The Painted Mother

Newness

2011-09-02T02:21:00.000-04:00

Dreamtime Defined

2010-11-28T03:37:00.001-05:00

Perception is a fragment of a reality grounded in life’s journeys: experiences. I represent these experiences through the pathways of pattern, symbol and archetype. The other parts of the perception come from some other place: the dream. The aborigines define the dreamtime as the state before the creation begins. This is the “space” that informs my work. I often describe this state as intuitive. I create to chart, map and embody the process of dreaming or manifestation.

When I am in art production mode, I sometimes consider my audience. A mental image of a specific person or type of person influences the medium and aesthetic direction of my work. When talking to black women, I will paint an image of a woman. When talking to First Nationers, I will make a talking stick. To incite the inner child, I will use glitter and glam. The listener best controls the medium in which I work, which explains why my work, as a whole, is so diverse. Artwork, in and of itself, its various techniques and mediums, is the coded language I use to communicate with people. Thus far, I speak about 12 languages: painting, weaving, sewing, doll forms, reconstructed tees, printmaking, crochet, assemblage, drawing, pastel, poetic thought forms and community art.

I view the world in parallels, patterns, symbol and metaphor. I break down meanings and perception to the barest element. My paintings capture the essences of our human characteristics and nature. As our humanity is recycled by the processes of birth and rebirth, I identify through symbol and image, the common archetypes. I am not cerebral in my thinking, I just do it. A face becomes representative of a human characteristic that is integral for our survival. Or depending on how you look at it, a bust becomes the embodiment of a spirit or energy that keeps coming back.

I don’t consider myself a spiritualist, even though the ways I speak often suggest this. I am however, conscious on some levels, self-aware and spiritually and emotionally intelligent. I am trained as a vernacular artist by my mother, the late F. Diane McNeal. Through her experience, I learned the work ethic and internal process that manifests as a creative compulsion. “It’s about the work” she would tell me. My work ethic, art methods and need to communicate create a driving force I can not control. The rawness and internal principles that govern my work, lend itself to an authentic voice that is new, fresh and a little before the times. Like character development in a novel, the work describes the “new knowledge” or the elemental-old reconstructed as layered and multi-dynamic. Recognizing the connection, between the old and new, there manifests as a surreal representation of reality. Life, in the context of the continuum, can only be the dream.

The Work

2010-10-28T02:12:00.000-04:00

Currently available and waiting for your interaction!

Indigenous Vernacular
Made by the hand of Nataki McNeal Bhatti
3rd Street Studio
1725 N. 3rd Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102

For sales contact paintedmother@gmail.com.

What is the Indigenous?

2010-09-29T08:08:00.002-04:00

Indigenous Vernacular is a philosophical base, belief system and lifestyle rooted in the original self. Vernacular refers to methods of communicating code, symbols and archetypes embedded in the experienced truths of everyday culture aka story. It subsides in the subscript of folk culture, urban art and spiritual being. “Indigenous Vernacular” is an exploration by mapping contemporary vernacular; the way in which issues and expression prevalent in the daily lifestyle and culture.

A Nataki...community art project, "Parentless Generation" through the Institute of Cultural Partnership's Art of Many Voices.

Nataki McNeal Bhatti is a multiskilled “creative” community artist who seeks to mirror the voice of her community and environment through direct engagement and direct action. When asked what is the role of the artist, she contends, “art power has shifted from confines of institutional settings into expression of our daily lifestyles. In the past, the visual artist was the mediator giving a visual life to abstract ideas through symbol and representation. Today, the artist or creative must be able to assume multiple roles, shapeshifting their methods in response to the direct voice, needs and soul of the community. Through open and honest direct conversations and connection with community, my work seeks to recognize the modern symbol, the uncharted archetypes that we all live by, but have not found their place through form. In the process of creativity, a story is alive and an artifact stilborn."

Be sure to attend the upcoming opening "Indigenous Vernacular: A Nataki Not So Solo Art Exhibition - An Art Experience Where Art and Community Converge", Oct 15, 2010 4 to 9 pm at 3rd Street Studio, 1725 N. 3rd Street, Harrisburg. See Indigenous Vernacular Exhibition page for more information.

