Coffee, Art, and Conversations: Anita Sewell's Abstract Art Showcase

Anita Sewell 01:11 03:19 It's very playful, it's very fun, it's very innocent. So it's not sad or anything, but it's just pure happiness. I pick orange in the background. In this piece, orange tend to trigger me more, creating, playing in the paint. So I love orange, even though it's not my favorite color, I love orange because it triggered me, it triggered happiness. And so this piece behind me is called, You Play Too Much. And I tend to name our art after things growing up we said to each other as kids, stop playing, you play too much. So it looked playful, it's abstract, it's acrylic on canvas. And you can see a little girl, you can see flowers, you can see a cross, you can see multiple things if you look at it because it's very striking. And the only way that I can say describe understanding it is just focus on one thing that triggers your mind and focus on that and it'll make you happy or make you smile. I love flowers. I'm a little Christian. So I like cross. I, the little girl and it's a little girl in it with an Afro. That's me. Because when I was a little girl, I grew up with the Afro all the time. My mother made a perfect little Afro for me every day going to school. And so, yeah, it's called You Play Too Much. But my art is just playful. It's fun. If you had a good childhood, I had a great childhood growing up in Detroit, which probably some people are like, what? Yeah, I didn't see any violence. any fights, I just seen happiness. People come together saying, what up, though? Giving each other a hug. So yeah, that's basically what my art is about. Just growing up in Detroit.

Deneen L. Garrett 03:19 04:17 And I do love that. And it is obvious that you are happy, right? It's that your work just brings out the goodness, your kindness, and your generosity, right? That's obvious in your art. And it's also obvious when you're talking with you, right? You know, when we're at the coffee shop. So right now, Anita's work is at Big B Coffee in Madison Heights, Michigan. So that's at 222 West 11 Mile. So make sure you come by, check it out, find out which one is your favorite, you know, which one speaks to you, makes you happy and wants to go home with you. And then reach out to me to purchase. So what's up there, as a matter of fact, it's within its last week. So next week from today we're actually taking Anita down and we're putting someone else up the art will still be available, however, we do want to move as much as possible. So yeah I think we're doing like let's let's make a deal right Anita like come on.

Anita Sewell 04:17 04:19 let's make a deal.

Deneen L. Garrett 04:19 04:32 How much you want to pay you know type thing but we'll put some parameters. Right, because if you ask me i'm gonna go $1 you know like yeah no. But no, for sure, definitely. So go to a collector.

Anita Sewell 04:32 04:49 I would give them a great deal if they could tell me something about me. I'd give them a wonderful deal because I would like to know people that collect and look at my art, know something about me as a person. That would make me happy. You would get a lot off for that.

Deneen L. Garrett 04:49 08:25 That's a big part. OK, yes. And you know what? And that's key because Anita does, she wants people buying her art who wants her art, right? So that's key. She actually wants it to go to a collector who will look at it and appreciate it. So that is definitely something of her. That's what she wants in collectors. And you know what? You know what? We're putting it out there. She's going to be so big at a time where you're going to have to apply to get her art. You don't have to answer some questions you know that you know how, when you're you have to adopt her art so. Right you like Okay, let me see what kind of home is this going to tell me about this, tell me about where you got to have it right. yeah so Anita you know you know we'll be in and out up at the coffee shop between now and then so you'll be able to see her she's there often. smiling, greeting folks, talking to people, letting them know about the art. Like you can see on Instagram, whether you follow me, follow Anita, you can see on Instagram, because I'll do videos and post the interactions. But it's so wonderful to see. It's so wonderful to see people, Anita, connecting with the people who come through. And it's still joy. We were at, and this is what connected us. So we were at the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club. which is a staple in Detroit. It was founded, started by Henry C. Harper and Harold Braggs. Several years ago, they met, you know, they, best friends meet, talk about art, and then it grew from there, right? And so today you have, you know, 50, 75, whatever different numbers of artists who are coming through on Mondays showcasing their work. And then you have collectors and art interests and enthusiasts that are there to see this art and have an opportunity to purchase it. And that's where I met Anita. And I know that I was, you know, knew that I was working on this show and I knew that I wanted abstract art. And so she was the first person on, you know, top of mind. I went over to her and said, hey, this is what I'm doing. I would love to include you in Automatic Yes. Like she didn't know me from Adam, you know, but she trusted me, which is huge because I am a brand new curator that this is my first event. I will say that I've co-curated another event in LA, and Anita's work traveled, as well as three other artists. So Dawoud Shabazz, he's also abstract. His show is what's coming up next. John Kimball, so John does collages. And Mitchell Gross, he does a lot of watercolor. And so they traveled with me. And it was an amazing experience. I enjoyed it. And I'm about to tell Anita something now that she doesn't know, but I just off the phone and I'm already working on my next LA event. So it's July 31. It is in Englewood. So if folks who know Englewood is a black neighborhood, historically black, I'll call it historically black neighborhood. Cause of course, a lot of places are being gentrified. So you still have that. And so that's coming up. And so I need to reach out to the artists and say, hey, this is what I'm doing. This is what I'm looking for. So you in or not? So more traveling art. But anyway, Anita, tell the peoples who are watching or listening, let them know about this experience that you and I, this whole how we're working together.

