced in His dazzling large arms. 

Note the gray haired ones… 

Stepping in dignity into cocooning, watery baptismal pool. 

And a warring couple surrenders… 

Basking instead in the light of His heart’s smile. 

The protective stance… 

For the ones weeping inside with no seepage… 

Showering down up to the skies. 

A woman’s loss that was like being at end’s beginning. 

Allowing the wind to carry back her tears to He. 

Like an eagle… 

He sees. 

Peering through the galaxies. 

And He actively cares for thee. 

Look! All around ye… 

See the evidence of Him holding you up! 

And up! 

And up! 

So you would and did… 

Fly like an eagle. 

All rights reserved JHM Rhapsody in Muse ©11-17-01 

Fit, Ferocious, Fierce, Fabulous & "F'"honomenal

I was thinking about blogging about something else, but after a friend sent me this morning. There isn't more I can say but Ya Ya! 


 


One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn't too luxurious. When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the president's secret service, if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner. 

Following this conversation President Obama asked Michelle, why was he so interested in talking to you. She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her. 

President Obama then said, "so if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant", to which Michelle responded, "No, if I had married him, he would now be the President". 

And lets face it she has killer arms and poise, intelligence to boot.

Fierce, ferocious and smart as a whip 

Killer dress, style & panache 

And a man who loves her unashamed to do so publicly & not embarrassed to show it..

I'm not mad at her...:=)

Searching for a miracle, expecting the impossible~Unknown author

A shout out to Jacquie for sending this timely story...