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S
STCi's Film & Lecture Series
The 2nd Annual
Local Women Explore Creativity, Identity & Resilience
Hosted by Blues Artist Deletta Gillespie
March 13th 7pm-9pm
Silver Spring Civic Building
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Artist Marily Mojica will be featured in our Women in the Arts Panel Wednesday, March 13th.
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Join us for our second annual
Local Women Explore Creativity, Identity and Resilience Wednesday, March 13th 7pm-9pm in the Silver Spring Civic Building.
This panel discussion will feature local women from across the creative spectrum including singer-songwriter, poet, multi-media artist, & teaching artist
Greta Ehrig, Blues artist
Carly Harvey, folk artist, poet & social entrepreneur
Neha Misra, artist
Marily Mojica, textile designer & storyteller
Martina Sestakova, and producer & artistic director of
Live Garra Theatre Wanda Whiteside.
This panel is hosted by musician, professor & healing artist
Deletta Gillespie--- who was featured in last year's panel and is one of our favorite stars of the
Silver Spring Blues Festival!
This is a free event and everyone is welcome!
DELETTA GILLESPIE
Musician, Professor & Healing Artist
Deletta Gillespie is a multi-disciplinary teaching and performing artist, playwright, singer/songwriter, and recording artist. Her stage debut came in her mother's nightclub act at age six, and she's been on and around the stage ever since! Her roles back and offstage include writer, director, stage manager, and production assistant. While earning an MFA in Theatre Arts at Towson University, Gillespie discovered a passion for creating performances and programs that inspire and evoke courageous conversations on challenging issues. Most recently, she taught in the Theatre Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies Programs at Coppin State and Towson Universities. Gillespie authors the blogs The Sassy Sage Sez and HeARTfully Yours. She has penned and published a memoir, panties UP, dress DOWN: Things My Mama Used to Say. She is the newest arts specialist in the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division at Prince George's Parks and Recreation Dept., and serves as the interim music director for the Centers for Spiritual Living - Washington D.C. On any given weekend you'll find her onstage somewhere in the New York/Baltimore/Washington corridor. For more info, visit:
delettagillespie.com
GRETA EHRIG
Singer-songwriter, Poet, Multi-media Artist, & Teaching Artist
Greta Ehrig is a singer-songwriter, poet, multi-media artist, and teaching artist. She holds an MFA from American University, where she was a Poetry Fellow and studied songwriting with folk icon Tom Paxton. She is a former editor of Folio literary journal and has been published in Beltway Quarterly; Southern Poetry Review; Delos; Allegro; Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith; and many other publications. In 1999, Louisiana Literature named her a semi-finalist in their poetry contest. Greta has performed on stages from the DC Cherry Blossom Festival to the Boulder Museum of Art. Her work has received support from: the National League of American Pen Women; the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, MD; Theater J's "Locally Grown" Writers' Program; the Maryland State Arts Council; and the Lannan Foundation. In addition, Greta provides holistic piano instruction to students of all ages. She is passionate about teaching and believes that every person has the potential for unique creative expression.
Artist's Statement: "As a multi-media artist and bisexual woman, I experience The Arts, like Love, as fluid. I write songs about visual artists and paintings. I draw pictures of dancers with text woven in. My poetry is full of music, color, and light, mixed with some grit, which is informed by: the daily news; my extensive work in the Violence Against Women field; and my own life's struggles. As a life-long dancer, I hope to bring movement and emotion to all of my work and to infuse it with the passion that inspires others to feel deeply, to explore, and to create."
Click here for a sample of Greta's poetry.
CARLY HARVEY
Blues Artist
 Proclaimed "DC's Queen of the Blues" in 2016 by Dr. Nick Johnson of WPFW Radio,
Carly Harvey is a two-time DC Blues society Battle of the bands winner (duo 2016, band 2019) and was
Based out of Washington, DC, Carly combines Blues, Jazz, Soul, & Americana roots styles to create a unique sound that calls to mind Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Nina Simone, with a little Ella Fitzgerald thrown in for good measure. In July 2018, Carly was featured in Big City Blues Magazine as one of the youngest Blues artists to watch. She has had the privilege to share the stage with legendary and iconic musicians like Ron Holloway, Kebbie Williams, Ephraim Owens, Cory Henry, Kofi Burbridge, Junior Marvin, and Susan Tedeschi, another artist whose work has been fundamental to her musical evolution.
