Illustrations/ Whimsical

The first poem is called "Plight of the Corporate Male." I don't know much about the corporate male perspective, being as I am a woman, and not too corporate at that. The "plight" is something that surfaced although I am not sure if corporate men feel there is a plight, but that is how the poem revealed itself to me. So I went with it. The paintings came after the poem as visual representation.

"Plight of the Corporate Male" is about the four directions, North, East, South and West, and the tribes that come from the four directions. My poem was partially inspired by the Lakota (Sioux) legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman and partially inspired by present day corporate culture. At the heart of the poem is the idea that none of the tribes are talking to each other; they are all operating autonomously, yet they have the same values and struggles within corporate culture and lifestyle.

If you were to connect all four paintings, the white half-circles make full circles. It opens up the idea that these circles, when put together, connect all tribes, all peoples, all directions.

"Plight of the Corporate Male"

The second narrative poem is called "The Power of It." It came to me the same way that the other one did. I just woke up one day, and it was in my head so I wrote it down. Then I created a painting of the image that imbues the narrative of "The Power of It."

I included some symbolic images in the painting. At first glance the painting looks simple and whimsical, yet there are references to more serious studies, spiritual beliefs and cultural identity.