Video of the Month - Girl like Me

This month's video was submitted by Member Nikki Powerhouse. It is a powerful reminder of what Sisters' Sanctuary is trying to change and an eye-opener for some as to what is being done to ourselves and our children.

Let us know your feelings and thoughts?

Sister's Worth Celebrating - Marissa Arterberry

Sister's Worth Celebrating is a monthly column by Personal Empowerment Coach, Lacey C. Clark!, of sisters who are giving back to the community and celebrate healing with their work. This month Lacey! interviews Marissa Arterberry, Visual Artist and Author based in Oakland, CA.

Interview by Lacey C. Clark!

1. What makes your heart smile?

So many things! A warm sunny day, a fridge full of fruits and veggies, getting up early in the morning to paint, a good art exhibit, being anywhere near the equator, dance class…there are many aspects of life that make me happy.

2. You are a visual artist, I love the vibrancy of your work. I feel the passion for what you do in the colors you choose. Do you call yourself a visual artist and if so what does that title mean to you?

I do consider myself a visual artist. It means many things. The main thing is, if you really want to know what’s going on with me, where my heart and mind are, take a look at my paintings. I pour a lot of myself into them, and it’s my way of expressing who I am.

3. I wrote a work/book journal called Celebrate HER Now! Where I talk about how self-love is a solution raising the vibration of peace, joy, harmony for communities...Our Young Women of Hip-Hop Generation...Ourselves. What does the term "celebrating myself" mean to you? Have you celebrated yourself? If so how? If not, do you think celebrating yourself is important?

Celebrating ourselves is so important! The main reasons I focused my work on Black women was because I wasn’t seeing enough celebration of who we are and how far we’ve come. I got sick of seeing images of sad, angry, or unloved sisters. And I knew those images were sinking in, because the same things I was seeing in the media, I was seeing on the street. So many of us are happy and whole, but that isn’t the image that gets projected.

I celebrate myself by listening to my heart and doing what I’m called to do. Whether it is to work on a particular painting, go for a walk in nature, or clear old stuff out of my physical/mental space, I listen to myself. We each have our own prescription for happiness and it’s in our hearts. If we take a moment to turn off the tv, radio, etc. and just listen to ourselves, the path of light and beauty is right there in front of us.

4. Do you think it is important for women to celebrate themselves to be better models for our teen girls? Why or why not?

Yes, definitely. Our young women have to understand that happiness is possible and within their reach, and we grownups must lead by example. If your niece/cousin/daughter sees you taking time for yourself, whether it’s prayer time or a bubble bath, sees you loving your body rather than complaining about it, you’re setting a wonderful example. When our girls are brought up by women who celebrate themselves and are fulfilled, they develop positive coping mechanisms. If there’s a problem, they have a way to deal with it that isn’t destructive to their self esteem.

5. Are you connected to teen girls in any way? If so how?

At the moment the only teen girl I’m really connected to is my beautiful niece Haley. She’s fifteen, and is a very dedicated and promising young dancer. It’s amazing to watch her grow into this very smart, capable young woman. Her spirit shines through most when she’s onstage dancing, and the smile never leaves her face! It’s so important for teen girls to have a creative outlet, someplace where they can express their creativity and energy. Because then no matter what happens in life, these young women have something that keeps them rooted within themselves, and reminds them that anything is possible.

6. What was your most challenging experience in your girlhood and how did you over come it or how are you overcoming it?

For me the most challenging experience was accepting myself when no one else did. I grew up in a city with a fairly small Black population, and I just didn’t fit in with the other Black kids at my school. They were listening to Tupac and I was listening to the Beatles. They were wearing Tommy Hilfiger and I got all my clothes at thrift shops. That should have been fine, but I was teased by them constantly. They told me I was trying to be White, that I wasn’t proud of who I was. They just wouldn’t leave me alone. What finally stopped it was when I chopped off my perm and started wearing a close-cropped natural and African clothing. They left me alone after that, I guess I “out-blacked” them, which I found quite hilarious. And when I went away to college in San Francisco, I found an amazing community of more open minded Black folks who accepted me in all my differential splendor. I also began collecting the stories and photos of girls who went through the same thing I did, which I one day hope to publish.

