http://www.jreneeart.com/

She-blogs: What is your definition of style and how does that style, portray in your art (glass art, clothing, and makeup)?

JRenee: My work is a celebration of my existence and the essence of my African-American experience. I want to uplift and inspire people. I want them to feel beauty inside and out because we are beautiful people. I want people to feel strength of spirit, soul and character. Many pieces of black art portray us in the old way- a life of harsh realities. That is part of our past but it’s not our totality. I want people to look through the window beyond their pain and experience peace. There are many positive aspects and contributions we have made and my artwork reflects that: the positive strength and beauty within.

She-blogs: Did you go to school for the arts and design or is it something that comes naturally?

JRenee: It’s a little bit of both. Reverse glass painting is difficult because it’s unforgiving. The process of painting using this technique is challenging artistically, technically and mentally. But it’s well worth it because you never know what you are going to get. It is popular in countries like Senegal and Japan. It’s an old art form that has been around for something crazy like 400 years. My talent for art is natural. The technical refined skill comes from my studies in school at Xavier University. In my new creations I am learning how to incorporate other forms of art like mixed media: ink, oil pastels, paper, photos and collage into my glasswork.

She-blogs: Are your children mini artists?

JRenee: My son Arzu, who is eight, is not much of a painter or drawer. But, he is starting to color a bit more. He loves to study and evaluate the paintings. I think he is going to be a musician. He loves music and could identify different types of music since he was two. My daughter Pillar, who is five loves art, painting and coloring. When I go to her school her artwork sticks out from her peers because it’s edgy and very creative.

She-blogs: Tell me about your art fellowship award that sounds like an incredible honor.

JRenee: Well right now it’s still in the nomination stage and I am applying for The United States Artist Fellowship. I was anonymously nominated by someone in the art community for the award. 50 artists will get the award. It will help promote my artistic endeavors. It’s definitely an honor to be nominated by a peer in my industry.

She-blogs: What inspires your art creations?

J Renee: I love Haitian art. The Haitians have a very intense history. It’s one of poverty and pain but the artwork is beautiful, vibrant, and uplifting. I love Gauguin’s use of tropical colors and imagery. I like Henri Matisse reflection of color and simplicity in his pieces. John Viggers uses a lot of African patterns and motif. His work is deep. When I met him I was so deeply moved by his work I cried through the whole exhibit. Romare Beardon is a wonderful Harlem renaissance painter that I love because of his amazing collogue and photo montage skills. Gostave Klimt I admire for his use of patterns and art deco motif. Art is a reflection of history and life’s experience, its energy and spirit. Natives of New Orleans always talk about New Orleans not being a part of America but being the northern tip of the Caribbean for a melting pot of cultures, language, and histories. All of these elements influence my work.

She-blogs: Since you’re from New Orleans how does the flavor, history, and events of recent past come out in your work?

JRenee: You don’t know what you have until it’s taken away. I find that it’s important to say what you want to hold onto not necessarily what was lost. New Orleans is something we have to save and sometimes it’s not the buildings. I am currently living in South Carolina. After Katrina, we moved to Houston, then to D.C., to the final destination of South Carolina. I have a piece called Strange fruit, which is my Katrina survivor story. Strange Fruit is a painting that described my Katrina experience and compared it to that of an indigenous rites of passage ritual. During Katrina, I had to forfeit the essence of my womanhood and to pick up the warrior spirit of a man. I got involved in makeup because of the Inouvi line we sold in the store. If we did a fashion show in my boutique I did the makeup. Application of makeup comes natural to me because I am a painter using brushes. I learned a fused glass technique to make jewelry and glass sculpture with my art.

She-blogs: Why do you enjoy what you do?

JRenee: My whole lifestyle is different. My lifestyle is art, style, and empowerment. It’s a visual history that leaves a mark on the world that cannot be erased. I am not a replicator but an influencer, a history maker, and legacy leaver. I aspire and inspire to be those things and that’s why I enjoy what I do.

As I rip the pages away on my hanging wall calendar I see that summer is rapidly approaching. Behind we are leaving the trendy pea coat we bought in a vivid color which was all the rage. Our patterned wool tights are seeing fewer and fewer days outside and our vintage elbow length gloves we bought to inspire a look of decades past don’t quite have a place in our wardrobe anymore. All is not lost, for if we found the strength to be fabulous in the brutal winter cold we shall surely rise to the occasion in the summer heat.

Every fashonista knows that an outfit
is nothing without its accessories and this summer accessory must have is the headband. The headband has been a trend since the beginning of time but has experienced an evolution to be revered in the world of accessories. A few summers past many celebrities and trend setters around the globe began sporting hippie headdresses. This was set off by the declaration of a bohemian summer which included mini floral dresses, worn white tees, and patch worked denim shorts paired with a pair of Grecian sandals or killer heels.

This summer this hippie headdress is back but with a lot more edge. This season the fashion fearless are wearing headdresses in outrageous animal prints, vivid colors, and in surprising fabrics ranging from leather and suede to glittering nylon and polyester. In addition the motto is one is not enough, the hippie headdress 2.0 is all about layering multiple headbands and fabrics and colors to create your own crown as the fashion goddess that you are. The amazing thing about this trend is that it is fairly inexpensive and promotes individual expression; no two headdresses will look the same, which makes this a summer to stand out and make fashion not war.