I started the year as most do—ambitious, bright-eyed, and ready to get to work. Though well intentioned, I quickly remembered that the world’s flow just doesn’t align with my own—and that’s OK. My intentionally slow January gave way to a slightly more active February. I figured that by March, I’d be ready to pick up […]

Blessed Lunar New Year and Happy Black History Month, friends! January was a long year, but we’ve made it. 2022 is off to an interesting start. We’re STILL pandemic-ing, we’ve already experienced several heartbreaking losses, and Rihanna just broke the internet with a pregnancy announcement. Still, much like the start of 2020, there seems to […]

October was a beautiful, eventful, often stressful whirlwind. There were so many times that I could have shrunken myself, checked out, or threw the towel in. Instead, I chose over and over to get out of my own way, and show up. First, I (finally) had my art show, Restorative Joy: Recollecting Black Innocence. After […]

This past week was the 2nd anniversary of my most special project to date—the Amazing Grace Breezeway Project. Essentially, I was the recipient of a competitive grant to complete a community beautification project with neighbors in Baltimore City. I won’t go too deeply into the details, but if you are unfamiliar with the project, you […]

Today makes a whole year since I said goodbye to my full-time corporate job—WOW. All I can really say is THANK YOU. Thanks to God for the divine provision that he promised and fulfilled. Thanks to my amazing husband for encouraging me and being an outstanding partner. Thanks to my family and friends who never […]

They say “the creative adult is the child that survived.” Have you ever just sat and watched children play? They’re virtually fearless, unapologetically curious, and effortlessly creative—I LOVE THAT FOR THEM! But somehow as adults, we seem to forget the delight we had as children playing. Since having my daughter in March, I’ve spent much […]

It’s Black HERStory month, and that means much for many and not so much for others–for varying reasons. Let’s choose to focus on both sides, since Black History is literally made everyday, and also because our history-making ways deserve to be celebrated for a lifetime, not simply a month. In 2017, I started a painting […]

We finally made it to 2021. Although the first week was a hell of a ride, I refuse to call this year ‘2020 with a wig,’ ‘2020 won,’ or anything else that might encourage me to stay in the energy of 2020. It’s over. We’re in a new year with new opportunities. In the words […]

I grew up with little love for my first name. Nobody– not family, not friends, not even teachers called me by my first name. And when they did, I was quick to correct them. “Oh, I actually go by Wande.” I knew that Yewande, my Yoruba name meant, “mother has returned,” and have carried that […]

2020 has been a doozy, but I refuse to believe that it is all bad. If anything, 2020 has taught us to value the people, places and things that truly matter. It has also brought a lot of “gunk” to the surface regarding relationships, lifestyles, habits and thought patterns by forcing us to slow down […]