Reconstructing the White Tee

2010-08-12T20:07:00.001-04:00

The white tee has become the standard uniform for young men across the nation. Crisp bleached ultra long tees are readily available at every mom and pop corna store. In exchange for expensive trademarked logo ridden name brand shirts, a movement in anonymity is blanketed by the white tee.

What has become uniform in the black Harrisburg community has become outlawed by public institutions and business establishments. Some nightclubs on Second Street refuse admittance for black men sporting white tees. Public schools won’t allow students to wear white tees under the premise the shirt symbolizes gang affiliation. The urban ideogram of the decade is demonized as criminal and gangsta. So what is up with the white tee? Why is it so scary?

When dominant culture establishes regulation against a minority cultural expression my social justice radar is signaled. The criminalization of young people’s collective expression is an indicator of a raw movement-in-progress. The white tee, a principal fashion preference, bleeds passive resistance. The white tee is profiled because wreaking a powerful statement. As a target, masses of folks wearing a common uniform connects to a larger social movement. My work hand painting t-shirts responds, celebrates and investigates this movement.

I have hand painted tshirts long before I even considered myself an "artist". Motivated by sharing soul wrenching personal and political messages, the entrepreneurial hustle and producing "art for the masses", I have returned to my roots. As mixed media art series, “Reconstructing the White Tee”, seeks to unveil the stereotypes and fears projected on our youth. Suspending the silence of a blank surface; I cut, sew, paint, tie, and embellish tees purchased from the corna store. My mission is to unpack the symbols and meanings of what is hidden behind the tee. Like red fabric tied in a tree warns of danger ahead, the reconstructed white tee speaks of a subterranean truth. Affirming the power of a self controlled uniform, the reconstructed white tee is art for the people.

For more information about sales and exhibition, email paintedmother@gmail.com.

Dollhouse

2010-07-13T03:18:00.007-04:00

My bags are huge. In fact, I can rarely find a bag large enough for my travel necessities. (I need to make some!) I must tote the pulls ups, quick reading selections, snacks for the children, and most importantly, Ziploc bags filled with my mini art projects. I love maximizing my time, strengthening the "flex" of my day, getting something done while existing in the mundane...like a car ride to the supermarket or a meeting. Lately, my flex mini art project Ziploc has various squares of felt and other contents from a basket of odds and ends I couldn't throw away.

I started cutting out shapes and sewing. I have developed a new patience for the tactile and time consuming nature of stitching-by-hand. The outcome has been my new obsessive busy work...felt dolls. The three by nine inch dolls started as my mannequins for the concepts behind the Töki art wearables. Symbols of a coded chart to help my clients understand the meaning behind the art. With this in mind, the hardest part for me is to keep it simple and not thicken or overlap multiple making them "muddy".

This is my research. Each doll form tells a story, responding to presence, material and purpose. These hidden souls need a house. What will become of my crafty felt conceptual babies? Some may find themselves appliqued to a skirt or canvas.

As I continue working with the doll forms, the materials I use will take it to a different level. I have been collecting vintage wool sweaters for felting. After I exhaust my curiosity with the craft felt, I may explore felting with natural materials. The exciting part is inviting others, through youth and adult workshops to share in the exploratory process.

Made By These Hands

2010-07-09T23:56:00.007-04:00

My sewing machines have become my paintbrush, hand dying process my palette and rethought clothing my canvas. Keeping me up into the first lights of the am, the compulsion to create, a trait I learned and inherited from my artist mother (the late F. Diane McNeal), affirms my commitment to the WORK. As a juggle my role as a wife and mother, knowing time is so precious, the focus and efficiency in which I attack the WORK results in serious production. I am not a seamstress or designer, I am an artist partnering new ideas with technique and form.

I am revisiting my first creative functional art and craft lessons as a child: learning how to sew on a power sewing machine - crocheting clothing for my mutilated and bald barbie dolls - painting on fabric my mother would sew into her unique clothing designs. Layered methods of construction and expression are coming together to form the whole.

Made by these hands...the joy I experience when I make something loudly tells me this is my calling. Whether sewn, constructed or painted, the process of creation allows the thought, idea and expression come to the surface. Principles of the codices of my understanding take a physical form and manifest as an artifact. Something that can be touched which represents the intangible. How something as simple as a skirt do this?