Anita Sewell 08:25 09:58 OK, so my experience working with Deneen, I had to get her name right first. So Deneen is wonderful. She works very hard, and I'm so glad she chose me first to work with. She was a lot of fun. I was nervous, but I said, hey, why not? And so I went with her. She's wonderful. She works hard. She get it done. Just let her do it. Let her run it. It's good. Everything is good. She's a wonderful person, and she's beautiful. And she's just a bright light. And so she works hard and she just tells you, she gave you ideas. She gave me ideas about my name and everything that I wasn't doing right. But yeah, it's been a blast to work with her. And it's been beautiful. She's kind, she's patient, a little patient. Because I don't know, and she'd be like, child. OK, wait a minute. But for the most part, I don't know nothing. So people be like that with me anyway. Even my daughter like that. Like, what? You don't mind. So it'll be like that. But it's all good. It's nothing bad. Deneen work. You work with her. You will have a blast. She believe in you. She'll talk for you. She'll stand up for you and everything. So I'm glad I chose her. Aw. It was a beautiful thing.

Deneen L. Garrett 09:58 11:51 I had fun. That is so sweet. So yeah, so now Anita can add to her bio, her art bio, letting people know that here's, you know, the event again that we, that was in LA. So that was in Marina Del Rey. So if you all know anything about the LA area, it's at a marina and SEALs were out in the marina. I didn't see any, but everybody kept talking about them, how they were out there and I miss them. But next time I'm out that way, I will check it out. But it was a beautiful location. It's a council in campus. It's the gallery. It is a Black-owned gallery. And the owner, the gallerist, is actually an attorney and an artist. So that's cool. It's always great when you're connecting with people who have different businesses and also have that tie to art. So it was an experience. And I'll tell you this. So I love promoting Detroit artists. I'm hands down all about the D. Yeah, and so Dawu, he includes, and Jonathan does as well, but on the back attached to Dawu's work is his certificate of authenticity. And so the owner of the gallery was like, oh, this is something I need to start doing. And so that was cool for, you know, me to not only bring art to LA, Detroit art to LA, It also to teach something through one of the artists so that's a beautiful thing because that's what art does art off, you know it. It makes you happy it teaches it does so many different things for different people. cool that was a cool experience but yeah more to come about what's going on on July 31 and Englewood. Yeah, like I said, I mean, I just got off the phone a little while ago and so need to put that into motion. So I'm excited about that. But let's see what else is going on, Anita.

Anita Sewell 11:51 12:46 I haven't been creating. I am doing art. I've been doing plaster. Oh, for your house or just in general? In the house. I never did plaster. That was an art in itself, trying to make the crown molding look very neat and nice. And so I accomplished that. I'm happy. That's a little art. And then I'm going to put some art at my house, finally. I don't have any art on the wall. I have art, but I don't have any art on the walls because I'm trying to repaint and everything. But yeah, I've been creating a little art here and there, having fun. So yeah. I'm just waiting to go and support other people that's doing art. You said Daewoo is next, right? Yes. He is amazing. He is Zango amazing.