7. Is art healing?

It certainly is. For me it starts with color. I find colors very healing. I dress myself in certain colors, or focus on them in nature for their healing qualities. For instance, red is a very happy and exuberant color, while white is for purification, and green is for healing. The same thing applies to making art. I’ll stand in front of a blank canvas and think, “What am I in need of today? How am I feeling?” And I’ll try to visualize a woman who feels the same way. What does she look like? What kind of setting is she in? What colors is she surrounded by? And by the end, I have a painting of someone who feels the way I do, or who is someone I’m striving to be. It’s very freeing. On a canvas or paper, these women can be who they are, and do anything. And by creating these images, I feel like I can do anything too.

8. What is the most celebratory and most challenging aspect about being a woman?

What I understand about being a woman is that it’s a very powerful thing. We create life! We are very sacred and intuitive beings. We are healers, educators, and we give life balance. And when we’re living life at our highest vibration, wow. There’s so much good we can do. Now that I understand that power, I understand my responsibility to be the best me I can be, because it touches everything and everyone around me. The challenging part is living in a world where a patriarchal system has tried to harness women’s power for the wrong purposes, such as consumer commercialism. We’re taught that if we exploit our bodies for profit or the pleasure of others, that makes us powerful. But it’s just the opposite. It causes us to feel inadequate, it brings us terrible things like sexually transmitted diseases and eating disorders. These are all side effects of women wanting to step into their natural power roles and having that energy channeled in the wrong direction. Just to put it out there, a book that really helped me understand more about the beauty and power of womanhood is Sacred Woman by Queen Afua. I turn to it any time I have a problem.

9. How would you describe yourself in five words?

Sacred. African. Painter. Loving. Woman.

10. How would you describe your ART in three words?

Sacred. African. Women.

11. Tell us about Soulgodess.com. What is your mission with the site?

Well Soulgoddess is my umbrella for everything I do. It started with me painting, writing, selling t-shirts, and soliciting submissions for a book. As my mother would say, I had “too many irons in the fire”. So naturally, everything did okay but didn’t live up to what I’d intended it to be. Focus is an important quality to have in life, and my focus was in too many places. I got burnt out, and I had to sit quietly with myself for a minute. I asked myself, “What would you be doing if you couldn’t do anything else?” And the answer was paint. So I took a step back from everything else to hone my craft and work out some new ideas. That clarity of focus has made a huge difference. I know a lot of folks are looking at me like, “what happened?” But at the end of the day, this is what I’m happiest doing, and I’m confident I’ll come back to the rest. I’m not in a rush anymore.

12. Tell us about one of your favorite piece of work and why it’s your favorite!

It’s very hard to pick a favorite, because each piece represents a different phase of my life’s journey. I’d say the piece that most captures my imagination at the moment is my mixed media portrait of Azmera, the heroine of an epic fairytale I’m working on. She travels backwards through history to heal her people. I like this piece because I took a lot of chances with it. I would sit with it for days or weeks, and let it “breathe” until the next phase of my vision for it appeared. love it because I put a lot of thought into it, and it’s exciting to see this character go from a page in my sketchbook to big, beautiful color!

13. You have upcoming book tell us about that?

The book is tentatively titled, Girlblue: Black Womanhood Reexamined. It was inspired by a conversation between myself and two other “strange” Black girls. We were lamenting about our high school years, how it felt to be an outcast and have no one we could relate to. Someone said, “if only we had all gone to the same school!”

The book was my way of letting girls know that just because they’re different doesn’t mean they’re alone. Where ever they are, they can open this book and see someone just like them, who went through the same thing and came out smiling.

14. What do you want people to walk away with when they encounter your creations?

I would love for everything I create to be the catalyst for change in someone’s life. If someone’s having a bad day or feeling blue, I’d like them to look at something I painted, or wrote, or compiled, and be healed in some way. Or maybe it inspires them to create something of their own, or look at the world differently. With everything I put out, I think the underlying message is, “See? There is another way.” I want folks to feel that, and know they can go out and do anything!