A skirt is a wrap is a woman is a blanket is protection is a platform.

A pocket is a catcher of bullets is a nest is an apron is sacred is a utility belt to hold clean pampers.

A tshirt is a canvas is a message is stark white is uniform is gangster is a rag is protest.

Folks can understand a skirt or shirt, it has a functional purpose. And it is more "affordable". So the skirt can talk and be heard. A tshirt can prompt a response. For me, the separation between my art and craft is nonexistent. The question is semantics and what language we are speaking and listening.

A Platform for Indigenious Voice

2009-10-15T14:43:00.003-04:00

Be a part of the conversation of how we define, determine and act upon our creative voice. When you open a contemporary arts magazine or visit an art museum/institution, how often do you find a work or an expression of creativity that speaks to you as an African American, Black and/or Indigenous person? As an artist, do you find your work or the work of others like you included in the American arts industry?

In lieu of the commercialization and exploitation of Black cultural production and expression (i.e. hip hop, jazz and rock and roll), what creative expression is authentically expressing the voice of rural, urban and suburban black/indigenous communities? Further, how are we represented by publications, media or mass communication and the fine art & cultural industries? Does such representation reflect the creative voice indicative of the cultural vernacular that exists in this moment in which we are living and breathing? Is art a common expression? These are a few of the questions I call upon the community to respond and take ownership of the answer.

I suspect the true expression is stored in dusty garages and attics. We produce, because we are compelled to, but don’t have an accessible forum nor platform to share our “secrets”. The gatekeepers of the secret are our grandmothers who produce quilts that still encode the messages of freedom from enslavement; our grandfathers who build urban complexes made out of painted brick layered with Legos; teenagers airbrushing R.I.P. altars on t-shirts and teenaged girls painting their clothes and shoes to connect their condition. What is art then? The meaning is changing. Like the progression of spirituals to blues to rock & roll/jazz to rhythm & blues to reggae/punk into the NEO of new music…our creative expression has morphed, but there is a disparity between what is commercialized and what is expressed on the “block”.

Our voice may be partially represented by the superstars, but the crux and essence is hidden in by creativity everyday folks, home-made rap & music CDs, hand drawn “pictures” on lined notebook paper, the movements of dancers getting their groove on and poetic words written in volumes of journals. We don’t connect to the elitist privilege of being an artist. Our authentic voice lies in the “block”. This is the problem I seek to address. What happened to the block? Who tells our story? The answer lies in you!

This is a discussion; you are invited to talk about our vernacular. There will be a series of discussion groups, then inspirational artmaking/cultural production workshops which will culminate in a “show”. What the show looks like is up to all of us through consensus.

The first ArtCultureSpeak….

….Join us for a dynamic talk about what speaks to our creative souls and why!

Saturday, October 17th

2:30 to 4 pm

At Café di Luna

(Where art, conversation and cafe convene)

1004 N. 3rd Street

Harrisburg, PA 17110

More dates soon to be announced!

---This is a part of my studies and thesis project as a graduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art's MA in Community Arts program---

Aziyza King Speaks Blessings Through Her Art

2009-05-14T12:19:00.004-04:00

Aziyza, private and collected, gracefully glides, grounded in an ancient beauty, rooted in knowledge of self; she doesn't fit the stereotypical persona of an "artist". Unconcerned with an artist's lifestyle or status, her role is to imprint a message.

Born in Harrisburg, PA, Aziyza began painting to inspire. Living within a community with little positive representation of Black people, her creativity evolved from a stark necessity. Called to change the way Black people perceive themselves, painting or "the image", she found as the most direct way. By creating optimistic images of the Black community, she is filling the void with positive symbols and iconographies. "We have the power to change our condition simply by thinking it into existence", she says. Her images metaphorically plant the seeds for change.

Following the canons of traditional Black art, simplified forms and anonymous faces create a powerful but relatable storyline. Chromatic bold shapes and colors separated by white lines nourishingly cry "love for one another, love for family, love for community and most importantly, love for life". The collection, Love the Spirit of Life, certainly affirms love and life as "the most precious gift that we possess".