Carly's band Kiss & Ride represented DC in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2019 and advanced to the Semi-finals.
In Early 2019 released a new EP titled Kiss & Ride Vol. 1 and the hit single "She Ain't Me" is charting on regional blues radio stations. International crossover album titled Among The Stars and an EP titled Y.A.M.W.A.O. with Italian producer/composer Taste of Dream is an additional project that has allowed Carly to explore an element of her musicianship beyond the Blues.
In addition to being an acclaimed vocalist, Carly has also been a highly sought after voice coach for over 10 years. Her teaching website is
singwithcarly.com. For her lineup of events and performances please visit
carlyharvey.com
NEHA MISRA
Folk Artist, Poet & Social Entrepreneur
Neha Misra is a folk artist, a poet and social entrepreneur - the connecting thread of this tripod being the north star of a life practicing "beauty" as a verb. Inspiration for Neha's art comes from a childlike fascination with eye popping joyful colors that she traces to the rich tapestry of her life spread over both sides of the Atlantic. Her creations bring out an enchantment with the magic of nature and a deep interest in neuroscience to connect with the right brain- our spiritual and creative connection with the world within and without. As a visual artist, Neha lives for the nano seconds when someone looks at her art and gasps "Oh! the colors!" Why folk art? "Because it is earthy and truly democratic - of the people, by the people, for the people." Why art? Because art is light in darkness. It is soul's medicine. Poetry is a passage of finding words for the wordless. An act, foremost, of revealing ourselves to ourselves. Social entrepreneurship is shared light of a purposeful life. Into this tripod existence, Neha welcomes connections of curiosity, mystery and imagination.
You are magnificent
There are those who whos who will ask
you to shrink, lest your vastness get shrunk by outside forces - so better shrink thyself in advance in anticipation they say and so be.
I say - don't listen to them!!
Expand your heart and being so your expansiveness may make your being inhabit your infinite magnificence, And, at times, maybe maybe your magnificent magic will also expand others out of their shrunken selves.
MARILY MOJICA
Artist
Marily Mojica: "I am a painter, Born in Brooklyn New York to Puerto Rican parents. I am a Nuyorican of the African diaspora and I am a self-taught artist. I stumbled into the arts while struggling with depression. Although I have taken art cause on a college level and hold a degree. I basically have taught myself and continue to teach myself how to paint. In spite of the fact that I been painting for nearly 22 years, I have only recently (last 4 years) allow myself to call my self an artist or be identified as such. I paint women, stories, and nightmares; I enjoy collaging and experimenting with fabric.
Influences: My art is a mirror of wherever my everyday life is at the time. Like the artist Frida Kahlo, I paint what I feel. I paint my experiences. Like Jean Michel Basquiat, I am influenced by everything around me. I am a colorist. My parents are both from Puerto Rico; my father is from Loiza Aldea, a town settled by Nigerian slaves of the Yoruba tribe in the 16th century. I believe my Caribbean heritage, along with African lineage is apparent in my use of colors.I am influenced by Basquiat, elusive symbols, mask-and-skull imagery, but I mostly use his crown symbol. I like it. It seems to always add interest to a piece. And although I follow his style, I adhere to my own voice. My love of tea and tea rituals often inspires me to incorporate images related to this theme. My love of artist Frida Kahlo is the compelling force behind my often painting the human heart.
Color: Color plays a role in my psyche; it's an important element in both my art and my life. I surround myself with color and like a child; anything with color gets my attention immediately. It's very apropos I use it in my work. I couldn't live in Gotham City; the gray of the city would depress me. Oddly enough, I am equally attracted to black and white. I often incorporate it into my work. There's something about the contrast that I like. It seems I can always count on it for good design.
Medium(s): I like Acrylic because of its speed, but I don't shy away from other mediums. I dabble in oil and experiment with other mediums such as clay, paper, markers, pencils, wood, and fiber. I've have design rag dolls since the 80s, have designed jewelry, played with digital work, worked on collages and with found objects. I am an aspiring photographer and am very attracted to the possibility of working in encaustic.
