StoryCorps

StoryCorps is a place where people share a conversation. They started 15 years ago with 2 traveling Airstreams set up as mini-recording studios along with a main site in New York. You could book a one-hour time slot for 2 people, and you interviewed the other person. Each conversation has been archived in The Library of Congress.

When they came to Houston back then, I booked time so I could interview my mother about the racism in Waco TX during the 1920s and ‘30s. She was a kid, and her father, a little man, stood on a rock wall and talked down a Lynch mob. Being a little kid, she didn’t understand what was going on at the time. But she did remember her mother telling her to lie down on the floorboards of the car while it was going on. If you don’t know the history of Waco back then, it was ugly. Not only were Black people lynched in public, they were often burned as well so their family wouldn’t even have a body to grieve over.

I also wanted her to talk about our time in Georgetown TX during the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Dad was Superintendent of Schools, and she was a teacher. Georgetown is the home of Southwestern University, the school both my parents graduated from, and they were thrilled to go back to that town with a small daughter and (soon) another on the way.

Georgetown was also known for its large KKK contingent at the time. Integration was not going to come easily to this town with hardcore white beliefs, even though it had a liberal arts college. Mom and Dad were there for 15 years when Dad drew a line in the sand that he was not willing to cross. The School Board refused to ratify his plan for integration of the schools, didn’t renew his contract, and our lives were upended. I wanted Mom to talk about this, but she glossed over it, refusing to remember when, once again, her hometown was out for blood.

Fast forward to today. StoryCorps promotes #TalkingTuesday. What’s a major obstacle that you’ve faced over the course of your life?

Happy Birthday to Paprika Pi!

Where DOES the time go! It was just yesterday, wasn’t it, that it was a hot July afternoon when I was trying to figure out a name for my little business. Really hot! Pepper hot! Paprika hot (okay, so maybe paprika isn’t real hot, but work with me for a minute).

It’s hard to come up with a name for a business or a product and probably, even for a kid. In years past, we’d sit around the conference table trying to think of new names for unique medical devices. Thank goodness we only ever used real names; none of that crazy naming lexicon found in Big Pharma. Escort, Prism, stuff like that. All good.

So here I was, trying to figure out what to name this new little company of mine where I was making stuff from polymer clay. First I focused on little scissor fobs, cute little dangles for your needlepoint scissors. Each one told a story. It was fun! But I still needed a name so I could be official, file a DBA, sell things, collect taxes, have business cards.

Paprika was a good start, but not enough. And then - it was like a sign - July 22nd is also known as Pi Approximation Day. And the day when I was worrying this to death was (of course) July 22nd. That was it! Paprika Pi. I loved it!

So happy Pi Approximation Day to everyone, and Happy Birthday PaprikaPi to us!

What's the Conversation Around Your Dinner Table?

Black Churches in Texas: A Guide to Historic Congregations by Clyde McQueen (2000)

The centuries long history of the US has been replete with racial bias and discrimination. Conversations between Black people and white people about this topic doesn’t really happen very often. In fact, I’ve been called out in the group for saying that I have Black friends, as if I might have only one or two, therefore I am not a racist (because that’s the typical white argument). The truth is that I DO have Black friends. But I haven’t had the same conversations with them as I do with the Black women in The Gathering. Why not?

One woman in the group who I have come to adore said that every time they and their friends have a meal together, they discuss how to keep their sons safe. Every time.

When Clyde McQueen, a Black man who graduated from Prairie View University, found he needed a place to eat lunch while driving his agriculture route around Central Texas, he knew he’d find safe haven under the trees in the parking lot of a Black church. Year after year, Clyde drove same route but the churches weren’t the same. Some of them were gone - burned, fell down, closed, sold. Clyde realized he needed to memorialize these Texas landmarks, so he and his wife began a years’ long mission of documentation. The result is the book “Black Churches in Texas: A Guide to Historic Congregations” published in 2000 by Texas A&M University Press. Clyde and Connie were incredible people: she was a teacher and a friend of my mother’s. In fact, my mother thought of Connie as her sister. I learned a lot from them, and that’s the subject for another time.

I know Clyde and Connie had those dinner conversations, and I know their sons were kept safe because of them. But I know they suffered racial injustice. Otherwise, why would a man need to eat his lunch in a parking lot every day of his working career?

