ETERNAL Is NOW
Well first things first, I’m grateful to be alive in 2026. Not only am I grateful to be alive, I’m grateful to feel alive. I’m grateful to feel proud of myself. Pride (reasonable self-esteem, confidence and satisfaction in oneself) for me comes after doing what I said I would do. I said I would make a full length project in 2025 and I did. I also wanted to release said project in 2025 and although I didn’t do that, I did manage to release 4 singles. BREAKOUT, CLOVERDALE, THE MESSAGE and BLUE MOON. I feel good about that. However, that’s also where grace comes in. I have been dealing with a heap of internal conflict around how to talk about what’s happening within me when there’s so much heavy shit happening in the world. How much do I talk about how THOSE things are affecting me? Are they affecting me enough for me to qualify as a good person? Am I selfish because I’m thinking about myself, my husband, my family, friends and community far more than I’m thinking about victims of genocide? Possibly. I’m still processing all of this because the bills must be paid, the art must be released and I’m still learning how to manage my impulses and not end up receiving information I’m not ready to process just because it’s happening.
Anywho, 2025, for me came with a load of existential crisis, spiritual release, mental stress with physical consequences, renewed clarity, faith and a sexy ass body of work that addresses all of it. Being an artist and a lover of art reminds me of the importance of using your word, paint brush, body, sound and cloth to share the beauty and terror you know how to interpret within your medium. It makes the meaningless feel meaningful and the insurmountable measurable.
I’m always reminded that Toni Cade Bambara said that “Art makes Revolution Irresistible”.
Artists offer possibilities for our imaginations to hold, dream on and realize together. So this art I am offering you this year is called ETERNAL because I want us to hold in our imaginations the possibility that we can live forever through our works, our love and our planted seeds.
One more quote. Stevie Wonderful said
“As now can't reveal the mystery of tomorrow
But in passing will grow older every day
Just as all that's born is new
You know what I say is true
That I'll be loving you always”
And this is the forever I think of when ETERNAL says,”I wanna live, I wanna live forever”. I want to earn a benevolent star in the sky that is admired long after my body is laid to rest or set ablaze. I want to be an ancestor beloved, venerated and quoted. I want to live through my mark on the land and on the virtual motherboard. ETERNAL.