Fantasy In Color (FIC) hosted an art party. Yup, another one! This time the festivities occurred on a Thursday evening and featured a vibe like no other. I remember speaking to people who attended multiple FIC parties. They said, "Every Fantasy In Color is different." Curious as to what this meant, I couldn't wait to see what new fantasies lied in that brownstone in Harlem.
I placed my peacoat on a wrack and wore the badge of an artist. "Hello, my name is... SFM." Turning to my left, I walked into a space of peace and progress. The music was soft, the paintings were bright and the artists were caught in the act of making magic with their hands. In the first room was Chastity the Poet soaking blues in orange hues while Asare Opoku collaged.
3 rooms, 6 live artists, 1 Dj and countless amounts of brush strokes. The frequent visitors were right, this party was very different than the last. It was like FIC traded in their dance floor for an art studio. Although people danced, the new trance was glancing over at the progress of artists any chance you had. After sipping on a Pale Blue Ribbon, I watched Kadeem Phillip place a rose in front of a bright yellow sky; right beside Andy Estevez, who was on a quest to craft QuestLove with all of the colors.
As I admired the live painting by a face that seemed familiar, I realized I've seen this man paint before. His name is Brian M. Covery and I own one of his paintings. As I caught his attention he quickly recognized me, a true artist never forgets their supporters. Before ever putting paint to canvas I attended art events as an art enthusiast and purchased one of Brian's pieces. Oh, how the universe comes full circle.
"The Blushing Beauty" & "The Nuclear Nudist" were the two pieces of art I offered to the fantasy. I took two traditionally nude figure paintings and baptized them in the colorful waters of open interpretations. I shared the wall with Steven Williams who blended graffiti with classic cartoon imagery. Together our wall brought eyes, smiles and discussions about culture and fantasy.
It's showtime and up first is singer/songwriter Shaney Poo. He kicked off his performance with "Been Loving You," a smooth tune reminiscent of the sounds of Biz Markie. When they say, "Can you share some words?" You say, "Word." Next up, was none other than, myself. I shared three spoken word pieces. The crowd snapped and clapped. It felt good to share my poetry after a year and a half performance hiatus.
After blessing the mic we continued to celebrate each other creations. I was fortunate enough to take a peek inside the "Hidden Artbox" as I shared my interpretation of C. Darishy Erickson's art about Taino Chiefs. The conversation birthed philosophical exchanges about identity and love. The feelings were beautifully revealing and thought provoking, like the living canvas of Jays Creations who wore rib cages on her skin as a reminder that deep down inside we are all the same; we all have a heart behind our rib cage.
Have you ever met a turtle outside of its shell? Say hello to Oscar the turtle. He made a special appearance towards the end of the night. He was cool, calm, and collected. Unlike other turtles I've encountered, Oscar, for some reason, was happy to be out in the open and did not attempt to hide in his shell. I think, like us, he was diggin' the vibes. This was another night captured for the books, like a black and white picture.