Black Lives Matter. Have that conversation around your table this week. Ask the question, “Have you ever worried that your son would be stopped by the police, dragged out of the car, thrown to the ground, and…and…”

The Gathering - Uncomfortable Conversations in an Uncomfortable Time

The year 2020 was one that was filled with fear. George Floyd was murdered May 25, 2020.   

People rose up in protest against police brutality against Black people & inequality between how Blacks and whites are treated. I saw in the knitting world that there was an attempt to battle racism. Different businesses were attaching position statements of inclusion to their websites. I couldn’t figure out why nothing was being said in the polymer clay world. It was just crickets.

Cynthia Tinapple set up an interview with Debbie Jackson, a well-known Black polymer clay artist. Their video is powerful, gut wrenching and reminds us how racial issues impact all of us in a visceral way.

Debbie said we must do something, so she put together a group of Black and white polymer clay artists and we began a conversation. Many conversations. In fact, we’ve been meeting every 2 weeks for a year.

So today, July 15, 2021, marks the one-year anniversary of The Gathering.

Who Are We?

We came together seeking answers and a safe place. We call ourselves “The Gathering”. And as a group of 14 women - 7 Black and 7 white, living in different states and varied community types from cities to rural areas, we have commonalities. We all work with polymer clay, but most of us also work in other mediums including fiber, mosaic, murals, paint, ceramics, precious metals, writing, and printing. We are a varied group with wide interests. We are passionate, and we are artists.

What Are We Doing?

*When (mostly) strangers come together through shared values, interests and desires that result in a deeper understanding of each other, we all grow. And we hopefully develop lasting friendships.

The relentless racism that still infects America is growing. Our group’s attempt to listen to other voices will culminate in October with a collaborative art exhibit revolving around words. WORDS. Because words matter. How we use them, to whom we direct them, where they go, and the effect they have matter.

So a group art show of Black women and white women, each speaking their truth in consideration of the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement will shed light on the revolution of our group and the evolution of each one of us.

We strive for a celebration of love and persistence from our collective hearts and souls for a better tomorrow through the arts, conversation and new friendship.

It’s a start.

The Gathering 2021

Wow...It's Already January

Time is like a roll of potty paper. When you are young, the roll is brand new and it takes a long time for the end to make one go-around. As you get older, the roll gets smaller, and it goes faster. I feel like 2019 was zipping around and around! And it was fun!

My piece called “Elemental” - the one that was juried into a show the year before - has gone to its permanent home as a museum piece in a gallery called Creative Journeys, located in Milton GA.

I really enjoyed last year’s success with the flowers. They are now available in a gallery in Round Top TX called The Copper Shade Tree. This is a delightful gallery that highlights Texas artists. I am so honored to be included.

With several trips to Santa Fe NM under my belt, I realized that Cholla (that’s a cactus) was a good vehicle for my flowers. So I’m pushing that venue in 2020. We’ll see what turns up. The flowers continue to make me happy.

Flowers

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After the Rain

Earrings and Posies

Back in April, I was asked to exhibit for a big fund-raising luncheon. I agreed, recruited 3 other artists and got busy making earrings using a fabulous technique by Nikolina Ortzan. To my dismay, either the attendees weren’t interested in unique jewelry or they just didn’t like mine. Either way, I ended up with a wonderful collection of earrings that I loved making and that I love wearing.

I decided to share them at a recent event in Portland OR, and several pairs went to new homes. That rejuvenated me, and I’ve decided to share the rest of them, so they are now posted for sale.

Lately, flowers have been appearing in my studio. Using techniques learned from Carol Simmons and polymer clay canes from Ivy Niles (IKandiClay), I’ve been making flowers like crazy. With the summer heat in Texas, how can you not like looking at all of these cool flowers! Posies, we call them!

And, as my mom always said, “Stand up straight and don’t shuffle!”.

Stay cool; it’s hot out there.

j

Earrings - Finished and Raw

Posies Everywhere!

Life Is Short

Welcome to my space. Life is short, so I create. Paprika Pi has been around for 6 years now, so welcome to the Pi Hole!

Paprika Pi is devoted to fun and frivolity, to living for today. We howl at the moon, run through mud puddles, are brazen. That's why the studio is called the Pi Hole. In public, it's Whole Pi. You can choose whichever you want. I know which one I like.

Please take a look. If you like what you see, thank you. And remember, stand up straight and don't shuffle.