Her debut art show, a community exhibition, Love the Spirit of Life, will be held at the the YaaKofiAma Nia House, an African-centered community center located at 1800 Market Street, Central Allison Hill, Harrisburg, PA, on Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 6 to 9 p.m. The art show will feature Aziyza's debut collection of striking and bold paintings that "breathe life into the world". A brief artist talk and presentation will be at 7 p.m. Prints of the collection will be available for purchase and special order. And of course, all are welcomed!

For more information please email zizakay10@yahoo.com.

We Gathered and Opened the Flower

2009-05-09T14:27:00.002-04:00

This narrative and photographs are from the Open Flower: Exploring Pregnancy Through Art transformative art workshop held on May 8, 2009 at the East Shore YMCA in Harrisburg, PA.

As mothers and mothers-to-be we gathered to open the platform to share our personal truths. We talked and we talked. Tangents interwove the stories of our traumas, our triumphs and our fears; those things our mamas didn't tell us. Of course, unresolved fears and burdens surfaced, instilled in us from our mothers that we now involuntarily carry. By speaking our stories out loud, we released the prayers for healing, comforted by our togetherness and strengthened by our commonalities. Then we created.

The mother-to-be drew the memory of a run she ran with her husband before she was pregnant. 18 miles through forest that led to a green sun drenched valley. The last two miles of the run was a steady mountainous incline. Triumph, the star, waited at the top. In the picture, she sits in the valley, open and ready for birth peering at the star. The labor, the last two miles, is the hardest, but she knows the star is there, because she had it before. The star is the baby waiting on the other side.

Another channeled a red claylike woman on all fours, clutching the ground, surrounded by green foliage, baring down, giving birth to earth "in her preferred position".

And the spiral surfaced again, an ancient feminine birth archetype, symbolic of life's journey. Purple and red were purposefully chosen, yellow defining light and red dots mark the blood.

In the corner, mama-to-be got her sacred round belly casted, to celebrate and honor her pregnancy, she is due any moment now. A token was given, a sacred space was gifted, a nest, a place to lay what needs to be put up or put down.

For more information about Spring 09 Transformative Art Workshop Series, check out archives for workshops information and schedules.

Harrisburg Transformative Art Spring Workshop Series Schedule

2009-04-27T02:10:00.006-04:00

Definition of Transformative Art

As defined by the Center for Transformative Art… "At the core of every transformative art experience is a hands-on, art-making project that is designed to invite a deeper dialogue around the topic or theme being explored. A holistic sequence of supporting activities surrounds the art making component. No previous art experience is required. Transformative art engages the creative process as a tool for change, providing a 'point of access' to greater self-awareness. This awareness creates an opportunity for transformation."

These photos were taken by Zachary Barnes at the Birth Without Boundaries Birth Art Project Workshop at the East Shore YMCA in 2008.

The Workshops...

Open Flower: Exploring Pregnancy Through Art

This workshop is for pregnant mamas and women who love the birth experience. Art making and writing are the tools to celebrate and honor the states of pregnancy and birth. Included is a bellycast making demonstration and bellycasting kits will be available for purchase.

Friday, May 8^th, 7 to 9 pm and/or
Friday, May 29^th, 7 to 9 pm
Fee: $20.00 per workshop

The Feminine Spiral

A mixed media workshop exploring the theme the feminine nature of creativity. Based in the principles of serendipity and spontaneity, participants will thematically explore an agreed group theme while celebrating the woman's thought process. As a collaborative workshop, participants will be encouraged to work with others in their art making, so you can bring a partner. The workshop includes discussion, drawing, writing and painting.

Monday, May 11^th, 7 to 9 pm
Fee: $20.00

Spirit Painting

This workshop will, first, guide you in acknowledging your elemental archetype, then use art making to express the "inner you". Are you the great mother, the shadow, the child, the scapegoat, the sage, the sacrificial lamb, the shape shifter, trickster or the shadow? After a guided discussion of contemporary archetypes, then an art making demonstration, we will have a guided meditation to open our creative selves. That is when the magic happens and we will create representations of our personal discovery on paper and optional canvas.

