Her name will always be an echo until justice fills the void! 🔊Sound On 🔊
In Lieu Of Flowers, #1
One of the things that has bothered me the most about quarantining at home during the Covid-19 pandemic is families NOT being able to properly memorialize their loved ones. I’ve been saddened by numerous stories of people losing loved ones to Covid or other health battles that they ultimately succumbed to during the pandemic. I have been quietly curious about how families feel about the experience of losing someone and having to quarantine and honor someone virtually. It’s so unnatural not to gather and console family and friends when our loved ones transition.
The service commemorating the lives of our loved ones is often referred to as a “celebration of life” or “home-going service” - these memorials are lively, yet solemn remembrances. We hug and kiss each other on the cheeks. We sit face to face and catch up because all too often these services are impromptu family reunions. We get dressed up and we gather in halls for the repast. We pass plates of homemade or catered foods. We sip red punch from little clear plastic cups. We watch our elders move slower and reflect on the days of their prime. We hold the hands of the weak and get them to their seats. This is a time of intimacy. The hugs are welcomed and sought after. The goodbyes are hard, but we are grateful that we did get up to see another day.
So how does one carry out a celebration of life or a home-going service virtually on Facebook Live or through Zoom? The virtual ceremony is completely void of the warmth we crave in the presence of family and friends. I’m curious about so much surrounding the mourning of loved ones virtually.
Sheltering in place in front of a screen, honoring the deceased with a million thoughts running through your mind. Death as a result of coronavirus is forcing the nation to reconcile itself to the sobering statistics on how African-Americans are disproportionately dying from Covid-19. Health disparities are not new and the attempts to narrow the gap in health outcomes are not new. What’s glaringly apparent is that our efforts are not working well enough. The social determinants known to impact health outcomes have to become a priority. The nation’s healthcare ecosystem must move swiftly to bring parity to the health outcomes of all Americans, especially African Americans.
I’m curious to see how the Covid-19 pandemic data is analyzed, crunched, summarized and ultimately stuffed in between plastic glossy folders. How many hands will these reports pass through and whose eyes will get to review the data? Who will have a seat the table and get to decide what’s next for Black folks dying all across the nation unnecessarily? Black people need to have a seat at the table. Black people need to be heard from and need to be listened to without bias clouding anyone’s judgement.
In lieu of flowers, please give everyone one that has died as a result of Covid-19, the good faith effort that health disparities will be tackled with more fervor, resources and commitment than ever before. In lieu of flowers, send more young blacks to medical school so when Black people go see a doctor they are more likely to see someone that looks like them. In lieu of flowers, please make investments in Black communities equitably so we don’t live in food deserts, have better access to high quality healthcare and ensure access to capital to own our homes. In lieu of flowers, someone, everyone, please make a good faith effort to ensure “we gon be alright.”
In lieu of flowers, please keep your gestures, Black Americans are more concerned with the discontinuation of antagonism against our lives.
(Written in mid May 2020, published June 2020)
“Thrive”, handcrafted collage by Heather Polk, 2020
American Justice (Just Us)
Keep your fists up! ✊🏾
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” ~Assata Shakur
"We were just human beings who saw a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country," Tommie Smith said years later, in a documentary on the 1968 Mexico City games produced for HBO. "I don't like the idea of people looking at it as negative. There was nothing but a raised fist in the air and a bowed head, acknowledging the American flag—not symbolizing a hatred for it."
“American Just-Us” - print available for purchase
Handcrafted collage by Heather Polk 2019
Rest Is Underrated
Rest (noun/it’s a real thing): inactivity, break, breather, breathing space, calm, calmness, cessation, coffee, break, comfort, composure, cutoff, downtime, doze, dreaminess, ease, forty winks, halt, holiday, hush, idleness, interlude, intermission, interval, leisure, letup, lull, motionlessness, nap, pause, peace, quiescence, quiet, quietude, recess, recreation, refreshment, relaxation, relief, repose, respite, siesta, silence, sleep, slumber, somnolence, standstill, stay, stillness, stop, time off, tranquillity, vacation
“Restoration”
Handcrafted collage by Heather Polk 2020
Gather Your Own Bouquet
Plant your own gardens.
Go get your own flowers.
Stop waiting for others.
The time is now.
Plant your own gardens.
Go get your own flowers.
Dig up the soil.
Pull out the weeds.
Plant your own gardens.
Go get your own flowers.
You will grow more than you could ever imagine.
Plant your own garden.
There are so many flowers for you!
“Gather Your Own Bouquet”
Handcrafted collage by Heather Polk 2020
Ease My Mind
Meditation has been a blessing during this quarantine. I have been part of a small group meditating on abundance. I have mediated with my son somewhat regularly. And I have maintained my 3 pm mediation which is breath work and expressing gratitude.
