Engage. Inspire. Create.
Yesterday, I had brief moment to paint. The Front View is my current piece at work. I studied the photos last taken of the piece over a two to three week period. It was a release to get the ideas from my mind.
I look forward to add the minor details, colors, and other components that will complete this beautiful narrative piece.
It has been an amazing journey to manifest The View. In my reflections today, I came to the aha moment to the final added components of the piece.
When this piece was first primed, l looked at the canvas and saw birds…very distinctly. However, I decided not to focus on the birds and kept painting without acknowledging the birds. The message of my Ancestor who took her final look at her homeland before being catapulted into the atrocities of the Atlantic Slave trade speaks volumes.
The bird totem speaks to the freedom and strength of mind of my oppressed Ancestors. The song that came to mind was the old Negro Spiritual “ I’ll Fly Away” which speaks to ascending away from the pain of body and soul to a Heavenly home where there would be no sorrow or separation from those you loved so dearly.
The final unique component of this piece is the tribal mark on her neck which denotes this woman, this ancestor of mines, she was from a noble people.
In 2009, I was afforded the opportunity to study abroad in Ghana West Africa. It was my senior year at the Evergreen State College Tacoma. I was invited by a Director of a private children’s home in Ghana. She asked me to create curriculum for her students. The subjects she wanted them to learn were Art, Music, and Leadership Development. Being a student at TESCT allowed me to create my own course with faculty sponsor. The name of my course was Cultural Studies and Curriculum Development.
Being an Artist, Musician, and Leader within my community made the task to create curriculum on Art, Music, and Leadership a breeze. My students, k-8, were amazing and it was a joy teaching all of them. During my off time is when I would explore the local area, market, and learn about the foods.
I would frequent a small Internet cafe in the nearby village. It was owned and operated by a young Ghanaian orphan. He gifted me my first lesson book to learn the local language of Twi. Anytime I stopped by the cafe to check my emails he would quiz me on my skills.
These memories were stirred up recently during my studio time. I started to paint with the color black, added white, and used a lot of water this time around. The process gave the piece a water color feel and look. The development of the piece has been very contemplative over several weeks. I have named the piece “The View”.
Part of my artistic expression is to take photos of my process and the various stages of my work. Later I observe and make creative decision on next steps. “The View” was created horizontally and one day I just decided to turn the piece vertically. What manifest was a beautiful woman deeply in gaze at the distant shore. Immediately my mind remembered my Ancestors, the stolen ones, from the shores of West Africa. I thought about the castles during my cultural studies tours and the tears that poured down my face while a strong wind from the Atlantic kissed my cheeks.
My heart felt lifted as I gazed down this corridor of the many possibilities in the far distance.
Sankofa an Adinkra Symbol meaning: Turn back and fetch it.
“Se wo were fina wossankofa a yenkyi”
It is no taboo to return and fetch it when you forget.
You can always undo your mistakes.
I visited the Cape Coast during my Cultural Studies tour in Ghana West Africa…there was a door that upon existing said “Door of No Return”…oh how my heart ached for my ancestors who passed through that door never to see their loved ones or homeland again. I stepped through that door, looked upon the Atlantic ocean, felt the warm sun upon my face, the wind whispering, and heard the crashing waves upon the rocky shore. My soul cried within me as I remembered them…tears gentle falling from my face…turning back to enter the door I forgave.
SABREEHNA S. ESSIEN 