16"x20" acrylic, Hand Embellished Oil on canvas. Original canvas work. Completed October 2020.

This painting is a part of an ongoing series titled "What Would They Do?" began in the Fall of 2020. This series is a meditation on looking to the culture that our ancestors left behind to find their wisdom and guidance through the tough times Black people continue to live through today in the 21st century. . Although I grew up Episcopalian (WI Catholic), I know that turning to a Blonde haired, Blue eyed savior is not going to save me. Instead I think about what the Black people, particularly artists and creators, did to survive. What can I learn from their experience lived in this world in many of the same intersections as myself. Eartha Kitt has been one of my sheroes since childhood, As a rising star during the time leading up to & including the Civil Rights movement, Eartha refused to cowtow to the status quo of the times. She refused to be used as a political pawn , as a result she refused to give up and built herself a life for herself overseas after being black balled in the USA for standing tall as a pillar of her community. When I want to give up, or think my art has no purpose, I think to myself, What Would Eartha Do?