This is a long overdue post. I tend to post on Instagram because it’s easier but it really should be here!
pillow, thread, deconstructed Indonesian batik fabric, 2022.
Finding rest and joy is crucial to living a balanced life, especially in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. It is unsustainable to live life in a constant alert mode, no matter the circumstance. Everyone needs rest. Everyone deserves rest
Joy is no different. My local rollerskating community, Rich City Rollers, meets on Sunday afternoons at a concrete slab at Miller Knox Regional Shoreline Park in Point Richmond. This is just one of many groups organically formed in the last few years, exacerbated by conditions of the global pandemic that made outdoor gatherings more favorable. Many groups meet in parks, at concrete slabs, at basketball courts, sometimes at tennis courts, and almost any outdoor space and indoor spaces when possible.
The outdoor sessions tend to be free of charge. In the case of Rich City Rollers, with support from Urban Tilth, they are able to offer rental rollerskates free of charge to community members of all ages during their sessions. These gatherings bring Black, Indigenous, brown, Asian, and white folks of all backgrounds and levels together, on skates, joyful, dancing to music by local djs or someone’s playlist on their phones. Everyone of all ages are welcome. People dancing and skating solo, in unison, in pairs, weaving through, spinning on their own or in a group of fellow spinners taking turns, or just gliding by. Some are practicing moves in place, while some can also be seen struggling staying upright, or kids holding on to their parents as they try to avoid falling. And when anyone falls, someone will always ask, “are you alright?” The skating community is a group of people who are diverse, radically inclusive, welcoming, joyous, supportive, happy to share their knowledge, and they show up for each other and their community. This can only happen because of volunteers, organizers, and community groups come together determined to make their skating community a joyful space.
Addendum: this work was exhibited at Open Circle exhibit in its unfinished state, but I’m reconsidering whether or not to finish this now, after hearing the comments at the reception. Because it was unfinished, I stitched in the words, “Sorry I did not finish. I took a nap” Since it was on a pillow, it seemed appropriate.
Below are some work in progress photos
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