I’m in the middle of another life transition. Guess who is a full time working girl now? Yep! Me. With the exception of those I told directly, some of you (in my beloved D.C.) know who I’m working for. If not, just keep watching. I’m not sure if a formal announcement will be made, but I’ll just say it is an honor to serve my city, especially the communities of Ward 7 in the capacity that I’m serving. I hope I do my Ward 7 brethren proud. I wrapped up my first week and looking forward to my second. I’m still in slight adjustment mode but I feel pretty comfortable and at ease for the most part; mainly because I’m working in my field. Bring on the hectic days!!! (Wait.. do I mean that? Ha!)
The Heather Freeman Media and PR Team at the Carolina Kitchen Holiday Party & Toy Drive 2013. l to r Lindley, Heather and Mahoganie
I was a little sad to bid a “see you later” to the public relations group Heather Freeman Media and PR. In my brief time as a member of their team I picked up so much and learned so much about Washington’s hospitality scene. It was PR grunt work, but I enjoyed it
Speaking of transitions…
Mnemosyne, Visions 1-3 – Digital Image – By Karin Rodney-Haapala
Remember Karin Rodney-Haapala? You don’t? Let me refresh. Rodney-Haapala was my debut story for EBONY.com. I wrote about her [then] exhibit with the Corcoran; a series of black and white photos and journal entries that documented her life with PTSD. Recently, she reached out and invited me to the opening of another exhibit at the Corcoran. I took a moment after work on Wednesday to attend the opening and I’m glad I did. This is something that should not be missed.
The Corcoran’s Veteran’s Committee presents The Gray Area – Living in Transition. The exhibit features the work of military veterans in various mediums; including film, photography, paintings and animations. It’s a small but powerful showcase as each artists drives home triumphant and painful points of military life and transitioning into civilian life may not be easy as 1-2-3. For this project Rodney-Haapala switched up her medium. Instead of showcasing more black and white photos, the Iraqi war veteran presents her work in the form of paint and digital image with vibrate pink and blue hues; expressive of her memory patterns and sleep paralysis.
However, the piece that grabbed my attention was by a former paratrooper. It wasn’t the actual piece itself but the story behind it Too often we hear about veterans wanting to leave their combat zone behind once they return home. For artist Robert Lliteras it’s slightly different. Okay waaay different. Though there are some things he rather leave behind, his piece – a quilt of dry blood bandages – tells the story of the rush he misses…he craves… from jumping out of airplanes. Due to his injuries (fragile bones) he can no longer jump from planes; nor skydive or go zip lining. To fill the void, the recipient of a Purple Heart, gets tattoos. The bandages hanging in Corcoran’s Gallery 31 is only a sample from his his collection (he has plenty more he plans to put together) from each tattoo. I was literally frozen as I read his story and asked him a few questions.
The exhibit as a whole is attention grabbing. Hopefully Rodney-Haapala and the rest of the Veteran’s committee at the Corcoran will take on my suggestion: create a series that explores pre-military life then moves into the crux of what takes place in the military life and then transitioning out. Then again, the Corcoran’s future is unclear. (big sigh).
I encourage you to take a moment and visit the exhibit. Gray Area is on exhibit now until July 20th at the Corcoran’s Gallery 31. Admission to the The Gray Area is free and open to the public during all regular museum hours. To learn more about the exhibit and further information about the Corcoran visit: http://www.corcoran.org/exhibitions-events/gray-area-living-transition.
Mahoganie: Musings East of the Anacostia River 
Posted on July 6, 2014
0