10/31/2025
She Gave Up Being a Mannequin
She gave up being a mannequin and no longer wanted to be a Christmas tree, so I made her an altar.
Everything you see was created by hand, not for display, but for remembrance.
This is not art.
It is offering. It is testimony. It is sacred work.
Ingredients of Sacred Memory
The Shirt — made of wood, cut and engraved by me, then hand painted. The wood represents endurance, a reminder that even when carved, we still hold our rings of history. It bears the Adinkra symbol for strength and faith, grounding the altar in ancestral wisdom.
The Beads — each one placed by hand. Red for the blood and sacrifice of our people. Black for our power and our lineage. Green for the eternal hope and life that continues. Natural wood beads honor the earth, the place from which we all come and to which we return. Together, they form a spiritual armor, an embrace that holds the names and faces of my ancestors.
The Hat — hand painted and crowned with an African mask. The mask is both shield and invitation, a symbol of the many faces of protection, identity, and transformation. It reminds us that even when unseen, the ancestors watch over us.
The Fabric — wraps the form like a covering of prayer. Its patterns echo African rhythm and tradition, the language of continuity, survival, and rebirth.
The Ornaments of the Ancestors — engraved with the faces and names of those who came before me, each one suspended in reverence. They are not decoration but devotion. Every ornament is a conversation between memory and presence, a sacred whisper reminding me that I stand on their shoulders. They shimmer with legacy and breathe with spirit, affirming that love, like lineage, never dies.