Ashe' Thank You Miss Marissa!

Keep Celebrating Yourself! Keep Celebrating your Art! The world needs you!

Marissa Arterberry is a Visual Artist living in Oakland, California. She has become known for her acid-bright depictions of women of African descent. Marissa graduated from San Francisco State University in 2007 with a B.A. in Painting. She has shown work at the San Jose Jazz Festival, the San Francisco Women’s Building and Stanford University. In her free time, Marissa dedicates herself to African and Brazilian dance, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and taking long walks. She is always on the lookout for fresh squeezed orange juice.

Her contact is: www.soulgoddess.com
http://www.myspace.com/soulgoddess_art

Temple Sanctuary by Monisha Garner

Your skin gets plenty of abuse throughout the course of a day, while providing you with your first line of introduction and being the foundation for your physical beauty. We want our skin to hold up through all sorts of events in our lives and it does it's best at all times. Take this month to show your skin some 'Gratitude' for it's faithfulness.

• After shower rub a combination of JoJoba Oil and Almond Oil all over your body to keep your skin silky smooth and free of blemishes.
  

Monisha Garner is the owner of Moya Body Care is about returning back to our natural state, becoming centered beings and maintaining a balance between a healthy lifestyle and genuine wellness. There mission is to assist in creating a wholistic approach in attaining greatness in life. They offer a combination of Colon Hydrotherapy, Massage Therapy, Yoga and Organic Body Care as well as individualized Wellness Coaching that is designed to empower and move you to take action. Visit www.moyabodycare.com

Self-Love Activity For April!

Create a 'Gratitude List' like the one I just created. Be sure to include all the things that you are thankful for.

For extra fun you can gather your teen girl(s) and each of you can take turns reading as if you are at some Fabulous Award Show.

You can practice this weekly and increase to daily.

We love to see some of the things you are thankful for.
Please post them here!

The Attitude of Gratitude!

Happy Spring and Happy Self-Love Day Beautiful People!

I have been feeling frustrated lately and I am entitled to my emotions.

I can’t believe it is already April 13, 2008 and certain plans have not materialized like I wanted them to. I realize that when I am frustrated that I am out of balance….fretting over things that mean very little in the larger scheme of things like my hairstyle and photo shoots gone wrong etc. I know that when I am frustrated that I can balance this energy with deep breathing and gratitude. This Self –love day is dedicated to all those people, places and things that I am so very thankful for that make me grateful for being alive.

To the DIVINE for my health, focus, gifts, vision, passion, love, joy and mission. The sun, rain, moon, stars, dirt, flowers, water, clean air, the roots of a tree, honey bees, warm and cool breezes, leaves, sand and sea. The Spring! I love Spring!

Thank You!

I wanted to take the time to pay tribute to my favorite human in the whole wide world, my mother, Dutty, who believed in me %110 ever since I can remember and who allowed me to come back to her home after college to start my company.

Thank YOU!

I wanted to celebrate my spiritual mentor/sister, O, who slowed me down after fretting over not having enough chairs for one of my Tea Party Events and expressed to me that I could do Sisters’ Sanctuary on a rock.

Thank YOU!

To my Dad, Slim, who always has something encouraging and real to say about my mission and my work. I celebrate you DAD!!!!!

Thank YOU!

Miss Nikki Powerhouse who has brought so many thing beautiful things to my life but her pulling out that slightly chilled bottle of Poland Spring water on that hot summer day at that Penn's Landing (Philadelphia, PA) concert truly replenished my soul. YES! I yearned for water and you met that need right on time.

Ashe’ Thank YOU!

To BX in CA whose beautiful, and powerful soul showed up about ten years ago to enable me to access and embrace my truest self.

Thank YOU!

To legendary friend “Beats” Austin who shows up with consistent good, focused, inspirational energy and support. Thanks for keeping me on my toes with your truth and the goodness.

Thank YOU!

To KTBass! for showing up and giving me a business model to follow. I still am very grateful for your presence and inspiration in my life.

Thank YOU!

To my New Sister friend Monique in LA who slowed me down by breathing with me on the phone and assured me that all is well. Her call changed the course of my week!

