" I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS"

 The fourth book in my series is  “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou. After watching the debate last night I felt like getting this out there now. When Donald Trump declined to disavow white supremacists, and then when he was asked directly to condemn the Proud Boys he said “ Proud Boys, stand back and stand by “ I was not surprised. I’ve known men like him my whole life. In Angelou’s book, which is auto biographical, she deals with her personal experiences of oppression in a male dominated society. Through out the book she does a riveting, seriously intense job of describing what it's like to live in a world under racist oppression. I was moved, I cried, but at the end of the book I felt hopeful. Now, my feelings are up in the air, hopeful or despondent?

 I didn’t read this book in high school, like so many of you probably did. I  attended a program called Project Careers in Juneau Alaska. Basically it was kind of like getting a GED, which means I tested out. I was 15, living with sister who was 19, and we were on our own.  I needed to graduate so I could get a job. So, I missed out on many of the required reading wonderful books. I’m glad to be catching up on my high school reading now.  

 When I was designing this beadwork I made a few choices that I’m happy with. Using the black, white and gray color scheme seems to work. Up in the the top corner I used the notes from “ Lift Every Voice and Sing”.  I'm so far from finished, but I wanted to voice my thoughts tonight.

KAFKAESQUE

" The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka written in 1915, is my third piece in a series about books I've read during the pandemic. I'm having fun with this. It kind of reminds me of being back in school and doing book reports, only instead my reports are beadwork. In this tale Gregor wakes up one morning to find that he has turned into a giant dung beetle. Unable to leave his room, he is literally crawling the walls. Similar to the circumstances many of us find ourselves in lately. Alienated from our fellow man with too much time on our hands, left to think about if there is a meaning to life or if it's just simply a shit happens and then we die type of existence. When all the regular day to day stuff is removed, things can feel a little surreal, hence Kafkaesque. 

I'm getting ready to lazy stitch the beadwork to the leather, there are three color choices. A wrinkly eggplant color, turquoise and basic black. I appreciate your input, which color do you like?