Deneen L. Garrett 12:46 13:27 very serious guy he's amazing yes yes he is absolutely um not um next and i actually was at his studio yesterday did a little video so actually it is here on youtube is it's also on um instagram but you know yeah you saw that and yeah yeah he was kind of talking about so his uh his a little process as far as like around um the frames right he didn't he um he doesn't make his frames but he frames his work and so And then he was showing a canvas and so that was kind of cool and but yeah so I was there to take pictures of the work, so I can put it on the website and put it on our. work.

Anita Sewell 13:27 13:38 yeah. I don't get a chance to see his work off because he be writing a little bit. yeah yeah yeah. he's amazing artists, yes. I was in Birmingham with him.

Deneen L. Garrett 13:38 18:34 Okay. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for saying that. And yeah, yeah. So that's why I'm happy. You know, you mentioned that he's not really seen as much, which I'm looking at as, you know, hoping that that's a good thing. So when people now, oh, Daewoo, he's going to be somewhere, right? And just like you, Anita, you share my vision of making things affordable. And so for those who are watching, listening, my mission, I have three missions. So I added a new mission, Anita. But it's one that you knew about, but I'm now stating it. So my first mission is to inspire 100 Black art collectors. So I've had people who have connected with me, whether you watch my Instagram, YouTube, come to a show, Anita's show, Dawu's show in LA, and said, you know what? I want to start collecting. And so knowing that for Black folks, collecting art is not just something that We just up and do right that's just not something that we grew up necessarily doing, and when I say it original art from an from an artist, you know we'll probably go to you know the store. You know just okay let me just get that that right that's not what we're talking about that's not original art that's not from an artist who has poured their self into the work right that's not someone like Anita, who is reliving her childhood through her work that you get to take home. You know, my number one is to inspire more black folks to collect black art. Right. And of course, I want other people collecting black art as well. Right. But the mission is to get more black folks doing it. That's number one. Number two is to promote Detroit artists. Right. So which is what I'm doing. That's what I do, you know, through the shows. taking, you know, now Anita is, she's not just known in Detroit, now people know of her in LA, as well as the other three artists. They're now known, they're bi-coastal, because now I am a bi-coastal emerging art curator. So before I went to LA, I was just an emerging art curator, but now I add bi-coastal because I'm on both coast okay so we're just growing i didn't wait till we go to paris you went to paris yes i did and you know and i was supposed actually well would be would be back by now but i actually was supposed to be there this past weekend for um ruby pitman who is the uh founder of pavane p-a-v-a-n she did a launch of her business of her startup she launched that a couple fridays ago And that's the event that I co-curated with her. And that's the event that we had Anita, and Dawu, and Mitchell, and John's work in that show. And that was Ruby. So Ruby is in Paris. I was supposed to meet her out there. Her birthday was June 1. And then I decided not to go. So yeah, I'm supposed to be there. But Paris is there. It's not going anywhere. you know, that that will happen. And then London, so I do have a good friend in London, who, you know, connected me with some galleries. And she's, she's in performing arts. So, you know, I'm on the visual side. And so, you know, we're working together and, you know, things are happening, you know, this train going, okay, this train left the station and is going so, you Absolutely. So let me see. And then the new the third one that I'm stating is my vision is also to get work art in places where you typically typically don't see art. So like the coffee shop, right? People don't go to a coffee shop expecting to see art and not just see it, but have access to it to be able to purchase it and even meet the artist. Right. That's not what you're going to a coffee shop for. Same thing with the response and. and walking cars and other places. You're not going there necessarily to, you're not going there for art. You're not. And so to see it is adds to the aesthetics as well as, again, it's making it accessible. So that's my third mission. And so those are my three focus and that's what I'm about. So that's what Collect Black Art is all about. And so what I was saying earlier is you want to see what we have available for Anita, go to the website, collectblackart.art. and go to the page for available art, and you'll see all the pieces. You'll see what has sold. You'll see what you missed out on. And then you will see what is available for sale. And then again, come into the coffee shop. And we do on our flyer, it's a coupon for a dollar off. And honestly, if you just say you're there for the art, they'll go ahead and give you the dollar off. So that's cool. So you have tried a couple different flavors so for folks who want to try to coffee, what are you recommending.

Anita Sewell 18:34 18:40 Napoleon. Neapolitan yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett 18:40 19:04 Just like the ice cream, and so I tried it because she listen, let me tell you, I told him like y'all need to hire her. as a spokesperson for this Neapolitan coffee because it's so good. It is good. It makes you happy like a kid. I mean, it reminds you of birthday parties. You know, often we have birthday parties. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. And it tastes just like it.

