I AM WOMAN Project – Page 2

A Prayer for Sojourner Truth

We think of history as being so distant, but standing at Mother Sojourner’s grave site made me very aware that her time was not so long ago.

I am LaShawnda, sister of Kim and Nicolette. We are daughters of Terry Ann, the daughter of Bessie Mae, The daughter of Lizzie, the daughter of Mae Emma, the daughter of Many Unknowns. I am from coconut oil and bergamot grease From pinto beans and bananas. I am from the light. From home-cooked meals andContinueContinue reading “POEM: I Am from…”

Before/After: Author Photo Self-Edit

One of the priceless things I’ve learned with editing my own images is to do as much as possible pre-shoot to minimize post-edit work. For example, I love this blouse but it’s always wrinkled. I can iron it, stream it – for this shoot, I actually dampened it a bit and put it in the dryer.

I AM WOMAN: A Timeline

African Women In America: Using Our Voices A Timeline: 1500 -2000’s This has been quite an undertaking for I AM WOMAN: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America! At first I assumed there had to be chronologies of African Women in America and our contributions or achievements throughout the centuries. But there really weren’t any. IContinueContinue reading “I AM WOMAN: A Timeline”

Gear Up & Upskill

More than two years after the image was taken my skills caught up to my vision, as did technology. It also helped when I realized I don’t have to follow any rules, only my imagination. I can create whatever I want and present it in whatever way pleases me.

I AM Woman Cover Work

Below are some steps I’ve taken to get to the cover for I AM Woman: Expressions of Black Womanhood.
Now accepting pre-orders for a limited number of copies. Place your order at Harvest-Life.org/shop.

Milwaukee Art Museum Image Edits

Years ago, I decided to keep everything I shoot with the belief that what I don’t like today will be amazing to me tomorrow. Because of this, editing the images for I AM Woman is exposing a great deal of possibilities by blending images I would normally do nothing with into images that need a bit of umph!

IG Live Reading @UrbanExpo

The poems read were selected from Clichés: A Life in Verse, Desert of Solitude: Refreshed by Grace, and I AM Woman: Experiences of Black Womanhood. All the books are available for order in my store and on Amazon.com (quicker with discounts).

Terry Ann: Woman. Seed. Fertile Ground. Inspiration.

In the summer of 2018, I began working on a portrait and prose book project about womanhood. That summer I returned to my hometowns Gary and Milwaukee and asked friends, family and old connections to pose and share some words about their womanhood experiences. When I began sketching out the project my mom was notContinueContinue reading “Terry Ann: Woman. Seed. Fertile Ground. Inspiration.”

Test Shoot: Friend R, “Delete the rest.”

Her response to her image gallery was, “Thanks for all your hard work! I see sickness in most of my photos…. I choose the ones I like…. I ask that you delete the rest.” I think her images and her comments add a great deal to the larger conversation of Black Womanhood in America. How we internalize our grief and disappointment. How they solidify and weigh us down in a deep abyss of cyclical suffering. How we can become incapable of seeing pass that one thing (situation, heartbreak, betrayal) that first knocked us down.