Sunday, May 31^st, 2 to 5 pm
Fee: $20.00

Youth Mask Making Workshop

Youth, ages 7 and up, will make molds of their faces to paint and adorn. This is an awesome interactive parent/child activity! The mask is made with a non-toxic plaster fabric which is directly applied to the skin. As a tactile and tangible self representation, the mask intimately raises self perception and awareness. Participants will use acrylic paints and other embellishments to adorn the masks. All materials provided.

Sunday, June 7th, 2 to 5 pm
Fee: $20.00

$35.00 for two siblings

$45.00 for three siblings

General (but important) Information about the Workshop Series

By using outsider & expressive art techniques, thematic & directed discussion and writing; prepare for a journey of self exploration. No artistic experience is necessary. We focus on the process rather than the product. We will use acrylic paints, drawing and other mixed media applications. Workshop class sizes are limited so preregistration is required. At the workshop, you will have the option to purchase canvases and other supplies for your art making. However, all needed supplies are provided. Must wear comfortable paint clothes.

All workshops will be held at the East Shore YMCA, 701 North Front Street, Harrisburg.

To register email paintedmother@gmail.com

Scardy Cat Scardy Cat

2009-04-11T15:18:00.007-04:00

Where to from here? A master artist knows when to stop. A painting can be worked and reworked so many times that in the end, you could've had five completed works. Knowing when to stop separates the girls from the women. Realizing the punctuating point when the work is a complete vernacular sentence, is in itself, an art. Finish the work, then, work out the questions on the next one. This is how a body of work is formed.

On the flip side, an incomplete work can masquerade with a signature (I don't sign my work until it's done) tantalizing with marauding jeers, "scardy cat, scardy cat" constantly reminding me of my hesitation and a fear of making another mark. Indecisiveness can be a handicap in painting.

A few of the paintings I am working on have presented this exact scenario. I have reached a point where I am afraid to put on more paint. I want to push it though, take it to the next without the hesitation. But in order to get there, I have to conjure the courage to move into the unfamiliar against my own artistic comfort zone. After all, nothing great is ever accomplished in life without sacrifice, hard work and extreme risk. The same applies to painting.

This painting, "Sanctity", has bothered me for some time. The muteness of the color is an unusual palette for me. And the "weight" of the text is too light, appearing ungrounded. The challenge is working out the painting's issues without comprising the wholeness of the work and/or losing the elements that do work.

Perhaps, in the application of technique, I am a conservative artist. My artistic evolution depends on how many generations of paintings I produce. I might paint 10 paintings using the same technique before I move onto something new. Each painting flows into the next connecting subject, color, line, shape, material or composition. Much like notes in a musical composition the body harmonizes rhythmatically, singing its message.

Sometimes the work mutates and I love those break beats! The painting below is a departure from the norm. Sporadically, I have been working on this work for the past three months. The rectangular shape of the canvas is different from what I normally work on. It also has loads of iridescent copper and gold. Since they read as neutrals, taking on the characteristics of adjacent colors, color balance becomes so sensitive. I am trying to decide if I need to bring it back home, to my natural order or if I should let it go and stream with its awkwardness (like that awkward yellow and green at the base of the figure). If I go-with-the-flow, where new discoveries lie, daring to sail into the horizon and make a decision - even though I may not like it at first - I can learn something.

The vernacular of my work is growing. I feel like the technique and style I have been exploring for the past three years is reaching its full fruition. This, in turn, adds value to the work itself. When I internalize this feeling of completion, I will begin to plant new seeds from its blooming flowers, marking the end of a cycle. I will have a new freedom of direction where my work will move into the new frontier.

These works are my works-in-progress if you are interested in seeing the final works…send me a message on Facebook or email natakibhatti@comcast.net. Most likely, these works will be a part of my upcoming shows. If you are interested in purchasing, you can do so before they are showcased, convo me and we can begin the discussion. These pieces are pretty large and more expensive, but I am considering making prints so the spirit of the work is available to all. In the past, I have been an anti-print purist, now I am rethinking making prints or posters so the work is accessible to all. Maybe that is a topic for the next blog entry...art for the masses. What do you think?

