While covering Miami Art Week / Art Basel for Société Perrier this week, I had the opportunity to receive my destiny from performance artist David Rohn at the SCOPE Miami art show. For a second, I flash-backed to the movie BIG and the Zoltar fortune teller machine – would I magically turn into a 13 year-old if I gave a dollar to his Amazing Ultran booth? Not likely, but still I was intrigued enough to wait in the line for my turn. As The Amazing Ultran, David only “turns” on when you slide a $1 bill into the slot. The booth lights up, and he looks into your eyes for a few seconds and then proceeds to write your destiny by hand.

Here is what he had to say after looking at me:

and welcome,

A willing and enthusiastic heart, a soul so ready to participate in a great reminder that even in these difficult times, that fresh attitudes and pure energies can help to restore faith.
In your willingness to be of service, do not forget to look after your own needs. A pilot light can only ignite other fires until it is itself extinguished.
In the evening, or morning if you prefer, sit quietly and close your eyes. Listen to your heart, hear your own needs. Selflessness is magnificent but the soul must be nourished and replenished too.

While it may not be my destiny per se, these words were definitely needed to help shape it. See you next year Miami.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to meet and interview with NYC-based hip-hop duo Das Racist and their crew at Blind Barber here in New York City. Known for their left-of-center approach to just about everything including their music, the conversation quickly began with new projects and ended with all of us having brown people stories. Nonetheless, my peeps at SocietePerrier.com loved the video and over 12K views later it’s one of the site’s top pieces of content. Watch it here.

To say that 2011 has been busy would be an understatement, but you would never know it from my replies to “so what’s new?” Generally I respond with “it’s going great” but steer the conversation into the next topic. It’s not that I’m shy, it’s that most of my work this year has revolved around brand strategy, research and campaign creative development—ie, I’ve signed a few NDAs in the last 5 months. I’m still producing some fab projects (with a video and 2 shoots to debut soon) but I’ve definitely focused more this year on the more cerebral aspect of creativity…too bad I can’t tell you all about it.

An NDA, also known as a Non-Disclosure Agreement is a protective agreement basically prohibiting one person from disclosing the specifics of their work to the public. It’s a must-have for any business person, especially us creatives since we deal in the business of ideas. For freelancers, it’s pretty routine—but what happens when the work you are doing is kinda awesome? Generally, I’m pretty private when it comes to my clients out of respect, and appreciate the document as long as my ideas are protected as well.

So yes, it’s been a good year so far. Busy! Great! But just don’t ask me too much about it

Noted urban culture critic Michaela angela Davis and legendary poet and author Ntozake Shange recently sat down for a discussion of Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuff, it’s adaptation into the film For Colored Girls, black feminism and plenty more recently at The Brooklyn Museum in New York. With an audience comprised mostly of women of color from 18-60+, the two women shared candid thoughts on Tyler Perry, Egypt, and issues that are facing black women and girls today without going all “angry/sad black women/gripe session” on us. It’s humorous, frank, refreshing and real. It’s a lengthy talk, but a nice way start to a slow Valentine’s Day morning. After all, we gotta love ourselves before we start giving it away to anyone else.

Am I the only one who want’s to go to Ntozake’s house for dinner now? Not only did her for colored girls and Cypress, Sassafras & Indigo inspire me plenty, but she’s also like your funny aunt that you can tell all of your bedroom business to. See what I mean and peep the conversation plus an inspiring audience q&a over at my other home, ParlourMagazine.com

Standing for almost 1.5 hours manning a Canon 7D is great….just wear comfy shoes.

Seeing your work on TV = awesome.
Seeing your work on a huge screen in Times Square, New York City = amazing.
Yes, I danced like an idiot when I saw it…shout out to the couple from Minnesota who joined me.

See the full spot here.

Happy New Year! I would have been around these parts sooner, however I’ve been busy—which is always good. Upon returning from El Salvador, where I spent the holidays, I fell into four great gigs that have kept me on my toes, and also have served as great lessons for me as a freelancer. Notably, to get what you are worth.

Sometimes in order to keep the boat steady, we tend to undercut ourselves. And as a woman, I’ve noticed that we tend to do it way more than men. I’ve long moved on from that and have embraced my worth, but it seems that I hear more and more creatives ranting about the “work for free/chips” gig gone awry. Last week, Berman Fenelus sent me this awesome flow chart that is a great guide for anyone faced with the “free” question. Click to see the full size.

Overall, when you know how much your talent and work is worth, the decision to accept free work becomes much easier. I’m always open to pro-bono work for causes that I support, or to help friends out who deserve it, or if I have the chance to work with say…Milton Glaser, but for the most part—no. Funny enough, I recently had a longtime acquaintance give me the “exposure” line, so I sent a kind note with a link to my work, explaining that I can’t accept the job based on exposure (dude, I have a commercial playing in Times Square!). But really, I should have just sent this back to them  :

Black Swan X Showgirls Trailer

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Black Swan (2010) Trailer

How excited am I today? I just unrolled over 3 tubes worth of my block & silkscreen prints from my college days after thinking that they were lost to the cross-country moving gods. Above is a picture of me in school, cutting stencils for one of the many pieces created at 4am. Whew! I’m not going to post what I found just yet, as they need to me properly framed now, but after going through about 8 Cuban movie posters, 2 original Bollywood prints from India and other gems in my archives, I am realizing that I need NOT to buy any more art. Check back soon!

Fast forward 10+ years later, I still find myself turning to this album when I need to push through an all-night session, spontaneous dance breaks included. it’s no surprise that my Rimmel and Friday Night Heights were all conceived to this album. Check out my favorite tracks below:

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I’ve always had an interest in designing furniture, and while I have not had the time to actually pursue that goal, I will just settle for assembling my dream pieces for my dream home. Enter the Hopeless Diamond sofa, designed by Christopher Stuart of LUUR studio.

Apparently, the piece gets its name from the base of it’s designed, inspired by the F-117 stealth aircraft, also known as the Hopeless Diamond. It’s beauty and brawn, using materials that can be found at any local hardware store like copper plumbing pipe, shipping blankets, zip ties, and carpet padding.

Seen over at Contemporist