YCL Art

Seperation 20"x30" mixed media on canvas

I have a sister 2 years older than me. As children, we were inseparable in all we did. I have memories of my sister holding my hand wherever we went, if she had to leave my side she would often hug me and give me a kiss on the cheek. We had our moments of sibling rivalry that comes with being a kid, but what sticks in my head is the additional layer of protection and comfort she was in my life.

I have several memories of being separated from my sister. There was the one time we went to vacation bible school, I remember we just had a fantastic bus ride to the school where we entertained ourselves by yelling at truck drivers to “HONK YER HORN!!!” And you could not imagine the excitement and screaming involved when one of them actually blew their horn. As we unloaded from the bus they started to separate us by age and that’s when it happened. I could feel that sinking feeling in my gut as I realized I wasn’t by my sister, they sat me down with a Jesus coloring book page and a green crayon. I knew Jesus wasn’t green but I was so emotional and distracted that I remember carefully coloring him in green until I couldn’t hold it in any more and the tears started flowing. One of the teachers came over to me and I told her my stomach hurt and she asked if I wanted to see my sister, of course I said yes. Luckily, they reunited me with her and all was good again.

Then there was time my sister started kindergarten. I have several memories of watching her get on the bus and wishing I could be with her. It was a great day when I finally got to ride the bus to school with her, but a sad day when I found out we’d be separated again once we got to school. It was a vicious cycle but I finally learned to cope

The King Cake 11"x14" mixed media on canvas

So during Mardi Gras time, people like to celebrate with a King Cake. The general tradition is to bring a King Cake to a party & share with everyone. Inside the King Cake is a small plastic baby (a total choking hazard, but nobody seems to care) and whoever finds the baby in their piece of cake is responsible for buying the next King Cake, hence keeping the party going.

I remember being in kindergarten and being slightly scared to find the baby, but slightly excited to find it, too. Not having much money, made me wonder how we would afford a King Cake for the entire class, but find it was like winning the lottery.

Beignets II 11"x14" mixed media on canvas

Then there were the beignets, which are basically French doughnuts sprinkled with 20lbs of powdered sugar. Cafe du Monde is the most popular place to get these wonderful delicacies and you always top it off with a café au lait (aka coffee with milk.) It’s really hard to eat the beignets without getting powdered sugar on your clothes, your hands, your face, or even your head.