The Mask We Were

2009-04-08T03:43:00.012-04:00

As a community artist and educator, I facilitate classes and workshops for youth and adults in various settings. Today, I instructed a weekly art class at a local daycare center as part of their initiative to expose their afterschool students to different nontraditional art making.

Presently, we are creating masks, a direct mold of the face. The pictures feature our works in progress. We make the mold, then paint and embellish the masks. Most students can't wait for the paint to dry before putting them on their faces. This is such a rewarding activity. For the first time, students can see a three dimensional replication of their face. We can only view ourselves in two dimensions…a photograph or a reflection in the mirror. With a mask, we really see ourselves; can touch the curve of a forehead; explore the slope of a nose; realize that full lips fit perfectly on a symmetrical face.

These masks really tell a story. They communicate the student's personality and sometimes thoughts/feeling unbeknownst to themselves. When looking at these masks, I challenge you to try to understand what the student is really saying. Look at what is emphasized and how. What colors express emotion and why? Through questions like these we can get under the mask.

My mask making journey began as a child. Every year, my mother would make masks of our faces and my brother and I would decorate them for our Halloween costumes. When working with youth, I always share the option of making masks for special occasions like Halloween or even as a bonding process – it is something parents and children can do together rather inexpensively without any artistic experience.

With other groups, the mask can be a powerful metaphor. With two sides, the inner and outer, discussions about identity and perception can prompt personal awareness and development. I have taken this approach with teenaged girls and invariably issues rise to the surface, which can be purged. Transformatively, one can separate the "put on" face from what lies beneath.

For more information or pics of other projects I have led, feel free to check out MySpace photo album. Or if you would like to schedule a workshop/class in your area…convo me.

The Codices: Metaphor, Archetypes and Symbolism

2009-04-03T04:09:00.007-04:00

My former college professor, Santa Barraza, a renowned Chicana painter, introduced me to the concept of the codices. Used as a descriptive code in her paintings, she likened systematic symbology to the Ancient Mayan hieroglyphs. Her use of symbols in her paintings and murals affirmed and awakened the deep metaphors within myself. Years ago, I explored my personal codices by creating trancelike shapes and lines in sketches and journals. It reminded me of those secret alphabets children would make by assigning numbers to letters. My codices was forced, I didn't need to try so hard.

Sometimes I complain, "It's all the same, I keep painting the same thing over and over". I could paint 100 paintings, although to the viewer they look different, they are the same to me. Every time I try something different, I always go home to the root of it.

The symbolism in my work is common in an indigenous experience. The lens in which I view my experience and perception is intuitive. Its language is the codices. Often, meanings are revealed years after I've completed a work. I am learning how to articulate my work. Yes, I have a sound theoretical background in African/Indigenous aesthetic, a focused and tenacious purpose and passion towards a clear vision…but in the same way that the average member of a culture, lives and experiences a culture, without being able to break it down in scholarly terms, I live my art. So sometimes "she" happens without my intellectual awareness, but I am subconsciously aware of "her" existence and honor "her" despite not knowing her name. Just as I honor my African and Native American ancestors whose faces and names I will never know. But everyday, I experience our collective memory engrained in our DNA and spirit.

The figures in my work often express various humanistic elements which epitomize the cruxes of my "split" personalities. I was raised within a matriarchal family where the women were unapologetically joyous, irate, angry, vigilant, expressive and sometimes judgmental. Most of all, strong. The raw emotion my mother, aunties and grandparents exuberated often left me confused, sometimes hurt, but mostly empowered. I experienced, hands on, the dichotomies of being a strong-black-woman. In a standard portrait, I attempt convey a feeling, one of the many I recognized within ourselves. Breaking it down within a simplistic framework, so I can better understand its power. With this, I hope the viewer can recognize, consciously or subconsciously, the common archetype that transcends time and theory. I am a soothsayer, a griot, chronicling our emotions, affirming our collective behavioral intelligence. Honoring our wisdoms within the emotion.

The use of metaphor in language and visual art is the key to transformative power. I liken them to "shortcuts" in the same way a poem can elementally express what would otherwise be written in a lengthy book, in just a few words. In my paintings, figures, color, symbols, motifs, texts and shapes compose layers of meanings, the syllabary, articulating the codices. What is a circle? A circle is an eye, a dot, a sun, an embryo, the earth, a beginning, a hole, a cell, an evolution, a period, a person, a thought, a universe…all of it, in an instance.