Ashe’ Thank YOU!

To My Cuz Shanise B. who forwards all of my Sisters’ Sanctuary emails to everyone in her Network, has invested her human capital in my biz and who continues to inspires me through her work with the Akua Projects.

Thank You!

To my Beautiful, Outstanding and Amazing Students, I am your biggest fan! Your blooming nourishes me and gives me the fuel I need to continue to do the work. WATCH OUT WORLD!!!!

Thank YOU!

To Monisha your bath salts (Moya Body Care) make me feel like I am bathing in Heaven… amongst white clouds and warm gold colors. Yes! Yes! Yes! Thanks for calling to check up on me!

Thank YOU!

This is for one of North Philly’s Finest, Devon Allen. The brother with grace and style, and a cup full of goodness that overflows when he celebrates me with some kind of excellence for me and Sisters’ Sanctuary. Your kind is rare …you are truly a Gem!

Thank YOU!

To St. Clair Alphonso Brown, you Affirm what it means to "Make it Happen"! You remember SS when it was a seed in my heart and through your support, knowledge and insight you have helped to make it what it is today and what it will be. I truly appreciate your ear and your hand.

Thank YOU!

To the Legendary Andre Taylor of Taylor Grand aka “Andre For President!” who affirms and promotes my birthright to flourish! Thank you for inspiring the world to WIN. I’m moving Andre! I’m Moving!

Thank YOU!

To “Brother Earl Boyd!” who answer’s my million phone calls when I have a challenge in business. Thank You for having Earth, Wind and Fire on deck to keep your spirits nourished!

Thank YOU!

To Rueben Jones who did a modern dance in his play with no formal dance training. YESS Brotha YES!! Celebrate your Art and be Freeeeeee! Your tenacity inspires me!

Thank YOU!

To that cornbread and strawberry butter, watermelon lemonade with fresh fruit and edible orchids, and that delectable Tilipia entree at Sadiki’s Restaurant in Philadelphia….this meal…um um um…. make me thankful to be alive. It’s like a glorious sunshiny festival dancing on my tongue. YES!

Thank YOU!

To Sadiki of Sadiki’s Restaurant who exudes celebration in stillness and in movement.… Thank you for being a Kindred Spirit. I get lifted in your presence. YES!!

Thank YOU!

To Steve who made his introduction into my life by serenading me with the soulful house song, “Life Starts Today” and continues to present me with R&B renditions from Donnie Hathaway, Anita Baker, Glenn Jones and Aretha Franklin and so many more...that wake me up in the morning and have me jumping for joy through out the day (because I so loooooove music.) YES! YES! YES! YES!

Thank YOU!

I could go on for days. There is sooooo much beauty in my life and I sometimes have to be reminded to slooooooow dooooown to honor and celebrate it! *Takes a deeeeeeeeep breath and exhales slowly* I feel a lot better having wrote that. I wanted to echo the belief that there is so much abundance in the universe. Much, much, much goodness and love! But do we see it? Do we take the time to acknowledge it. Feeeeeel it!? Do we stop to really enjooooooooy it! Sometimes I get out of balance because I am human, but I am grateful for the people, places and things that the Divine has placed in my life to support me through. So this Self-day, let us focus on gratitude and the gifts that it bring. Let us model gratitude for our girls for they need to see women who are grateful for the non- material as well as the material!

Here’s to blooming your seeds of gratitude this Spring!

“Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.”

~Jackie Windspear

Lets us support each other in cultivating grace.

Happy Spring and Happy Sisters' Sanctuary Self -Love
Day Beautiful People!

Lacey!
Founder/Personal Empowerment Coach
Sisters' Sanctuary

What are you thankful for?

Lacey! Looooooves:

- Sadiki's Restaurant in Philadelphia.
- The TV show "Family Reunion" on TV One because its celebrates the ins and outs and ups and downs of family and it reminds me of my family reunion in North Carolina.
- The many beautiful colors of the Spring.
- The story of the Sister who stared the company, "Team Clean" because it is truly inspirational for women who have created or seeking to create their own business.

What do you loooove?