I’m getting into a writing rhythm with my journal. I have three times more blog posts for 2020 thus far, than I had for all of 2019. Writing and blogging definitely serve as forms of meditation. Meditation is extended thought, contemplation or spiritual reflection. I use my mediation for focused thought and spiritual reflection.
Mediation, Saturday devotion with friends and journaling have brought much ease to my mind. I’m thankful for the peace that I’m cultivating through my meditation practice and prayers. I selectively read news articles. I listen to specific news channels and hardly watch any television news. I’m staying informed, however if your not careful, some of the news will disrupt all the positive work you’re doing in meditation.
Ease your mind and explore the power of meditation. Quieting our minds, listening to our souls and the Spirit within is indeed a blessing. Be sure to guard your minds from all that would to seek to disrupt what you’re gaining from meditation.
“Ease My Mind” handcrafted collage by Heather Polk. 2019
The Seasons of Life
There are cycles of life. We keep track of these cycles sometimes with the passing of the seasons. Bears hibernate in the Winter. Birds fly back north in the Spring. It’s Spring 2020 and Covid 19 is ushering a new cycle of life many of us around the globe are unfamiliar with. We are quarantined in our homes with loved ones, working and acting as substitute teachers to our children. We are on Zoom, Google Chat and FaceTime calls all day, everyday. This will be a moment in history that will we reflect on for decades to come, perhaps centuries.
This is the time of the year when we are typically excited as the temperatures are rising, buds are forming on trees, birds are chirping loudly in the morning, bulbs are popping up from the ground and we are shedding extra layers of clothing. Much of this is still going on, as we watch from our windows.
The energy, the warmth and the renewal of spring is always welcomed here in Chicago, especially after a long and cold winter season. When we have a warm Spring, it’s a beautiful prelude to #SummerTimeChi. Many are anxious and nervous about so much this Spring. In this cycle, I have challenged myself to stay focused on what I can control, breathe deeply several times a day and enjoy numerous cups of hot tea per day from the comfort of home.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I see so much for us to work on together when we fellowship again in the near future. I look forward to hugging my family and friends. I look forward to vacationing at the beach. I look forward to shopping and dining locally. I look forward to returning to work and moving about more freely. I look forward to all the seeds I’m planting coming to bloom. We will bloom this Spring at the perfect time!
“A Season In Life”
Handcrafted collage by Heather Polk 2020 @artcuresall
There Are No Mistakes
The seeds have been planted and the watering of those seeds will occur. 🌱
There are no mistakes. 📝
God is working everything for our good. ❤️
Be encouraged and keep the faith. 🙏🏽
You will bloom at the perfect time. 🌸
“You Will Bloom At The Right Time”
Handcrafted Collage by Heather Polk 2020 @artcuresall
More Than Enough
Last year, in early summer, I was reflecting on a few collages I had made. Meticulously cut flowers and handcrafted hearts were consistently present in my work. A couple of days later I was speaking with a friend and catching up over the phone. I had no idea she and her boyfriend had relocated from Atlanta to Los Angeles. We were talking about what life was like in Atlanta for both of us and comparing and contrasting the differences and the unique aspects of our new hometowns. I have been in Chicago for close to a decade now, I’m settled, comfortable and still growing. LA has been an interesting transition for my friend, who happens to be a black woman. An overall good, but interesting experience nonetheless.
Other than me asking her to please send me a piece of her pottery and her discussing how she felt living in her particular neighborhood, the details of our conversation are fuzzy. I definitely remember her saying she didn’t “feel visible or seen“ and it was as if people looked right through her. Unfortunately, this is shared experience for far too many black women, her words resonated with me.
I thought about the visibility of black women, how we are often perceived/misperceived, stereotyped/misunderstood and then I pondered the ways in which our presence (complexion, style, hair, voice, etc.) is often diminished. Then I thought back to all of the flowers in my collages. How do you see a flower and act like it doesn’t exist?
I retreated back to cutting flowers and black female faces/bodies from fashion magazines. I double downed on the beauty of flowers and the beauty of black women. I wanted to make collages that made my sisters, my mom, my entire family of women, all of my friends and other black women feel visible and recognized.
There are flowers that bloom in every season. Bloom where you are planted, they can’t continue to ignore you. It’s cliche, but it’s true. Remember, you are more than enough.
“More Than Enough”
Handcrafted collage by Heather Polk 2020 @artcuresall
Journal The Journey
I miss writing in a journal regularly. I kept a prayer journal faithfully for years. I prayed, ranted and just wrote from the heart pouring out my gratitude, personal requests, frustrations, desires, etc on numerous pages in numerous journals. My journal was a sanctuary, a place to commune with my thoughts and God, and ultimately reflect. It’s pretty powerful to document the days as your going through and to go back months, sometimes years later, to reflect on what’s been written and how far God has carried you, protected you and most definitely blessed you.
