Zulma E Brooks
High Point, NC
As my mother would say, "Estas Tranquilo pero con la musica por dentro". (She's quiet but with the music inside.)
MessageI was born and raised in East Harlem, NYC, in 1970, to working-class parents (mother, Puerto Rican via Spanish Harlem; father, black-American via North Carolina and Brooklyn); mom designed clothes for herself at home and was a temp administrative assistant; dad worked as a mailroom supervisor for NYS.
I love my ethnic blend, like strong, smooth "cafe con mocha" over ice. I was surrounded by a rich cultural heritage living in a community famous for the Harlem Renaissance. Street Art including Graffiti (one of the four pillars of Hip Hop) framed my interest from a very early age. Watching artist paint on the sidewalks of Harlem on whatever they could find and colorful murals on random buildings literally colored my world. My interest in Art happened at an early age around 2 as i loved to doodle and finger paint but nothing came of it until much later. My interest for writing came about when i was 15, writing poetry and short stories, till this day i still write. my parents couldn't afford to send me to art school to help cultivate and hone my talents. Throughout my life however i struggled with poor health, Asthma killed any desire to pursue my dreams of an art career and kept death at my doorstep. I was well into my early 30's when it finally stopped trying to take my life. As i got older, much of my hobbies had to take a back seat to working wage jobs for survival as well as attending some college although i dropped out due to depression. I spent what little free time i had going to varied galleries in Soho and art museums just to relax.
I discovered many of the masters and 20th century contemporary artist through books on art, documentaries on PBS and museums. My favs are Franz Marc, Augusta Savage, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, William H. Johnson, Pollock, Picasso & Michelangelo to name just a few. Unfortunately many of the art centers and studios that were created for black artists in and around Harlem during the 1920's through to the 70's were all gone. Not even as i attended school were there any art program outlets.
In 1995 was the first time i experimented with mixed media. As a former fashion design student i still had an interest in textiles and decided to shop locally for African fabrics with colorful designs and use that in another way. I was purchasing stretched canvas and paints, burlap and fabrics and creating something unique. I shopped exclusively at the famous "Pearl Paint" art supply store, now sadly gone due to gentrification. RIP, you had the best deals.
I made several works and called the personal movement "Afro-Dimensionalism" 3D type tactile art which is meant to be touched with the eyes. As much as i wanted to sell them, i couldn't because i just didn't have the proper resources, support or means to created my own show. That wouldn't happen until Summer 2004. I saved enough money from a Barista job to rent a gallery space for a week, had a small reception with friends and family, sold two pieces out of ten. The remainder of those original pieces from that series reside with me here in High Point, NC.
I moved to NC in 2007 when i lost my last paying job due to the economic downturn at the time.
For a short time, desperate for money to pay debts, i decided to create cute dolls with large heads of yarn hair using children's novelty print fabric and sold them, i did for a while then that revenue stream dried up and i was back to square one. I may revisit that arts and crafts side because the dolls were fun to make. My desire to paint, my first and foremost love, resurfaced recently as i've currently started to learn how to make a business out of selling my new works in addition to showing them.
Despite having attended two prestigious art schools, I'm completely self-taught, given my limited resources in the past and now. I'm currently interested in abstract expressionism and have found that I'm good at it. I will go back to using fabrics on canvas as well, in addition to creating abstract works and expressionistic portraits. Currently, I'm just painting whatever comes to mind or an idea I'm inspired by. Many of my new works will be very small, as I do not have the space to create anything larger than 11" x 14". In the end, I would like patrons who take collecting art seriously to support me solely through my art.
My immediate goal is to have my own studio gallery space to show and sell my art away from traditional spaces. The art world can be a little fickle, elitist, and cliquish, and I don't need that negative energy around me. I chose this as a career path, always learning and growing. My ultimate goal is to be seen, appreciated, and collected.
Statement
I want my art to bless the lovers of creativity with positive energy, peace, love and appreciation for all of the art movements as they explore it all. Art is escapism, jump in and run.
Fine Artist for the past 28 years: Abstracts, Surrealism, Cubism and some portraits. mixed media on canvas and canvas board, but primarily acrylic. Sketches, drawings, and digital art.
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