The Birth Work

2008-12-08T00:24:00.007-05:00

I want to send it out to the universe...thank you Mama! And thank you mamas for all the ways you have encouraged, lovingly guided and directed me. Thank you to my mother who lived a life conquering fear and going far beyond the ceiling. Thank you to Salem for teaching me that having a baby was giving birth. Thank you to my midwives, Kathleen Nishida, Salem and Mary McClaine for dancing about me while I did two homebirths. Thank you to Birth Without Boundaries (http://www.birthwithoutboundaries.com) community for offering support despite the river. And thank you to all my women friends for being about the business and art of life and sisterhood.

One of my passions is the birth work. Part of my community work involves using birth art to serve mothers and women to connect with their innerselves and intuition. It's been a long journey to get to a place where I can honor the womb, menstruation and motherhood. I still have far to go, too much to learn and more work to do.

The roles we assume as individuals in our self and global communities leads us to compartmentalize who we are. There's Nataki the artist. Nataki the mother. Nataki the organizer. Nataki the worker. Once I was fansinated by the condition of the split personality and mused that my many roles were a product of some inner split. What a wonderful time we live in where the holism of the being has room for the interrelatedness of our dynamic personalities and genetic character. As I grow and grow older, it is all coming together...a focal point small in the distance but all consuming as you near it.

I was blessed to present in October at the 6th annual Black Midwives Conference in Harlem, New York, Open Flower; Using Birth Art to Evoke the Intuitive Connection. The conference was amazing. I could only stay for one day but even in those few hours, just being in the presence of those powerful women greatly impacted me. I was so focused on preparing for my workshop that I didn't get a chance to take many pics. I did get a picture with Shafia Monroe, the founder for the International Center for Traditional Childbearing (http://www.blackmidwives.org). I was in awe in the presence of these women! I felt like all my ancestral grandmothers were in the room speaking to me, I had to listen. It was such a safe place like being home in the vernacular South.

As part of the workshop, I did a bellycast demonstration to show doulas and midwives how to make a bellycast. A bellycast is more than a mold of a woman's body. So much can be gained from the process. This is the kind of "art" reclaiming those old ways, the woman's hands, putting the earth into it, making it and putting it back. The woman who modeled for me was so grateful it touched me. And the participants in the workshop, I think, got what I was trying to share...one of the comments left on an evaluation was "paradigm shifting". The art is more than what you see on the wall! Art on the wall is like looking at some assembled dinosaur bones in a museum, it's already dead and we fathom the life of it.

I facilitate workshops often. If you would like to learn more about birth art or bellycasts check out http://www.myspace.com/birthartproject.

Knotted Up

2008-11-24T01:03:00.017-05:00

This pink, purple and violet hat is for a little girl and is made with 100% natural virgin wool. The ear flaps feature cute flowers. Simple knots, charming character and definitely warm. I haven't used a lot of natural fibers in the past for crocheting because it would make my price points too high. The babies are worth it though. The circumference at the rim is about 18 inches. Fits my three year old son, my model and dress form, just perfectly.
This is a luxuriously light blue soft hooded cowl with a matching hat. Well, the neck isn't one continuous piece, it has one end that is long that can be looped through an opening for a secure fit. It flares out slightly around the neck so you can tuck it into your coat. The hat is a beanie close fit.

This is a super thick crocheted beanie. This is a half of a pound of blended durable acrylic yarn. Looks like knit, right? It also has a different pattern on the reverse side, very flexible and one size fits most.

SOLD! This is one of my new signature styles. I designed this for folks with big hair or locks where hats are cumbersome to wear. The top has an opening where you can pull your hair through and the tie help to secure both your hair and hat in place, almost like a ponytail holder.