Creative Process: My creative process changes from day to day, mood to mood. I am very shy and so I use my work to communicate with people about things that matter to me. I use my art to confront, respond and entertain. I like to have my work engage the viewer and evoke emotions. The process is continuous and sometimes spontaneous. The chemical interaction in my brain doesn't always allow me to concentrate as I like, and as a result, some work is by design, others times by experimentation or by accident. It occurs in many forms. I doodle a lot and sometimes my doodling turns into paintings; a sketch turns into a work of art. I often go on photo walks to crank up motivation. I have many muses that trigger the process. Again my art is a reflection of where my life is at the time. My inspiration comes from many directions. Among my muses are my emotions, the environment, words, travel, people, nature, objects children and of course color. Everything serves as a muse; anything can set the process in motion. The process always teaches me something. I'm always healing. Each work of art takes on a new journey, both a creative journey and a personal journey. I am grateful for both.
Pricing: I try to price my art low because I think art should be affordable and accessible to all.
Quotes I like and live by: Basquiat once said, "I don't think about art while I work, I think about life." I am a lot like Basquiat. In that I don't think about painting when I paint, I think about everything that going on around me. A famous Frida Kahlo quote is, "I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality." Unlike Frida, I do paint nightmares, because sometimes painting a nightmare helps me work through some things or again it assists in my entertaining. Henri Matisse said, "Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent; with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play." That's me.
Why do I paint / What do I want to accomplish?: I make art because I love it, I have fun doing it, and because it helps me with building bridges between me and others; it connects me to people I would normally not meet. Art is also therapeutic; it helps me heal and lets me play. I love playing with paint and experimenting. Yes, I am the creative person Matisse describes. I am persistent because it's important for me to connect, belong and entertain. Art is a great adventure and I am proud to be in the mix. Art helps me speak to people, it evokes emotions, makes people happy or alert. It definitely speaks to me and I want it to speak to my audience. I want to communicate with people and entertain at the same time. I want a voice; painting/creating art gives me one. When I paint I find hope and peace of mind.
What do I want to accomplish as an artist, crafter, and storyteller? To be self-satisfied, to heal, stay connected, to matter and to assist in the creating of self. I like to move people, to feel present while telling the stories with the help of art: good stories, interesting stories, not always a pleasant story, sometimes a new or different story but always one that evokes emotion either by content or color. The emotions I evoke with my stories aim to entertain, keep me connected and give me meaning. Yes, art gives me meaning and allows me to play and keeps me flexible. In the end, the one thing for sure is that I am always learning about others and who I am through my art."
MARTINA SESTAKOVA
Textile Designer, Storyteller & Teaching Artist
 I am a textile designer and story-teller based in Kensington, Maryland. As a native of the Czech Republic, I draw on the rich heritage of my country and on my passion for travel and art when I create my textile patterns. Painting and photography are the mediums I use to generate prints that tell stories of life's variety experiences: growing up in my grandmother's garden, experiencing a rain storm in Costa Rica, pausing to enjoy a family gathering, standing on a beach in winter. All of these moments have made their way into my designs, and I find they resonate with my clients as we all seek a sense of connection and community.
Having pushed myself to test an array of techniques, I have created patterns through the use of watercolor, inks on yupo paper, paper collage, sketching in pen and pencil, recording soundwaves of empowering statements, digitals filters, and color and black-and-white photography. I always seek to find intriguing ways to capture the beauty around us and within us. Once my
 patterns are printed on carefully selected fabrics, I sew them myself into scarves (infinity or rectangular) in my home studio.
My brand RADOST™ is named after the Czech word for JOY, my favorite word. All textiles have names and come with short stories of inspiration. My clients enjoy the fabrics' bright colors and connect deeply with the stories in my designs. I am an artisan featured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, DC. For more info, visit
radostbymartinasestakova.com.
