Strategic Alchemist

Introducing an addition to my Radical Care Bear title!

Strategic Planning + Femmifestation (Arts x Magic) = Strategic Alchemy

To be completely and fully honest, the phrase "strategic alchemy" came to me during my most recent meditation session last night. I had a vision of myself working with a team of feminine energy folks and we were breaking down a large idea into smaller task chunks. There was a white board with a flow chart, some technology to use for research, colourful markers, sticky notes littered around our table, and a room buzzing with excited productive energy.

The pieces leading up to this confirmation were:

(1) While listening to the Virtual Personal Assistant Podcast, listeners were invited to think about one task that they could do all day. After some thought I could only think of going to planning meetings breaking big ideas down into sizeable chunks and even smaller task lists. I even tweeted it because I was so excited!

(2) My sister in spirit, Natoya Hall, sat with me and we spoke about a skill that I hold deep inside of me. After a bit of discussion, the word that we settled on was "alchemy".

Thus was birthed my new title "Strategic Alchemist"!

Fall Back

"The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go." - anonymous

Introspection is harder than I thought.

Summer ended and BAM, fall chaos. Everyone is back to routines (such as school and work), folks start scrambling over deadlines, and the feeling of relaxation is squelched. I felt like I was a statue standing in the way of everyone else who was running around. Were you also a statue or were you an eager beaver?

To be honest, I still had a variety of projects and commitments that I couldn't let go of (my capricorn work ethic fuels this). But due to an inconsistent income stream and being mindful of how I spent my time, I was indoors a lot. I was also working through the lessons of mercury in retrograde - so my early fall days were spent meditating, crying, researching, and reflecting. I felt isolated and quite lost but I had amazing folks to help guide me and I am forever grateful for their presence. After clearing a lot of heavy and negative energy I now feel a shift towards using my heart more (instead of only using my head) and letting go of what I can't control; trusting that I will be safe and cared for by source/creator.

Now that November is here, I feel new - rejuvenated. Filled with energy to do more but with intentional patience, waiting for the universe to send me signs.

Reflections & Thanks

Looking back at my archiving experiences, there is little doubt of my growth; Grasping at as many opportunities that push me forward & towards my passions.

•  I've never owned my own camera (still don't - shoutout to Drey Anozie, NIA Centre for the Arts, and The People Project for letting me borrow/rent your cameras)
• I am pretty much self-taught with some mentorship, guidance, and youtube support along the way
• I've shot 100+ events over 5 years (not including side projects and some work for community organizations)

Thank you everyone in the community who believe in me and the work that I do. Without your existence, I wouldn't be doing what I love.

Celebrating Tita Fely

Our family gathered together to celebrate 1 year of my Tita Fely's passing. As always we had food, fun, and laughs. When I was younger (as a rebellious-ish teenager), I would skip out on family functions and prioritize work or other things. Now that our parents are entering their 50's we are recognizing the importance of family and gathering - myself especially.

My mom & my titas all bonded while they were younger and they all started having kids around the same time (Adam and I - the oldest - were born in the same year). These women set the grounds for my appreciation of chosen families.

The drawn pictures are by Sammie and Josephine. I brought markers because I knew the family would be split - parents downstairs, kids upstairs where the boys are playing video games and the girls chillin around the boys.

Tita Fely we love you.

Lola I love you.

Youth Biography Workshop

I've been socialized to not boast about myself and this sometimes hinders my writing and networking processes. I still haven't finished my biography…but an artist statement is in the process!

Slowly but surely I will be able to talk freely about myself without feeling fake or false.

“Celebrate yourself. No one will know you’re awesome unless you tell them.” That’s what award-winning multidisciplinary artist and educator, Kim Katrin Crosby, said to more than 30 young artists in a free workshop series at the Daniels Spectrum cultural centre. Youth across the Greater Toronto Area, came out to the workshop to learn how to write their unique artistic biographies and mission statements.

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