Welcome to Wellness Weekly coming to you every week. This is a weekly series, sort of like a Letter from the Editors, that will rotate between Lara and Luigi, along with other members of Team Smudge and with the occasional guest. We’ll hold space on the Dirt to check in on our Sixth Sense: the term we use to refer to our spirit, intuition, and inner power. And because while we exist in the world alongside our other Five Senses, we’ll do a check-in of those, too. Today on Wellness Weekly – budding art and creativity.
There is an art to Blossoming and a blossoming that happens in art.
I got the chance to get outside recently for an art show called “The Power of PrayHer – This Light of Mine” by Lisa Brown, an incredibly talented artist in DC. Her photographer blew me away and reminded me to also keep blossoming.
WELLNESS WEEKLY – BUDDING ART AND CREATIVITY
Happy Four Twenty!! For those who appreciate the cannabis plant, this is a great day to relax and enjoy some mary jane (for those in states where it is now legal of course). I must also acknowledge the privilege of being able to indulge in this holiday this year. When I was in graduate school (*cough* over a decade ago *cough*), a classmate attempted to get me into trouble by telling my instructor that I enjoyed cannabis which at the time was not academically acceptable for someone who was planning to work with children, something I had been working toward since the seventh grade.
Let’s just say it could have been handled better. I graduated as planned but it shifted my plans for the future in many ways.
I recently returned to West Virginia University for their inaugural Black Film Festival to promote a creator I’ve been working with Gary Murray. It was nice to return and support the variety of Black creatives they selected to showcase over the two-day festival. We got to watch “The Wrong Way,” “Domino: Battle of the Bones,” “Running With My Girls,” “#NOCOVER Nipsy Hussle Feature,” “Fighting on Two Fronts,” ”MEEK’S INHAIRITANCE” and “The Butler” with the final conversation with featured speaker Wil Haygood. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the different creatives shine, sharing their work and stories. It was a privilege to see history in the making and I’m so excited to see what each of them do in the future. In between films, we took some time to explore, and returning to town and seeing multiple shops openly selling on the Main Street (ironically named High Street), it was definitely a surprise. Much has changed since I was in Morgantown, WV, and so have I.
As I explore this season of blossoming both in my personal life and professionally, I am excited to see what’s next. I am entering the next phase in my tarot training which has been exciting and I am really enjoying expanding my knowledge and reading skills. I also took a business training course to help fill some of the gaps in my professional setup and make sure that everything is running smoothly. Smudge has played such an important role in this season of blossoming and I am excited to see what we grow together next.
Inspired By the 5 other Senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch
Sight: I went to New York this past weekend with a friend for our mutual friend’s engagement party and we went a day early to spend some time with my mother. She got tickets for the show “For Colored Girls” on Broadway and it was so good. I definitely cried and would highly recommend it.
Sound: Banks has a new album out called Serpentina and I was digging it from Misunderstood to Fuck Love (a mood) and Unleavable. It’s a great bathtub moody listen for me.
Smell: 4/20 Celebrations are in the air everywhere. In DC, much like other states where it is decriminalized, the smell of celebration is definitely in the air.
Taste: I had an awesome girl’s night last week we made our own charcuterie board and I’m still really proud of it. Everything you see here pretty much came from Trader Joe’s and we had so much fun putting it together and then eating it.
Touch: In homage to my friend who always has incredible nails, I went the wild side and got my nails done in a completely different style. I decided to basically get this adorable Easter egg design that I continue to enjoy.