I hope I return to regularly writing in a journal. The most consistent things I’m doing nowadays are creating collages and abstract paintings. They are journals in their own way. Maybe I don’t have the words, but my creations revolve around my thoughts, curiosities, and experiences. Journal the journey - write or create - document and express what’s in you, what comes to you and most importantly what you dream about and desire.
Cheers to blessings, protection, guidance and favor. 🙏🏽
“A Strong Woman Is a Gift”
Handcrafted Collage by Heather Polk - 2020 @artcuresall
Vulnerable
Quarantines provide covering for our vulnerabilities (health,etc). We are not moving around in our communities, cities, nations or anywhere in the world as we would usually travel about in our day to day lives. In an effort to minimize sickening ourself or others, we are quarantined until we flatten the curve. Being under quarantine makes us vulnerable to ourselves - our thoughts, our dreams, our hopes, our insecurities and unfortunately, sometimes our fears.
I have turned to creating more collages, more abstract painting, watching Netflix movies, reading books and taking classes on Coursera, in order to NOT consume the barrage of news about the coronavirus (Covid 19). I have the luxury of working from home and simultaneously helping my son with his class work. It’s uncomfortable, but therein lies the opportunity for growth. Vulnerability makes us feel uncomfortable and at risk. It’s important we learn how to capture any negative thoughts or frustrations that arise during our most vulnerable moments and pivot towards our hope, faith and the people/things we love.
If you’re enjoying your extra time with family, or time spent cooking in your kitchen, indulging in your passion projects or just anchoring yourself in prayer, mediation and gratitude, hold on to these good memories. Reflecting on the positive take aways from this experience will be critical for our collective social and emotional well-being.
Some quotes on vulnerability:
⚡️ “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” – C.S. Lewis
⚡️ “The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” – Bob Marley
⚡️ “The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility.” – Paulo Coelho
⚡️ “Courage is vulnerability. Vulnerability is courage. Like shadow and light, neither one can exist without the other.” – Wai Lan Yuen
⚡️ “…and that visibility which makes us most vulnerable is that which also is the source of our greatest strength.” – Audre Lorde
⚡️ “What makes you vulnerable, makes you beautiful.” – Brené Brown
“Vulnerable, But Love is My Shield”
Handcrafted collage Heather Polk 2020 - @artcuresall
Thankful
I wish I could remember who to attribute this quote to:
”I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.”
I found this quote scribbled on a piece paper buried under stacks of magazines I was going through and it stuck with me. I began to meditate on all the things I am thankful for. This quote made me especially grateful for the future.
So many people are anxious and fearful about the future nowadays. This past year I have practiced enjoying each day and letting the present moment take care of itself. I have practiced this more consistently this year than any other time I can remember in my life.
I will take joy in the blessings of today and and I will not forget to “give thanks for the unknown blessings already on their way.”
I am so grateful. 🙏🏽❤️
Road Less Traveled - print available for purchase.
Collage Influences
I’m learning how to maximize some of my apps on my phone. Today I’m sharing a video I made in iMovie on my iPhone. I have uploaded the video on to my IG pages and personal FB page as well. I make all of my collages by hand. Sharing work digitally gives my art a platform and space to be consumed more broadly.
The video is a mashup of IG stories I saved and uploaded into iMovie. It’s a quick synopsis of themes and things that regularly show up in my collage work (🌸& ❤️). I will play around with more video in order to share my creative process and to talk about why creating is important and how it can be of benefit to everyone.
Work by Romare Bearden
A Million Thoughts
What’s on your mind?
In today’s digitally connected, multi-tasking, always available world we usually feel like we have a million thoughts running through our heads. I love getting into a creative zone to escape this hurried world. It’s liberating to use my hands to make something. Whatever I’m creating requires my focus and the process very often lures me into a meditative state. I get consumed with the process of creating and it becomes intoxicating.
Our imaginations are powerful and have the potential to become our realities. I love imagining and repurposing found imagery into a new unique design. My hope is that we all put our imaginations to work to improve the world around us - home, neighborhood, city, nation, etc. Don’t underestimate the power of your imaginations and thoughts backed with some action.
Visual imagery of the phrase “a million thoughts” - a work in progress by Heather Polk.
Make Creativity A Habit
Practice scribbling with a crayon, doodling with a pen on a Post-It note, tear pages out of the magazine, grab some water color paint and just release on a blank sheet of paper. Do it for the process, don’t get caught up in the outcome. Practicing creativity can reduce stress and spark all around inspiration. Most people I know are looking to reduce their stress levels and searching high and low for inspiration.
Making creativity a habit might reveal a talent, an interest or uncover hidden truths waiting to be revealed. The inspiration is all round - look outside your window, close your eyes and imagine, reflect on photos of your last vacation, look a loved one in the eyes, Google “art” or do a key word/hashtag search on Instagram. The inspiration is everywhere and there are numerous reasons to make creativity a habit. I hope you take the time to make creativity a habit.