Winter compels me to crochet warm things. Something about the productivity of creating lots of hats and using my hands to make something useful really fulfills me. I am developing new styles and I approach crochet like I do any other artistic form where I must develop a "body" of work to explore the idea, concept, technique, etc. Something as simple as a crochet hat presents challenges. I have mastered creating the "dome" shape that emulates the shape of our head. My next challenge is creating different textures with the pattern of the crochet and knots themselves. I am moving away from highly contrasting blends unusual color combinations to using all of my knowledge, combined with my fine art background, to integrate a certain level of artistry into each design. I have to push myself to achieve this, take a risk. You know, I must have crocheted 500 hats, same style and shape, before I moved into another style. I wanted to mass produced, now I am more interested in quality than quantity.

...Exhibition

2008-09-29T13:43:00.001-04:00

September 27 is the my mother’s, F. Diane McNeal, birthday. I knew it would be a special day. In the hustle of the day, I didn’t get a moment to dedicate and think about her, until now, as I write this. I had an art opening at Arthouse Lounge, a new fine art gallery in downtown Harrisburg. It rained; a cold and dreary day. I had some paintings and a small table of my crafty wares; folks were amazed about how much I produce. I work hard. Every waking moment has to be an investment in my family or future. Art and creating is where it means the most; second, to my family of course. I was raised to produce. My life is all about production...create with these weaver’s hands I inherited from my mother. Big un manicured hands, calloused and aged (my hands look older than me) meant to do the work of a woman. My mother had beautiful hands. When she passed, I remember holding on to them, feeling the texture and roughness of the lines and creases. I kept staring at them, placing them on her chest, then on her stomach. She couldn’t keep her hands beautified either, nail polish always got scraped off from working. Those hands were powerful.

Blessings come in many forms. I have released my artist arrogance and opened myself to new possibilities. My purpose in doing shows is to establish and institute my mother's legacy and my artistic heritage. I believe and know the importance of the work my mother created. I understand the spirit and passion it holds and the elements she represents. Her work is our American culture, and further, her work speaks an important message. In order to institute her, I have to establish myself in honor of her legacy. This isn’t my only motivation, but it is central to the recent push to participate in mainstream art industry. I don’t exhibit to sell out, although that would be awesome. In terms of the show’s success, I can’t measure the value of those who came to support me because they have faith in me and my vision.

The women gathered. So many of my artist creative friends showed out! There was a steady influx of friends that came from close and far away. Authentic and lovingly, we talked and laughed among the works of amazing artists. I would name drop, but I am probably infringing on some privacy by posting these pics.

...Too many Green Paintings

2008-09-20T01:41:00.000-04:00

This is my latest acrylic painting (without the text) called the "Intiate" (22" x 28"). This is the second time I am painting this guy. The first time, he didn't say want he needed to say right. I am working on five paintings at once, this is the first of the batch that is finished. Painting five paintings at one time is good when you always need to do something and can't wait for paint to dry...just move on to the next. Your palette dominates each painting, though, which lends itself to a cohesive series. The green in the Intitiate contrasts nicely with the gold background. You know, there is no way to really see the glimmer and magic of these colors in a pic because it changes depending on the direction of the light.

I have a show on Saturday and decided to use this painting to promote the show on myspace and emails. (Got to shamelessly self promote.) I discovered I really like my paintings with text. Ahhh...a new direction. I am going to investigate printing posters. I always loved the poster, reminds me of my youth decor in the college dorms and my teenage bedroom - wall to wall clashing images of all the art, people and things I honored. I wish I still had them. Any rate, what do you think? What do the people want Posters or Paintings?

The Black Canvas

2008-09-20T01:08:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to start this blog for months now. Like the four foot by four foot black canvas leaning on the wall, I stare, wanting it to be finished. The beginning is always hard, almost painful. There's too much friction when beginning a work. Layering of colors and thoughts, sometimes random, sometimes provoked, pulls at a necessity within me. Really it is more of an urgency...get that canvas painted, Nataki. Got to catch the thought and intention like catching the wave to shore. If you miss it, you're out at sea paddling for days. I was out paddling, undirected, trying to figure out how to begin. What do I want to share? What should I share?

The canvas is black. You know, black has a property of absorbing light. There is no illusion or preconception. Black canvas taking it all in. It's already done, the image is there. The intent is already there...tell it like it is in the moment. Key words: honest, real, raw, artistry, elemental, soultalk.

So here we go...