Artist Note

Photo by Dope Photographic (Detroit based photographer Asia Hamilton)
Hey everybody! While you shop, make sure you stop by some of my favorite business sites on the web:
Mamaraaa.com--up and coming design studio (hooked up my makeup in this photo!)
Oyinhandmade.com--hair and body
Nappturality.com--web forum for natural hair enthusiasts

See you soon!

BLUES MELODY

THIS AND ALL IMAGES IN SOUL MOSAIC COPYRIGHT (c)2004-2005.
Any reproduction without artist's permission is unlawful.

Image available for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/bluesmelody

This was a portrait for a friend's birthday, and became the design I use now on my business cards for Soul Mosaic. I thought it would work well because it has a multimedia look and the color mixture is muted. The title came from a song I heard once.

MAD AQUARIAN

THIS AND ALL IMAGES IN SOUL MOSAIC COPYRIGHT (c)2004-2005.
Any reproduction without artist's permission is unlawful.

Image avaiable for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/madaquarian

This image began as cover art for a newly published book of poetry written by my aunt...it didn't make the cut, but I liked the image enough to add it to the collection. I thought of a lot of things when I created this image and how I want it to be a statement of truth--about how women of color (specficially black women) are portrayed when they are angry by media culture and how skewed this perecption is; about how black womens' hair in its natural state is politicized and often controversial in many environments, and about the transformative power inherent in just having a good yell. Mad in this case does not have any psychological implications; it is just that she has exceeded the limits of silence. The accompanying zodiac sign, if you haven't guessed, is mine.

RENEGADE SOUL

THIS AND ALL IMAGES IN SOUL MOSAIC COPYRIGHT (c) 2004-2005.
Any reproduction without artist's permission is unlawful.

Image available for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/renegadesoul

I drew this one for my bedroom...trying to brighten up the walls. Kind of a rock star with a superhero twist. Renegade Soul, Super Lead Singer...? Now the image is inspiring to me because I started singing with a band and have performed in a few local shows. Call it my alter ego if you want; if my legs ever look like that in a skirt, I wouldn't mind too much.

SOUL DIVA

THIS AND ALL IMAGES IN SOUL MOSAIC COPYRIGHT (c)2004-2005.
Any reproduction without artist's permission is unlawful.

Image available for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/souldiva

I drew this a few years ago for a Caribbean-themed party flyer. The original piece was full-length, but I like this design because it kind of resembles a modernized twist on the cameo or nefertiti pins (remember them? they used to be on chokers and junk jewlery in the 90s. Really bad fashion mistake).

ROGUE MAGAZINE

THIS AND ALL IMAGES IN SOUL MOSAIC COPYRIGHT (c)2004-2005.
Any reproduction without artist's permission is unlawful.

Image available for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/gogopinup

This started out as a joke. I had some pictures from a retro fashion show I modeled in a while ago, and thought I'd make it into a fake magazine cover, since I am about ten years too late for that dream to ever materialize (it's not going to stop me from taking pictures, though). I looked up a bunch of old pulp men's magazines online, and the article titles were hilarious and racy in their quaint way. But there were never any pinups of color on any of the covers, so I naturally had to make a Soul Mosaic version based on stuff I imagined would have been going on in 1968 for the "modern male."

TRIPTYCH

Image is available for silkscreening at http://www.cafepress.com/triptych
This is a remix of a flyer that originally showed the likenesses of two good friends and I who hosted a holiday fête. In this new version, the three panels are from enitrely separate projects, and then the color balance altered to create more contrast. The first panel is from a sketch I drew in college, the second is an homage to an actor I used to have a crush on (until his pretty crappy sitcom and acting cured me), and the third is a cartoon self-portrait I did for fun that never quite resembed me, but that I always liked. So I figured I'd revive the images for this design.