CURRENT EXHIBIT • COMMUNITY LIVING ROOM
Freedom of Expression
Art provided by artists from Onyx Fine Arts Collective.
These works challenge any misconceptions of what “Black” art is and is not.
About the Exhibit + Artist’s Statements
In "Freedom of Expression”, the Northwest African American Museum features a variety of rotating talented artists. Black art is often pigeonholed as “ethnic”. This exhibit showcases the strength and range of visual artistic expression produced by artists of African descent residing in the Pacific Northwest.
Cos Anthony
A camera can be a tool of fun and engagement. It can capture a moment forever. I am an urban and travel photographer that highlights my journey. I try to see the things that we all walk by every day a little differently and capture it in a fraction of time. Fine Art Photography to me is using my camera, with all I know, to not just document but to develop intrigue. I try to see and capture in an image - a story.
I have lived my life as an urbanite and a traveler. My camera allows me to capture my moments, my adventures, and my places and spaces. My art challenges me to do more with my cameras than reproduce what is in front of me but imagine something else. To do this I often employ techniques to stretch what is real because a camera can be a time-machine and see what our eyes cannot. I often use longer exposures to show movement in time, intentional camera movements to add a little tension, multiple exposures to allow the viewer to question what they see. I process images to highlight life's contrast. I look for the abstract in the everyday to make my viewers question what they are seeing. Generally, I try to limit my color palette and will try to see the world in black and white as our eyes often cannot. However, I am a color photographer because I feel blessed that I have been given the opportunity to see the beautiful colors that life can present.
My background includes West Indian roots that grew up in New York City. My travels include extensive moves across the USA and internationally. I picked up a camera young, shooting on film. I was so struck the first time that I produced a double exposure image by just not rolling forward the film. Had little money for developing the images. I just liked to shoot. I would save up to purchase the film and wait years to get it developed. My medium now is digital and usually 1 print on metals or with acrylic finishes because I love the way the images jump off the walls and when using color to bring out their vibrancy. I have retired from a life as a civil engineer with the pursuit now of artistry as my future goal.
Fin’es Scott
Fin'es Scott (b. 1983) is a Seattle-based textile artist who explores themes of Black joy, rest, Afrofuturism, and environmentalism. Her work is the antithesis of Black trauma, which is often exploited in art and media.
Her process involves creating artwork by combining traditional craft with modern digital tools. Her process is slow and crafted with care. It involves digital collage, custom textiles, sewing, quilting, hand beading, and metal leafing. She enjoys implementing techniques of Black quilting traditions while creating methods to modernize the craft.
Scott is committed to keeping her art accessible and approachable to her community.
She studied design in New York City and has been sewing and illustrating for over 20 years.
Earnest D. Thomas
I have had a strong interest in art and architecture since growing up in Hempstead, Texas. After receiving an Electrical Engineering degree from Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas I worked for the Boeing Company in engineering and management assignments. My interest in art has been satisfied by collecting ethnic art from across the world, with the vast majority of my collection being from the continent of Africa. A challenge from an artist friend provided enough encouragement for me to begin a more serious personal exploration into abstract fine art/mixed media painting and sculpture. The more I explore the more I find satisfaction in the creative process using paint and found objects. My 2D and 3D artworks are a reflection of a background in engineering and industrial design, coupled with experience gained from designing jewelry using old African trade beads and a desire to repurpose typically unused materials. My artworks are known to have both industrial and sculptural flair where the use of texture, color and shadow from metal rod, sheet and plate play together in the images. My works are known to show passion and range from organic to modern industrial in concept. In my view, artistic expression is infinite, with new approaches being defined daily. The creative envelope must continue to be refreshed.
Shayla Harris
I believe The Arts allow us to explore self, express what words can't, and embolden those who're voiceless. It often becomes a therapy of sorts... a home.
ChezLaHarris is the name I chose for my Fine Arts projects since it sounds like my full name when said aloud and translates to Harris' Home.
As a child, I was surrounded by art. I loved looking through my dad's sketchbook, learning to paint floral designs with my Nana, making paper mache with my mom, and gawking at my grandfather's ability to capture a likeness with paint. Needless to say, my family is the reason art is in my life.
I drifted far from art as time passed, but it never stopped calling to me. Fear of failure, self-judgement, popular opinion, cultural stigma, and shadows kept me from answering. Indeed, the heart beckons to a place beyond fear... reminding us to heal and remember higher versions of ourselves along the way.
So, I created ChezLaHarris as a tool to find my way home. And what a blessing if my work helps heal, re-mind, and inspire others along the way!
Pamelagrace Beatty
I paint what catches my attention. I love being able to express my creativity through something I can see and touch. I paint abstracts to relaxing jazz music for fun. My portraits have been commissioned and I enjoy the challenge of telling the story of the people in the photo. Behind each portrait there is something they want to say. It may be about love, loss, family or even fun. Those who have asked me to paint them or their families have given me the honor of creative interpretation. I allow the winds of heaven to dance between me and my paint brush. What a painting looks like, at the end is always a welcome surprise (well almost always). Even when I am not happy with the outcome, I have always learned something from the process that makes me do better the next time.
I like experimenting with different approaches and love painting with acrylics on canvas. Sometimes play around with different ideas on my iPad before committing the work to canvas. That way I take more chances. Still, the actual painting remains a surprise when it is done. Painting has taught me patience, faith in the process and the joy of experimentation. It is my passion.
Nova Thomas
My name is Nova Thomas, and I am 17 years old. I am a junior at Timberline High School. I've been creating art since I was 12. I have always been so fascinated by all types of art including theater and singing. I am in chamber choir at my school and one thing my director always tells my peers and I to do is paint pictures in our head about the pieces. We spend extra time learning the meaning of a song before we even start singing it. I apply the same thing to my pieces. I take what I'm feeling in the moment, paint a picture in my head and put it on a canvas with strong intention. I'm always left with a painting that strongly resonates with who I am as a person. Having the privilege to create art in many ways is so special to me. Art gives me an outlet to express things that can't always be said, and l will forever be grateful for that.