Anita Sewell 19:04 19:05 It really does. It's so good.

Deneen L. Garrett 19:05 19:07 Let's try something else. What was that other thing you tried?

Anita Sewell 19:07 19:15 It was called the rainbow something. OK. They put a little milk in it, and it tastes so good. It tastes like a rainbow.

Deneen L. Garrett 19:16 19:21 Oh, if a rainbow had a taste, that's it, huh? Yeah, yeah.

Anita Sewell 19:21 19:29 Oh, I have to try that, because I love that. It's like, it tastes like a rainbow. I think they put a shot of milk in it or something.

Deneen L. Garrett 19:29 20:12 Uh-huh. Well, I get the butterbeer, and I use Brevet, which is half and half. And I've been getting that for years. So I've been going. So I know the owners. I've known them, black owned, known them since like 2008. And so, you know, we kept in touch. I reached out and say, hey, I'm doing this thing. What do you think? And they were like, yes. So I appreciate them for letting us in and want them to invite us back. So again, folks, if you're local, please come through, buy some coffee. You can buy food, snacks, other extra things too, but want them to know that, you know, people, you know, appreciate their art as well as they're consuming the coffee shops products.

Anita Sewell 20:13 20:33 And I appreciate everybody coming by to see my art. Again, like the Breakfast Club said, you can like the art. You don't have to always sell art, but just to come and visit and look at the art is just as well. It's just fine. It's fine for me. So come talk. You don't have to purchase every time, but come and look at my art.

Deneen L. Garrett 20:34 21:52 Yeah, look at it, talk about it, share with other people, encourage other people to come through. Absolutely. And I love that Anita said that, right? And that is something that is a character of Anita is that she wants you to come to appreciate it. Of course, we love making a sale, right? But it doesn't always have to be that. It could just be that, oh, because you saw this orange piece behind Anita, you're like, oh, now I'm more interested in art. I want to pay closer attention to it. And it may even lead you to look up the other artists that we mentioned and say, oh, well, you know, I really like connect with this person's style and, you know, and maybe I want to purchase a piece from that individual. So yeah, to me, I say art is life. It's just so much that can come from that. And it is, and I'm enjoying it. So not only am I, so for me, And by the way, behind me, my art, my son. So this wall is like family and friends who've done work. You can't really see it, but, oh, nope, that was my son, but they're up here. Nope, you can't see it up there. But anyway, this wall behind me is like family and friends. Oh, there we go. So all of the time, if you see those little pieces, I did that when I was like in elementary school.

Anita Sewell 21:52 21:54 Right there, the little pieces right here, or?

Deneen L. Garrett 21:54 22:04 See, right here. Like touching the screen. So right there is something at the top. It has Wendy and then something at the bottom. So at the top. That's what I did in this one.

Anita Sewell 22:04 22:06 Girl, that's my collage.

Deneen L. Garrett 22:06 23:28 Oh, okay. But anyway, this wall is, that's what this particular wall is, like artwork, original. There are a couple prints, a postcard that a friend had given me, but she is an artist. But this wall is, family and friends have created it, right? And so don't look at how things are set up because Henry, who is our godfather, our teacher in this art space. He let us know what it is and how things are supposed to be. He's like, no, you need to rehang these things. So don't tell him that I haven't done it. Yes. But anyway, that's what this wall is, right? It's family and friends artwork. Yeah. Yes. I so appreciate you jumping on to chat with me. Another thing that, you know, when I'm doing my recordings, I talk to people about how they live a dream life, because that's something that I promote as well. So for me, living a dream life is travel. That's number one for me. It's attending events. So traveling to attend events is also art. So traveling to attend an art event is my thing. And that's what had me in LA a few weeks ago. How are you living your dream life? How would you say you're living your dream life?