WANDA WHITESIDE
Producer/Director/Artistic Director of Live Garra Theatre
 Wanda Whiteside, the Artistic Director of Live Garra Theatre, resident company member of the Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring has produced and directed over 15 productions at the Black Box Theatre. "A Matter of Worth" was given a 5 star review from DC Metro Theatre Arts and the DC Theatre Scene. Wanda trained at the Boston Conservatory of Music, HB Actor's Studio and Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in New York. She has performed professionally at the Olney Theatre Center, the Arena Stage and the Round House Theatre. She was a judge for the NAACP Actso competitions for two years and presenter at the University of Maryland Black Theatre Symposium on the state of Black Theatre in America. Wanda earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts from Howard University, a Master of Science in Business Management, and will receive her Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership. She is a founding Board member of the Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring, Inc. as well as Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. and holds a seat on the Advisory Board; the organization that assists in the development of the Cultural Arts programming for the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veteran's Plaza. Wanda was owner and operator of the Bonifant Theatre Space in Silver Spring, MD. Wanda received a three-year appointment by the Montgomery County Executive, Douglas Duncan to serve on the Silver Spring, Town Center/Civic Building Steering Committee. Wanda was employed at Discovery Communications, Inc. in Silver Spring, MD for 15 years as a Director/Editor of Programming Information for all DCI domestic networks.
 THEATRE REVIEWS:
DC Metro Theatre Arts
"A Matter of Worth" --The play's director and Artistic Director of Live Garra, Wanda Whiteside, creates a painfully credible story-telling exchange between every character. Her direction essentializes every word and gesture down to its core. There are no frills. Just truth. Whiteside demonstrates an uncanny ability to let what is on the page resonate with the physicality of the actor.
DC Theatre Scene
"A Matter of Worth" - Director Wanda Whiteside incorporated inspirational spirituals, dances, and poetry to bridge the gap between slavery and African culture. The narrative was so profoundly poetic it bore a Shakespearian cadence. It takes a strong ensemble to pull off such eloquent words with ease and emotional conviction. Whiteside assembled a talented, collaborative, collection of actors who were deeply connected to the storyline and eager to engage the audience in a captivating manor. For more info about Live Garra, visit:
www.livegarratheatre.org
This is a free event and everyone is welcome!
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SSTCi's Film & Lecture Series
Adorning the Body, Mending the Soul:
The Spirit of African American Jewelry
with Smithsonian Curator/Artist Dr. Diana Baird N'Diaye in conversation with Jewelry Artist
Deborah Macanic
Thursday, February 21st 7pm-9pm
Silver Spring Civic Building
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Designed by Diana Baird N'Diaye
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Artist and Smithsonian curator, Dr. Diana Baird
N'
Diaye r
eturns February 21st at 7pm in the Civic Building to present Adorning the Body, Mending the Soul: The Spirit of African American Jewelry Making.
In conversation with fellow jewelry artist, Deborah Macanic, founder of Kai Mytal, Diana will talk about connections between jewelry and healing in African and African American tradition and contemporary artistic practice.
This is a free event and everyone is welcome!
Diana Baird N'Diaye received her PhD in Anthropology from Union Institute & University. She is a Curator and Cultural Specialist at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Studies. She is a leading scholar in expressive culture in the African Diaspora. She travels extensively on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution-teaching, lecturing, and assisting in the development of cultural heritage projects in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She has curated several Folklife Festival programs and exhibitions including her national research initiative: The Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity.
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Designed by Deborah Macinac
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At her core,
Diana is an artist and designer. Her training as a clothing designer began in her youth working while in her mother's dry cleaning establishment. After graduating college, she taught crafting doll-making, jewelry making, basketry. For the past three decades
Diana has been diligently creating mixed media jewelry, clothing, and quilts that defy convention. Her works reflect her interest in world aesthetics and the healing arts. She is a multi-faceted individual who combines her skills in sewing, quilting, felting, embroidery, blocking, elementary cold fusion (metal), knotting, resist-dyeing, coiled and twined basketry techniques, bookbinding techniques, paper folding, and cutting to create unique pieces of art.
This is a free event and everyone is welcome!
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THANK YOU!
All of our events are made possible with generous support from these and other sponsors:
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Silver Spring Town Center Inc
Silver Spring Civic Building
One Veterans Pl
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 Tel: 240.595.8818 [email protected] And for all things Silver Spring, visit silverspringdowntown.com |
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