Anita Sewell 23:28 24:47 Well, I'm doing exactly what I want to do. I express my feelings through my art. I am a very emotional artist. I think about people and things. Sometimes I even let my my collectors named the piece. And so I like them to tell me the truth, participate in what they think about things, if they like it framed or if they like it under framed or they wanna frame it theirself. I like that, I like participation. I'm a very shy introverted person. So I get feedback from the public and it helps me move forward and believe forward and do things because people will say, oh, you need to do this or did you do this? Well, what about doing this? And I take that advice and I run with it because again, I don't know everything. And so I'm still learning, even though I'm older, I'm still learning. I'm still a big old kid in Detroit. I'm telling you. So yeah, I'm living my dream. My whole idea is to one day sell a piece for $10,000. I would be so happy, and I'm going to make you participate. And I'm going to be like, just call her, call her.

Deneen L. Garrett 24:47 25:03 Right? Call me. Right. So wait, we're going to back that thing up. I am going to sell. So you know. Yeah, I am going to sell. I am going to sell. It's sold.

Anita Sewell 25:03 25:50 it's just a matter you know what it's already so it's already created yeah just i don't want you to participate in it i want you to participate in the sale because you're so good you're so patient and you work so hard so i want you to get a part of it i want to share with you thank you well girl we connected now so you know we're connected nobody's going anywhere so when is the next time you're going to be at bigby so people can come and chat with you What's today? Today is Thursday. Thursday. So I'll be up there. What about Saturday? I could be up there Saturday, Sunday. OK. Saturday about like 1 o'clock. Sunday, I can be up there about 11 or 12.

Deneen L. Garrett 25:50 25:57 All right, y'all. So Anita will be there to chat with you all on Saturday about, did you say 1?

Anita Sewell 25:58 26:08 One o'clock and Sunday about 11 or 12. Okay. Yeah, I'll be there.

Deneen L. Garrett 26:08 26:30 Come see her. Now don't just have her sitting up there all by herself, like come through. Come through, chat with her. She will love to let you know about the names and what's behind the paintings. um it's it's fun to like here right the names like punch you, we have one punch in the now punching Allah tell us where that name come from one of the pain.

Anita Sewell 26:30 26:56 When I was a little girl. And you know, you'd be like, Punchinella, Punchinella, do your dance, Punchinella. Oh, you'd put your hands on your hips. Yeah, and let your body move. And you'd be like, you just got your hair done. You'd be like, Punchinella, Punchinella. And you'd be all cute. And that's what Punchinella is about. So I think you have to be a 70s baby to understand.

Deneen L. Garrett 26:56 27:01 No, you know what I think you also have to be on the east side girl because I well yeah I don't remember.

Anita Sewell 27:01 27:47 So we, we, we made that like a little Sally walk. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so that's what it's about. Just fun being, you know, I had a piece called, I Hate Big Kid. I sold that piece. And it was a little girl with a big afro. And all I Hate Big Kid is about is when a little black girl get their hair done, they have a new attitude, a new lease on life. And so you get sassy, like, what you looking at? I know I look pretty. And so that's what that's about. You see a little girl with an afro, you'd be like, at her. Or braids and beads, that's the big thing. I love your braids and beads, by the way, because that's what I love. Let me tell you, people love it, too.

Deneen L. Garrett 27:47 27:51 People love these beads. They love it. They love it.

Anita Sewell 27:51 28:12 Yeah, I used to put carrion shells in my daughter hair and beads. I'll braid it to the side, put beads on it. She'll be so pretty. And so, yeah, most of my stuff is about a little girl, either my little girl or me. yeah so yeah it's simple, you can relate because black girl black girl magic right.

Deneen L. Garrett 28:12 29:13 energy that Anita is giving this is Anita so again if you're in metro Detroit come through. meet her, experience her energy in person. Because just speaking to her and seeing her, it's going to brighten your day. So come on through, get your day brightened up. And if one of the paintings so happened to say, whisper in your ear, I'm like, come on, I want to go home with you, we can make that happen as well. We can make that happen. We can make that happen. So Anita, it's been a joy talking to you. I knew it was going to be so fun. And so again, collectblackart.art is the website. You can see wherever you are, have access to the internet. You can see what's available. And then come to Big B Coffee in Madison Heights on 11 Mile and John R. You can see the art in person. And then definitely come in on Saturday after 1. You come on Sunday after 11. You'll also be able to meet the amazing artist in person, Anita Sewell.

Anita Sewell 29:13 29:14 Yeah, be there with Bill.

Deneen L. Garrett 29:16 29:23 Well, thank you so much, Anita, and enjoy the rest of your day. All right. Thank you. OK, bye. Bye.